The Newport guide to tourists
2002-10-11

It's a cold and wet afternoon, grey, drismal (combination of dreary and dismal). Work is so slow that I actually looked forward to going through the files looking for an old photomask. Anything to stay awake. I almost nodded off twice already and coffee was definately on the agenda for lunch.

The forecast for tomorrow is for more rain at times but warmer. I can handle a bit of rain. The trip to Newport is abotu 12 miles. We are supposed to have 10 to 20 knot easterly winds so we'll make it under two hours. We'll probably motor out of Greenwich Bay and then put up the sails for a nice fast beam reach. A reach is when the wind is coming from the side of the boat and it is fastest and easiest point of sail. Just basicly point the boat and go. Nice...

Well sail down the whole length of Prudence Island. Thats about 8 miles. The island is mostly park but the middle section has a few hundred houses. We have to pass Hope Island too, another old fort turned into a park that has been taken over by birds. The old telephone poles with out wires, the beat up docks and the exposed bunkers still stick up through the brambles and underbrush. During the big one, WW2 the Navy use to store ammunition on all the islands. That way if something blew up, it wouldn't take out somebodies neighborhood. A good plan...

Past Hope is the Jamestown shore and the million dollar homes that sit on the water. Most of these things are huge, with manacured lawns and lots of windows. One place is built to look like a pagoda and is painted in reds yellows and greens. I never see anybody in the yards looking at the water. I wonder if they get use to the view so much they just take it for granted?

Gould island is on the left and is still owned by the navy. There is an old WW2 building on the end that has been undergoing extensive renovations. They still do torpedo testing there and occasionally they close part of the bay while the tests go on. I haven't seen on in several years now. The Naval War college with its imposing granite and brick buildings is just past Gould on the Newport Shore.

Another mile or so down the bay is the Newport Bridge. Newport is a suspension bridge painted a pale green. At night, a strand of newly added lights make the cables shine like the diamonds of the old dowagers that still live in some of the "summer cottages" on Newports southern shore. It's a pretty bridge, and I never get tired of looking at it. There are big cracks in the foundation that have been filled with some kind of black goop. I always wonder about that goop, but I guess the bridge guys think it is strong enough.

When we pass under it always looks like the mast will hit the bottom. It won't. I'm only 65 or so feet from the water to the mast top. The bridge is 138 feet above the water. Still, people who join us for the fisrt time usually hold their breath. I won't say anything to put them at ease. The wondering is part of the adventure.

Just after the bridge is Rose Island. The lighthouse there was restored by volunteers and is now rented out as a bed and breakfast. As part of the rental you have to care for the light and fog horn. Pretty cool.

Directly ahead are Goat Island and Fort Adams. The only fighting that ever happened at Fort Adams was by the occasional drunken fan at the Newport Jazz or Folk festivals which are held there. Brian and I climbed the fence there once to peruse all the tunnels and buildings that are closed to the public. We were chased by the park police, but we escaped. I had some great pictures, but alas, they were lost in one of the great basement beaver floods.

Newport harbor is big, protected and loaded with money. The New York Yacht club has thier other "club house" in a giant mansion right on the water. M.E. and I have been there a few times and it is so her place and so not mine. She loves dressing up and fancy stuff. I'm more of a jeans kind of guy :-) Jeans are not looked upon kindly by the New York crowd. Blue blazers, white shirts, tan dockers and boat shoes, no socks and you fit right in.

Ida Lewis and Newport Yacht Clubs and more marinas than you can count also share the harbor. You'll always see the yachts of fameous people there. Paul McCartney, Jimmy Dean, Walter Cronkite, anybody with a boat and money ends up in Newport at some point or another.

The Newport YC is a fairly small place located right at the head of the harbor. The inside docks are probably the most protected place in the harbor. The outside docks suck in the usual summer southerly. The first floor has the kitchen, bathrooms and main hall. Upstairs is the bar and the deck with the best view and easily the best drink prices in town. When the weather is good, there is no better place than that deck... any where.

Because it is located on the corner, on the weekend, any boat going around the harbor has to pass right by. It is fun to watch the sailboats that have been easily sailing down wind with too much sail up hit that corner and wipe out with the resulting fire drill that follows. We'll just smile, point, add insult to injury and sip our drinks. Another day in paridise.

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