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by Charlie Cassidy
A favorite activity for us on a summer
day is a trip to the beach on Prudence
Island. After a leisurely breakfast
(usually bagels and coffee from Dunkin’
Donuts in the cockpit),  we’ll power over to the beach from the marina. It
takes about a half hour to cover the
short distance to the beach, cruising at
about 10 to 12 knots.
Some days we’ll back down on the beach
and anchor in waist deep water. Pulling
a stern anchor line to shore keeps the
boat pointed into the waves, instead of
swinging on the hook. Other days, we’ll
anchor off a bit in deeper water so that
the kids can dive from the gunwales. They can do this for what seems like
hours – dive in, swim around; climb the ladder, do
it again.
After swimming for a while, we
might explore the shoreline.
Facing the prevailing winds, the
shore collects an interesting
array of shells and driftwood.
Tidal estuaries provide a rich
spawning ground for shrimp,
hermit crabs, blue crabs and
periwinkles just waiting to be
corralled into pens dug in the soft sand. If you’re lucky,
you might get to witness crabs and fish fighting over a
bloodworm drifting in the current. The tidal current can rip through these
small rivers that get deep in the center, so keep an eye on your
non-swimmers.
After lunch, the sea breeze has normally kicked in. The normal south to
southwest direction means that the crew gets plenty of practice tacking down
along the western shore of Prudence. Or if we’r e lazy that day, we might opt
to go west of Hope Island and only tack once.
Either way, a relaxing sail gets us back for
cocktails and a dip in the pool at the marina.
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