This trip has long been over. See the Trip Report at the lower part of the page. In early August we’ll drive to one of the major sailing centers on the East Coast - Newport, Rhode Island.  Our trip will depart from the Newport area on a leisurely journey through several outstanding destinations – including two visits to Block Island and four stops on eastern Long Island.  With seasonal winds and favorable currents helping us along the way, we’ll have a mix of longer sails and short runs, with some extended on-shore time for touring, shopping or just relaxing.  Arriving Friday night, we’ll be busy checking the boats and provisioning for the trip.  That evening, the adventurous will head for the Newport waterfront, wander among the many shops, and perhaps find a tempting restaurant for dinner.  The next day we set sail for Block Island and our first night’s anchorage.

Montaulk Light

Saturday morning, with boat checkouts and final provisioning completed, we’ll soon be on the open waters heading for Block Island, only sixteen miles from Montauk Point, but actually part of Rhode Island.  It is a popular destination for boaters throughout the area, providing a splendid mix of local charm, outstanding views and waterfront activity.  We will anchor, preferably rafted, in Great Salt Pond overnight.  We’re not planning shore time on this stop, since we’ve planned a return to Block Island on Thursday, away from the weekend crowds. Sunday morning we sail due West, into Eastern LI.  Our destination is Dering Harbor on the northwest corner of Shelter Island.  We’ve reserved moorings here for two nights so there’s plenty of time to explore. Sunday and Monday at Dering Harbor- This is a very sheltered location with access to a wide variety of activities.   There are Bike rentals available, guided kayak tours, hiking in the Mahomack Preserve with 15 miles of trails, fishing, swimming at Crescent Beach, a nearby ferry to Greenport on Long Island’s north fork, and transportation to restaurants.

See the Block Island Marine Activities Page  to see a description of the facilities.

Tuesday morning, after a late breakfast, we’ll drop the mooring lines and move on, to one of two destinations, both on the south fork of Long Island.   Sag Harbor and Three Mile Harbor are both about 11 miles away.  Sag Harbor marina provides easy access to the town of Sag Harbor, while Three Mile Harbor is a short, three miles from the town of East Hampton.  Either destination could be an anchorage or moorings. As of this writing it is too early to contact either of these areas for reservations, but this destination will be selected well in advance of our trip. Wednesday by noon we move again, this time 20 miles to reach Lake Montauk at the eastern-most end of Long Island.   The club has been here before, several years ago. Lake Montauk is a large, enclosed body of water, with a short entrance channel from LI Sound.   This will be an anchorage with rafting.

Three Mile Harbor, N.Y.

Thursday morning we leave Lake Montauk for our second stop at Block Island, a 16 mile trip.  We leave early, by 8:00AM if possible, to catch a favorable tide and reach Block Island before noon, where we will dock for our last night out.  Arriving for lunch, we will have the afternoon to rent bikes and explore the island, then relax a bit and find comrades on other ships for dinner ashore.

The Shelter Island Ferry connects Shelter Island to the seaport village of Greenport	Check out the attractions of the seaport village of Greenport
		Stars Restaurant on Shelter Island

Friday morning, after a leisurely breakfast on board, we weigh anchor for the last sail, back to our charter marina.   We’ll have time to enjoy this leg, sailing the most comfortable tack as we head past Point Judith, into Naraganset Bay and Newport Harbor.   As usual, the boats must be re-fueled, pumped out and returned by 4:00 PM.  We’ll get away early and be well along the way home before stopping for supper.

The cost for this trip is $650.00 per person.  This fee covers charter costs and insurance.  In addition, the first night’s mooring at Dering Harbor has been paid; each boat will pay the mooring fee balance at Dering Harbor and dock space at Block Island.  The crew of each boat will also share food, fuel, pump-outs, and other incidental expenses.

The reservation deposit for the trip is $100.00 per person, with the balance due on or before June 20, 2001.  Use the signup form to register for the trip. Make your check payable to The Sailing Club, Inc., and mail it, along with your reservation form, to Larry Sherwood at the address below.  Reservations are taken according to the club rules as stated earlier in the club member’s package.  No reservations form will be accepted without payment.  Qualified skippers can reserve an entire boat with full payment, subject to availability. 

The pre-trip meeting will be held on July 23, 2000.  The meeting will begin promptly at 6:30 because there will be much to cover.  The location for the meeting will be indicated in your final confirmation notice.  All crewmembers are urged to attend.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call either of us.

The Trip Report:

Friday night saw most of the crews looking for launch rides to good restaurants in Newport. There are always exceptions of course. Lillian Parsons got a late start from NJ and the crew from Cecile McKenzie’s Fairwinds heard her trying to contact Don Shelton & Summer Magic as we were on the launch waiting to get back to our boat.  Nathan McKenzie made it from Maine to Ray Gray’s Endless Summer without remembering his boat name (or skipper?)..while the rest of his crew were ashore at dinner. Only young people can do that.

 We learned again to always check the weather before going ashore. While eating a wonderful meal at the Brick Alley Pub & Restaurant, the night skies opened up & dumped tons of water on the streets of Newport & the hapless crew of Fairwinds.  Cecile, being the only one with her foul weather jacket, arranged to get garbage bags for the rest of us to wear back to the boat (no armholes required).  Other crews fared only slightly better; it was a wet ride back from dinner in Newport but eventually all crew members got back and settled into their boats.    Kevin Redden & his crew from Flashpoint must have had a wonderfully intimate evening. Their boat had no dodger or bimini. The only place to get out of the rain (and the sun for the rest of the trip) was down below.

 Saturday’s trip to Block Island had light wind directly behind us, providing a test of seaworthiness for crews; a few of whom succumbed to mal de mer.   Summer Magic continued Don’s record of leaving early and usually first, from each anchorage.   Endless Summer set off for Block Island after fifteen minutes of circling  Newport Harbor trying to raise Fairwinds by radio for a status check.    Unknown to Endless Summer,  Fairwinds had already initiated Cecile’s tradition of  leaving last and then making grand entrances (last) so the rest of the fleet could admire the adept way her crew handled themselves.  

Great Salt Pond  on Block Island was very crowded, with no available moorings and the anchorage dense with boats.  Endless Summer and Flashpoint opted to squeeze two more boats into the anchorage; Fairwinds rafted & anchored next to Endless Summer in Great Salt Pond.  Eighty feet of chain rode weighs a lot (no electric windlass) & Cecile, this being her first trip as a skipper, wanted to make sure her foredeck crew got it right. Weight training on the foredeck! They only had to haul and reset once. 

 Sunday morning saw the fleet set off early for the thirty-five mile run to Shelter Island.   Before leaving, both Endless Summer and Fairwinds removed the dinghy outboards  & stored them onboard. Fairwinds was the smallest boat at 40 feet, but had the biggest, heaviest, dirtiest, electric start outboard!

 We had light winds from the stern & the main was used for shade as we made the 35-mile trip to Shelter Island, a motor sailing kind if day.  Neither Fairwinds   nor Flashpoint had a bimini, making this and other sailing days a challenge to find shelter from the sun.    Once in Dering Harbor on Shelter Island,  most crews spent what was left of the first day winding down  and making shade.  Even the Bimini equipped boats had to supplement with sheets and tarps.    In spite of both threats and generous offers, Summer Magic was unwilling to lend their tarp to Fairwinds, which rose to the occasion with a Caribbean blue sheet for shade.  Flashpoint could have been awarded a prize for the most avant-garde shelter.    Dering Harbor was beautiful with clean cool water. There were moorings - what a wonderful concept for the chain gang on Fairwinds!   Swimming from boat to boat was great exercise. The evening was spent at various restaurants – including The Dory and Chequit Inn.

 Monday was spent at Shelter Island and gave everyone a chance to tour the Island.    Some took the opportunity to hone their skills at biking – all 21 speeds were needed for their self-guided tour of the island.   Others settled for a long walk around the Island.      More fine dining that night, with Summer Magic making the trek out to the Ram’s Head Inn.    Late on Monday,  Joe Karger and his crew of Nancy and Christine arrived on his boat from NJ.  

 Tuesday morning gave us forecasts of fifteen-twenty knots from the Southwest, and temperatures of 95-100.   Don Sheldon proposed a change of itinerary, dropping the Threemile Harbor stop, which had high tide requirements on entering the harbor, in favor of going straight back to Block Island in the favorable winds.  All boats agreed to this change.    The brisk winds did not materialize till early afternoon.  Finally, a beam or broad reach with over fifteen knots of wind!    Summer Magic and Flashpoint fell into a match race to the island; reports on the winner are not confirmed but claimed by Don.   A favorable current on top of the winds pushed the boats at eight knots… more at times.  Arriving at Block Island again found no moorings available.   Endless Summer made the first approach into Payne’s marina; Jack Buckley, on his first skipper checkout, managed to back Endless Summer between other boats on both sides, then turn to starboard for a pinpoint landing aside the bulkhead; he got a standing ovation from the power boat crews, all of whom were out to watch the event.  The other boats, sensing low water at Payne’s, opted for a  four-boat raft at the far end of a dock at Champlin’s Marina.  All crews enjoyed shore showers.

 Wednesday was spent on Block Island, where the heat wave being felt on the mainland was catching up to us.   Many decided the only way around the island was by scooter. It was easier than walking or biking, though probably we could have made better speed up the many hills with bikes.     Nathan McKenzie and Maricel Aleu did charter bikes, with Nathan covering vast areas of Block Island…..ain’t youth grand.   The day was topped off with a swim in the pool for some, and more showers. The evening brought most of us to Old Harbor for dinner, with many going to Finns, followed by ice cream in town. 

Boats began leaving Block Island around 9:30 Thursday morning, with the raft splitting up around 10:00. 

Again, the wind was not cooperating - light and from the south for the first part of the trip.    With only thirteen miles to cover and a full day ahead, many boats opted to sail around a bit outside of Narragansett Bay.   Fairwinds, deciding that sailing in the wrong direction was better than motoring directly to Newport, caught a breeze and took a Easterly course for a few hours. The wind finally quartered Southwest and they managed to sail back to Newport and be at the mooring by 5:30. Having sailed more than the others in the fleet, Fairwinds felt it had won the day.

 A raft-up in Narragansett Bay had been planned for Thursday night, but the rising winds and overnight weather reports promised to make that a bit tenuous. It was decided to return to our moorings in Newport Harbor.  Don Sheldon offered Summer Magic for a last-night party, and Endless Summer picked up other crew members before rafting with Summer Magic.  A fun evening party helped to consume the leftovers.   Most boats were topped off with fuel and water and cleaned out by early afternoon on Friday.  Summer Magic did take a final sail around the bay, taking leave of the boat just as rain started falling mid-afternoon. 

 The sad thing about being on moorings rather than dockside; this wonderful trip ended with individual crews saying their good-byes instead of everyone getting together & hanging out as boats were unloaded and gear was stuffed into the cars. We’ll just have to do it right at the end of season party.

Larry Sherwood, Ray Gray