Come mid-summer most boaters are thinking about places to do some relaxed and easy coastal cruising. Not far from Newport Harbor are some charming spots to go exploring.

Just because you are close enough to whistle to the people across the Bay from here, it doesn’t mean you won’t need to download or buy updated charts. Be sure you have current info, including the tide tables and a reliable weather report, before you go.

In the village harbors, “the main drag” is typically one block off the water with places to eat, great boutique shopping and interesting historic sites, all within walking distance.

Even on the traditional paper charts that you keep rolled up under the guest bunk, Narragansett Bay gives the impression of being smaller than it actually is. But, measure it out: it extends 28 miles inland and at places, it is 12 miles wide. It’s a semi-enclosed salt water estuary, like the Chesapeake, but here the water is much more salty and has a better tidal wash. The Bay is dotted with islands, about 36 in all, many of which remain uninhabited. Nesting seabirds and wintering harbor seals “own” some sheltered, rockstrewn bits of land that are exclusively their protected habitats.

Different plotters outline varying boundaries for the Bay. Generally speaking, it is all the waters north of an imaginary line drawn from Point Judith at Narragansett across to Sakonnet Point at Little Compton. This sampling of places to cruise to in the Bay are some of the oldest harbors along southern New England’s coast – in colonial times, these communities would have been more easily reached by water than by a slow, plodding overland route. Early settlers in the shoreside towns thought of the Bay as their “turnpike” – sailing, or sometimes rowing, from village to village, up, down, and across the Bay. Plenty of folks in town can tell you what it was like to ride the ferry that used to run scheduled trips between Newport and Jamestown harbors right up until the late 1960s.

Jamestown Harbor Purchased: 1657 Island: Conanicut Island Claim to Fame: A connection to the notorious Captain William Kidd – people are always asking, did he or didn’t he bury his pirate treasure on this sheltered island 300 years ago? Thomas Paine, a semi-retired privateer who lived in Jamestown, was allegedly involved in trading illicit cargo, and we know that Kidd visited him in 1699. But, does anyone know for what reason? People keep finding Indian artifacts while digging, but so far, no chests of gold and jewels.

A glance at the charts shows that there are many spots along the island’s coastline to anchor for a little bit of quiet time. The main harbor is broad and open. Sometimes there are waves crossing over wakes, and a curvy tidal current, but it’s safe and clean. There is a town dock. The main street runs perpendicular to the shoreline, and the best little hardware store is right there near the corner. Across from that is Tricia’s Tropi-Grill, several other restaurants, and a great bakery.
Further up the street you’ll find a pharmacy and bank. No kidding, everything you need is within arm’s reach. For provisions, McQuade’s Market is just up around the corner on Clarke Street, not far to walk if you’re only getting a few things. They stock all of the necessities and your favorite gourmet treats. We like the crab cakes from the deli counter. Need more bait or some just-caught fish for dinner? Zeek’s Creek Bait & Tackle on North Road. Zeek’s is worth the trip just for the saltmarsh scenery surrounding the shack. We’ve seen magnificent osprey there quite often.

The greatest local event of all time is the annual Fools Rules Regatta on Saturday, August 14 — a build-it-in-two hours boat race sponsored by the Jamestown Yacht Club. It’s hilarious because the crews are not allowed to build their vessels with the usual materials that boats are made from, which opens up a wide range of unseaworthy possibilities. The course is one 500-yard downwind leg, and it’s not that hard to win in the category for “Worst Example of Naval Architecture.”

The third oldest light station in America sits at the southernmost tip of Conanicut on Beavertail Point. It dates to 1749 and only Boston Harbor and Nantucket Light are earlier. Today it is part of a state park that has a kid-friendly marine biology station. A group of dedicated lighthouse enthusiasts staff a nice museum in the assistant lightkeeper’s quarters that tells the history of the site with photographs, exhibits and artifacts from its past.

During the great Gilded Age, a number of millionaires summered here, and you can see their historic mansions high above the bluffs on the approach from Beavertail, but unlike the Newport houses, not one of the Jamestown estates is open for tours. These homes remain splendidly private. Should you decide to stay longer in Jamestown harbor and still feel the need for a bit of action, there’s inexpensive and reliable ferry service over to Newport, a run which also makes a stop at Rose Island on the way.

Places On The Road Out Of Town
Sites worth a side-trip include the 1787 windmill, which stands on the edge of a high, open pasture just a few yards from a 1786 Quaker Meeting House. Just up the road a bit, is the venerable Watson’s Farm. All offer tours. The working farmstead, which is one of Historic New England’s properties, is a rare surviving example of an 18th century coastal plantation. On 285 acres, Don and Heather Minto raise cattle and sheep for market, and they produce wool, compost, and good quality winter hay. They live in the 1796 Farmhouse, which is private, but you can roam the fields, see the animals and learn about the Minto’s life’s work.

Nearby Dutch Island and Dutch Harbor
It’s a scenic and easy cruise out of Newport Harbor, heading north under the Newport- Pell Bridge, turning west around the tip of Conanicut Island and down West Passage on a southerly run under the Jamestown- Verrazano Bridge to get to Dutch Island and Dutch Harbor. It’s worth the trip. Dutch Island is a tiny speck of uninhabited land with two anchorages. Make a note to pick up a mooring in a big blow, as the bottom is soft. Spend the day though. There’s a beach to comb, a small lighthouse to hike to, ruins of the old WWII Fort Greble, and places to go for a swim (careful of the currents though). Eastwards, off Jamestown’s shore, is another anchorage called Dutch Harbor, where you’ll find a boat yard with the same name and the best lobster rolls at The Shack. It’s a great place to relax. Get out the binoculars — some of the best fromthe- aft-deck bird-watching we’ve ever done was right here in late summer. Pay attention to the posted restrictions in sanctuary areas.

Portsmouth Anchorages & The Sakonnet River
Settled: 1638
Original Name: Pocasset
Claim to Fame: A connection to a pious woman that Puritan magistrates said was “not fit for our society” — the outspoken spiritual leader Anne Hutchinson. Her radical theological interpretations nearly got her executed in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and she was among the first refugees who sought freedom to worship as they pleased by settling here in 1638. She is the only woman to have co-founded an American colony, together with Roger Williams. The mother of 16 children, she is honored with a marker at Founder’s Brook Park off Boyd’s Lane.

Portsmouth is a long, skinny town, and surprisingly, many boaters who cruise the coast along East Passage seldom sail around the northern tip of Aquidneck Island to see what’s happening on the side along the Sakonnet River. Although there is no town dock or main harbor, the charts show several private marinas, many moorings, and easy public boat launch areas, so access to the water is never a problem.

Historically, Portsmouth was never a great shipping port. Here, fertile farmlands and small woodlots supplied other nearby harbors with the food and farm materials they needed to sustain their booming “city” populations. Well into the early 1900s, there Were still many “gentleman’s farms” along the shore, including some owned by the Vanderbilt family and others from New York’s and Newport’s upper crust. During the World War era, Portsmouth underwent a major economic transformation as most of its western shoreline was developed into a huge naval training center and depot, housing thousands of enlisted men, officers and their families. Little by little, the areas that were once all military installations have been converted to other uses. At the Melville basin, there are full-service yacht yards, boat builders, and all varieties of marine tradesmen. There are also private marinas with hundreds of deep-water berths for boats from 20 to 150 feet, plus all the amenities of a yacht club. For boat gear and gadgets, there’s The Ship’s Store, and for cocktails and fried clams, there’s the Melville Grille. Both are right at the docks at the East Passage Yachting Center.

The commercial center of Portsmouth, which is about 2 miles from Melville, has several great supermarkets, including The Green Grocer and Clements’. Along Route 138, there are drug stores, antiques shops, a hardware store, banks and the public library. Try Fieldstones Grille. Here’s a hint on what we think goes best with a pint of Newport Storm Hurricane Amber Ale: Poppy’s stuffed quahogs and sweet potato fries. Some visitors find their way by land over to the beachside strip at Island Park, where there are more restaurants serving the fresh catch of the day.

Boaters who are not in any big hurry to get somewhere might try taking a lazy cruise along the Sakonnet side of Portsmouth. There is almost never any commercial traffic and the captains and crew on the fishing boats and lobster boats are friendly enough to wave back at you. Shallow, well-marked and only about 14 miles long, you can run from Mount Hope Bay, past the Pirate Cove Marina and yacht yard, all the way down to Sakonnet Harbor at Little Compton, if you know your tide tables, prevailing winds and where to dodge the currents. It’s about a mile or a mile and one-half across, and easy going until you get to the open waters. At the mouth, the tide and rollers pile on top of each other, especially in an onshore breeze. Peek into Blue Bill Cove, if your boat can fit under the low bridge at the entrance. It’s strictly for shoal-draft vessels though.

Back to the chart again, you’ll notice that the Sakonnet is not really a river; it has no headwaters, so, in proper terms, it should be called a strait. You’ll want to catch the flood tide on the run north.

Places On The Road Out Of Town
Head for Glen Farm’s polo fields on East Main Road on game days. The Newport Polo Club plays the best of the international clubs every Saturday afternoon from June through September. Pack your most elegant tailgater’s picnicware and bring a lawn chair to sit at fieldside. A walk in the woods is not a bad thing from time to time and there’s a network of shaded, lowland trails at Melville Ponds, a campground just above the Melville yacht basin. The color-coded trails loop through 130 acres with small, fishable freshwater ponds, stepping stones that cross rambling brooks and paths meandering alongside miniature waterfalls. There are also easy trails at the Oakwood Forest and Meadow, 40-acres of preserved land off Carriage Drive. It is a particularly old forest with easy hikes; the meadow is great for bird-watching. Both hiking areas are free.

Prudence Island
A daily ferry runs to Prudence Island out of Bristol, and it’s probably easier to hop the boat for the 20-minute ride over than it is to find a place to anchor your own vessel. The good anchorages are tight and often packed with small power boats. Kayakers love paddling around here, too. Daytripping visitors land Prudence to hike the network of scenic trails through the conservation lands, backpacking everything they need for the day, and, of course, packing their trash out. The island, just 7 miles long and 1.4 miles wide, is the third largest island in the Bay. It is 62% ecological sanctuary and the remainder is a refuge for a mere handful of year-round residents. It’s a serene island. Beware of ticks and observe the posted restrictions to areas where wildlife and habitats are protected. Along with Patience, Hope and Dyer Islands, Prudence is part of the Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Sanctuary.

Bristol Harbor Settled: 1680 Population: About 22,500, but with a village personality Claim to Fame: A connection to a dearly loved Hollywood actor — the late Anthony Quinn. Quinn lived on tony Popasquash Point during his last years, quietly enjoying small town life in Bristol as the “Picasso-in-residence.” Quinn’s expressive paintings and sculptures are on exhibit in galleries worldwide, and his scholarship program continues to raise and distribute funds for art education. He died in 2001 and was buried in a family plot here.

One cruising guide observed that on the charts, the harbor looks like an open lobster claw. To anyone at the helm: be sure to steer clear of the shoals and those sneaky rocks northwest of Walker Island. The lay of the land, with Hog Island and the tiny Castle Island on the approach, makes Bristol Harbor quite picturesque. The way the broad green lawns of many estates spread down to the sea is so elegant, and the abundance of beautifully restored wooden yachts in the mooring basin is more proof of the community’s affluence. There is public dockage.

The residents of Bristol may well be the most Yankee Doodle Dandy folks in America. Their Fourth of July Parade, dating back to 1785, is the oldest celebration in the nation. Every year, just before the big day, workers paint a wide red, white and blue line down the middle of Hope Street, the town’s main thoroughfare. (The department of transportation officials gave up insisting on double yellow long ago.)
The porches and porticos on street’s stately homes are all draped with huge buntings and oversized flags and every shop-owner goes full tilt with patriotic window displays. Fireworks on July 3 begin the festivities, with the 225th annual parade stepping of at 10:30 a.m. on Monday July 5, so as not to block access to Sunday services.

Bristol’s contributions to the art and science of yacht design and its dedication to the boatbuilding profession is the focus of the collections and exhibits at the muchacclaimed Herreshoff Marine Museum, established in 1971. The Herreshoff family, some of whom are usually around the grounds on any given day, built several America’s Cup winners, however, that achievement is only a fraction of their grand legacy. Smaller vessels may request permission to use the museum’s guest slips at their private dock.

Independence Park runs along the waterfront, and is a nice spot to do absolutely nothing. Stroll up to the Beehive Café on Franklin Street. It’s so tiny you’ll miss it if you walk too fast. Head for the tables out on the roof deck. For dinner, eat out of doors. Try the picnic tables at Quito’s Restaurant (it began as a fish market, so you know the seafood will be great). It’s on the water on Thames Street. Or just across the way, try the al fresco seats at Redlefsen’s Rotisserie & Grill. Their menu is described as “eclectic global cuisine.” The grocery and hardware stores are just beyond the north end of the downtown strip.

Bristol has a lot to offer visitors. There are many superb, yet intimate, restaurants and friendly natives who actually walk up and down the town’s nostalgic streets on their daily errands. There are interesting Shops and one-of-a-kind museums. Bristol somehow gives you the pleasant sensation that you’re on a vintage movie set, and that actors with hometown appeal, say, someone like Jimmy Stewart or Henry Fonda could be among the passersby.

Places On The Road Out Of Town
It’s not terribly far to walk from the harborfront over to the Blithewold Mansion, Gardens and Arboretum. The house tour is all-things Victorian and quite interesting, and the horticultural work on the grounds is outstanding. In the opposite direction, walk a few blocks north to Colt State Park. It’s huge – over 450 acres – and breathtakingly beautiful no matter where you look. Nearby, is an old 1790s salt-marsh farmstead. Coggeshall Farm Museum is a living history site. We like the oxen, and kids love watching the wooly sheep being sheared.

Wickford Harbor Settled: 1637 Township: North Kingstown Claim to Fame: A connection to one of America’s bestselling authors—the late John Updike. His 1984 novel (later a film, stage musical and television series), The Witches of Eastwick is a comedy horror fantasy and they say that Updike modeled the fictional town in the book on the village of Wickford. As far we know there never have been any covens of such wicked and wanton witches around these parts.

In Wickford, the harbor is the village, consisting of three or four dockside streets, a tiny bridge, and a side lane or two.There is an assortment of well-above-average gift shops and boutiques, antiques shops, a haberdashery; there are enough businesses to keep you busy for an entire day of window-shopping and browsing, and there are a number of places for a wonderful meal or gourmet snack. Those not cooking on board will want to step off the boat through the door, literally, into Beach Rose Café which is right at the dock. One of the more memorable historic sites to see in Wickford is the Old St. Paul’s Church, also called the Old Narragansett Church, dating to 1707. Typical local directions — “you get there from Church Lane, heading to the far end of a flagstone walk down a long greenway.” Inside are box pews, Palladian windows and interesting architectural details of the era. In July and August usually, the old meeting house is open for tours and the docents there can tell you everything about the building and town’s colorful past. From there, walk over to the commercial fishing boat wharf, and then head back up along the other side of the tree-lined street to the bridge around the corner. You’ve done the whole village.

In July the town hosts a wonderful art festival– this will be the 47th year. It’s a juried show, meaning artists can only show their work at this event if they’re determined to be exceptional by the show’s panel of judges. About 250 artists set up in every nook and cranny along the sidewalks all through town. In September there is an International Scrimshaw Competition hosted by Mystic Scrimshanders.

You won’t feel jostled by crowds in Wickford because there aren’t any, except on the art show weekend. There are many places, including a tiny park in the center of the village, where people just sit and watch the world go by. Wickford village is so small that it often seems busier than it really is, but folks on the sidewalks and in the shops are always friendly and happily chit-chat with strangers.

Places On The Road Out Of Town
Visit the Gilbert Stuart Birthplace and Museum. Stuart was one of 18th-century America’s master portrait artists, perhaps best known for his paintings of George Washington. Down a country lane, the site was an old snuff mill. History buffs will truly appreciate the tours and programs at Smith’s Castle — which is, of course, not really a castle.

It is a very early colonial-era trading post and family homestead overlooking the water. It has been restored with excellent eye for detail and authenticity. The way the house and land overlooks the Bay beyond is especially pleasing. The view from there makes you want to stay forever.

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