We left Block Island around noon so we wouldn’t have to buck the tides going into Narragansett Bay. There was a small craft advisory out for the entire area with 4 to 6 foot waves predicted out of the southeast. Since we were headed north to Melville and the wind was out of the south, we figured it wouldn’t be too bad. The test came when we cleared the wave shadow of Block Island and we went up and down like a roller coaster. The hulls of nearby sailboats would disappear from view as they entered the trough of the swells. Nevertheless, the waves were long period swells so they were no real problem. Unfortunately, the wind was only 5 to 10 knots directly out of the south so we had to motor – we’ve sure done a lot of motoring this trip so far.
Coming past Newport, there was a riot of boats from all directions! We really had to watch our P’s and Q’s to safely get through. Melville is about 10 miles north of Newport and we found a dock for tomorrow when they’ll work on our genset. Meanwhile, we toured the area and found the usual exotic boats on the Hinckley grounds. I though the one pictured first was pretty sleek but it couldn’t hold a candle to the last one we found that has a picture with Ann and Hoolie standing in front of the keel. If you look closely, you’ll see that it has no propeller. There’s a slot in the bottom that the propeller descends from, otherwise it’s tucked up inside, no drag! As you walk around the boat, the rudder seems to disappear when viewed edge on, it’s so thin! All the surfaces that we could reach were as smooth as glass. We are rather small potatoes in this marina.
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