2023-08-06 Bristol, RI and back to Newport

We did not want to leave Newport yet, as we had mail coming in, but we were not enjoying our lumpy anchorage.  First thing Monday morning, we headed to the post office, as our mail was in.  Newport is much different early in the morning before the tourists arrive.

Bowens Wharf is a popular tourist stop when in Newport for shopping and dining.

Bowens wharf, with virtually no people

We got to the post office a bit before it opened.  You can see how large it is, look at Dean on the bench waiting out front.

Once our mail was in hand, we headed back to the boat so we could up anchor and head north to Bristol, RI

We passed this old fishing boat many times going to and from land, always seems so out of place amongst the mega yachts.   Newport does have small area just for these fishing boats, but this one doesn't move, as we could tell by the growth on the bottom of the hull, and rust through the hull just slightly above water line.

We had a partial motor partial sail up to Bristol, but the sailing was slow, did not go ashore the first day, but next day we headed  in to see the sights.

The harbor master office is in the stone "castle"

We stopped at the Herreshoff museum.  The Herreshoff brothers, John, who was blind and handled the business side of the business, and Nat who was the engineer, designing and overseeing boat construction are famous in the sailing world.  They built many boats, and many Americas cup boats that won (and some that lost)

Inside the museum, directly overhead is a model of a catamaran.  Herreshoff has the first US patent for a catamaran.

Inside museum

After our museum stop, we walked the town to the other end, where we had lunch plans.

Walking the streets

Bristol is a nice little town, and we would use the word quaint - but I think there are too many large expensive homes here for quaint to work.  It is a pretty little place, and worth the stop just to see the town.

Nice looking church

Linden Place - is open to tours and events

This is now a school

Just one of the many old nice homes passed on our walk.

We got to the north end of town, where we found a truly old, run down diner to eat at.

Doesn't look like much from the front door.

Did not look much better inside - in fact a bit worse, but the $6 cheeseburger was 

Dean spent more time looking for leaks in the dinghy - this is becoming a constant project.

Cover off the dink, and Dean with his soapy water looking for leaks.

He found another small one, so patched that with hope that it will hold air more than 24 hours.

Winds were heading south again, so after a couple days in Bristol, we headed back to Newport for good southerly wind protection, and to see the World 12 meter yachts races which were in Newport.  

The dink patch done in Bristol did not work, and we were still losing air, so we took a 25 minute bus ride up to a store that had only inflatables. Marine Services had 3 of the inflatable brands we were looking at in stock, and we were able to determine from our visit which new inflatable we would get if it comes to that, so the trip was well worth it.

Kris was feeling restless, so took a wandering walk through Newport residential area.  One of the draws of Newport is its many mansions, some of which are open for tours.   But there are many mansions that are privately owned which are quite impressive as well.

Such an imposing looking home

Detail on the cornerstone of the fence

The fence around the property costs more than most peoples homes

Even the common clock on the street corner is fancy

Still enjoy the funky homes just as much as the really huge ones.

One of the other common tourist things to do in Newport is take the Cliff Walk, which runs along the water, and give also a view of some of the mansions from the rear.  Most the walk has tourists, but the rougher portions of the walk are more scenic.   We walked the rough sections, which made a nice loop for us of just over 6 miles.

You can see the large stones, this is actually part of the walk, navigating your way across the large stones - it is pretty easy really, as the stones are flat and placed close together.

Another section of the trail, where it is still natural stone makes the walk more difficult, but still not bad.

View of a mansion from the walk

This one is open for tours

Imagine the maintenance and upkeep cost

View of the anchorage coming back from our walk.  Charm is on the left side

We made it back to the boat in time to watch the 12 meter boats parade through the anchorage before the final races of the day. The world 12 meter boat race was going on so there were 10 boats racing in two categories for the week.

We were in the perfect spot, as the parade passed right by us.

Some of the older 12 meters were quite pretty with lots of brass and brightwork, and others were more competitive.   All were fun to see, and also the difference in the crews were interesting as well.  Some were all younger men, with beefy muscles for grinding winches, and some were a mix of young, old, men and women.

We will head into the grocery store today, get some food, and plan to head back up the Narraganset to an anchorage off Goddard Park., as stronger West and SW winds coming, and we would also like a change of scenery.

2023-07-30 From sleepy New England Stonington to Busy crowded Newport

We got to Fishers Island early Sunday morning, as the museum Kris wanted to see was only open from 11 to 12.   We arrived in plenty of time, after motoring over from Enders Island.

"Small" home on the point near Enders Island

The Henry L. Ferguson Museum was small, but since we were the only people waiting for it to open, we got the grand tour, with 1/2 talk on the history of the island, the people that have owned it, and other information from the docent, who also lives on the island, and whose family was part of the group of the last owners.  Kris new about the marina because of their Osprey WebCam she found last year.  

Nice sculpture outside museum

Museum has small trail walk with froggy and turtle filled pond

Inside museum

After the museum, we headed back to the boat, where it was surprisingly rolly with boat traffic.   

It calmed down at night and in the morning so early next morning Dean jumped in and started to clean the bottom of the boat which had a surprising amount of waterline scum.

After the cleaning we decided to move, and  headed over to Stonington, CT. which was only a few miles away.

Stonington has a small anchorage area, but nice dinghy dock, and is kind of a sleepy little town with a few tourists, but mostly locals.

The wind was calm so Kris decided to work under the boat on a sealing project.

Knee bracing was critical to hold the kayak in position while working

After the work, we walked up to get ice cream, and enjoyed seeing all the different homes and architecture.

Old lighthouse and now museum - we didn't go in ($10 each - rather have ice cream)

Nicely kept up old home

Quite the different style of home from the previous photo

We thought maybe old church - but it is a private residence.

Someone important lived here once

Not all the homes in the best shape - quite the lean on this one

Beautiful gate

We decided to leave the next day for Newport, as the winds were going to build to over 20, and we did not want to sail in that.  We made the right choice and had a beautiful sail up to Newport, RI.  

Scenery along the way to Newport.  Nice lighthouse and "small homes"

I don't know how we do it, but always manage to end up in Newport during the Folk Festival, which is held at Fort Adams, and draws large crowds, and lots of boats.  Watching boats is fun, but makes the anchorage difficult.

Fun watching boat traffic

Harbor gets crowded

We found a nice spot next to another Manta - Osprey.  Met Will, who is a new owner and had a nice chat with him.    It was time for a walk to get some groceries.  Kris wanted to walk by the Umbrella Sky display.  More impressive in the write up than in person.

Pretty to look at

Will had recommend a stop on our way to the grocery store at Aardvark Antiques, so we took his advice and did a quick stop.  It is an amazing store with more sculptures and yard art than you can count.

Looks perfect for your average suburban home

Quite an eclectic mix

Swordfish, frogs, flying dogs, and more

Inside is just as amazing

Quite the place, with quite the mix of items.

After our Aardvark Antique store detour, we did our shopping at the Walmart and Stop and Shop groceries, and back to boat.

Some strong north winds were predicted, and Kris was nervous as we would have a rock breakwater behind us when the wind shifted, so we moved to a new spot, which looked great.  We watched a couple of boats drag while the winds built, and then around 9:00 they shifted to the north, and we found ourselves too close to a boat that was now behind us.   Since they were they first - we had to move, and of course it started to dump rain.  So we upped anchor and tried to find a new spot in a very tight anchorage while the rain was pouring and it was dark.   Could not find anything we were happy with, so after our third attempt - we gave up and headed to a new anchorage about a mile north.   Spent a very lumpy night, but no danger of hitting another boat.   Oh Well - that's boat life.

We will stay in Newport a couple more days, and then spend some time exploring more of Narraganset Bay.