Aug 26-31 - Newport, RI

After an easy and enjoyable run from Onset, MA, we entered Newport Harbor with a very brisk wind and a strong current. From our last entry on Newport, you may remember that Newport is big boat land, plus it is a very popular destination for every size boat. What you may ask, do I mean by "big boats"? Grand Fromage is 65 feet and in most marinas we are one of the bigger boats. In Newport, the big boats are a 100 feet, 120 feet, 180 feet and more. Grand Fromage looks like a dingy parked next to these boats. Also these big boats all have uniformed staff swirling about doing every yachtly task.

When we are close to our marina, Robert always gets on the radio to notify the office of our imminent arrival. At my request as the deck hand, he asks whether we will have a port or starboard tie up and whether the dock is fixed or floating. Robert also requests a dock hand to take our lines and tie us up at the dock. We then put on our earphones and I go down to the deck to prepare the ropes and fenders. After months on board Grand Fromage with many trials and errors, not all of them pretty, we have evolved a workable and practical routine to bring our boat safely into port.

Following our routine, I had set up our lines and fenders for a starboard tie up. As we approached the dock, we saw not one, but several dock hands waiting our arrival. The dock hands were not only several places on the dock, but a couple were even on other boats. The common denominator was all dock hands were holding up fenders to protect the dock or another boat. Obviously more than one boat had previously done a bit of dock or boat bashing in the attempt to turn the corner. Uh oh. Another egad moment. Add a good size gulp to that.

We quickly became aware that we were to bring Grand Fromage halfway down a fairway and then turn left into a very narrow slot between two docks filled with huge boats. At this point, halfway down the right dock, Robert was to bring Grand Fromage sideways into our starboard tie up with about two feet to spare on all sides. Okie dokie. After coming to terms with the reality that I couldn't hide under the bed until it was all over, I tied more fenders to the port side of Grand Fromage, plus added a couple more to the bow. I held a big fender and stationed myself where I could protect another boat if need be. However, Robert is quite the captain. For all the wind, current, big boats, narrow fairways, he safely put Grand Fromage into our slip without coming close to any of the obstacles. Yeah, Captain Robert!!!!

Newport, RI is an interesting and fun stop with many things to see. We had spent one night there earlier in the summer on our way to Boston. In case you missed it, here is a link to the blog entry for our first visit to Newport. For this visit, we planned more days for sightseeing. To facilitate this, we bought multi day passes for the mansions so we could pace ourselves, mansion-wise. We also bought multi day bus tickets to get around town.

Below are some of the mansions we toured, very impressive. However we found ourselves saying over and over "this is over-the-top, "you've got to be kidding", "holy moly", "alright to visit but I wouldn't want to live here", "I couldn't live here, I'd have to behave"....that sort of thing. Click here for the Mansion Society webpage with more pictures.

The last mansion we visited was my favorite. I could definitely imagine living there. For starters, the family that owned it was not part of the ritzy-bitzy set who owned the huge mansions. This last mansion was, in my mind, a home and not a gigantic stage set for ritualistic society drama reenactments.

There is a lot more to Newport, RI than mansions. It contains more colonial homes than any other place in the USA. It is a wonderful place to stroll and admire the homes and the scenery. There are also many musical, artistic and other cultural events to enjoy.

One last story about Newport and culture....one evening after dinner we decided to go for a stroll. We had just left the marina when we passed a large tent that appeared to be getting ready for an event. We stopped to inquire what was going on. We were told it was the last event of the season for the Newport comedy series. The performer was Frank Caliendo and there were a few tickets remaining. We strolled into the tent and enjoyed an hilarious, delightful evening.