In which a crab attacks us from above ...
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| The plan for the day! |
I swear that I was of sound mind and body when I agreed to get up at early! There is a lot to be said for comfort, so if the waves/wind are better early - I'm all in. There are a number of small islands just off the coast in front of us and a deep channel called “The Race” and the currents are very strong, so after consultation with the tide/current charts, Rick decides the best time to go is about 6 am - so 5:30am it is.
We had started the motor and were ready push off when we heard a large crash and some creepy scuttling. We looked cautiously out to see a shell-shocked (hee hee) crab sitting on the back deck. Apparently a seagull had caught a crab and dropped it on the boat, hoping to crack it open…Rick very bravely fought it into the water, using a boat hook. What a story that crab will have to tell the grand-crabs.
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| It's like Sharknado - When Crabs Fall From the Sky!! |
Today we will push into open ocean, no longer behind Long Island - Rick says we will 'have to pay close attention to weather and waves'. WTH does he think we do on a daily basis??!!!
It was the perfect kind of day - not too hot, and with the sun shining. Taylor Swift’s palatial summer house came by up on the bluff at Watch Hill, off to our port side. Apparently she has a 4th of July party every year so they must be getting ready for it now - we will have to have William check the mail for our invite.
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| It's a working boat - see how happy the birds are. |
We pass Point Judith and turn the corner into Narragansett Bay and Newport harbor at about 10 am. (It's literally BLOWN ME AWAY how much one can get done if one gets up at 5:30am. It's like there is a whole day hidden in the day!! Does everyone know about this? I know Kim must - since she has always gotten up at some awful hour. And Bob Iger - as we know from reading his book.) All of a sudden it was like driving into an airport parking lot for boats. There were boats absolutely everywhere - we were surrounded by gigantic cruising yachts, multi-masted sailing vessels, marina launches, other trawlers (I now see why some people call them turtles - they do kind of look that way), and kids learning to sail in tiny bathtub-like sailboats.
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| I'm not sure you can see this, but it made me giggle. There is no wind right now, so this kid is sitting on the side of the boat swiping ineffectually at the water with an oar! Kid - I have SO been there. Slow as the trawler is, I've been EVEN MORE bored on a sailboat before... |
We follow the channel into the harbor, call the harbor master on the radio to ask for a mooring and a small launch shows up to lead us to said mooring ball! Rick acts like I have never done this before, and like I am going to crash into another boat at the super speed (less than 1mph) I am going. To be fair, there IS a boat about every 30 yards. The mooring balls are tight.
I will say that the 'old' Rick would have worried for days that we would not get a ball in this busy harbor, but he is quite a bit more relaxed this year. Consequently, things went smoothly. Once settled and lunched, we put down the dinghy and head over to “town”. Newport is a touristy place and for some reason on a Thursday afternoon in June the streets were just packed. We had to dodge our way through the throngs on the main street (Thames St) to find our first landmark - Pelham street just off the main thoroughfare, which is the first street with gas lights in the US.
More importantly we find the supermarket where we stock up on 'essentials'! We get eggs, milk, some vegetables (to prevent scurvy-so far so good) Pringles, feta and olives, a new sink water filter (which made zero difference)...
Featured boat name of the day - like so much in Newport it's totally over the top and obnoxious.
The sun sets over Newport harbor!
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