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by Charlie Cassidy
The most ambitious trip I’ve taken to
date was a circumnavigation of Aquidneck
Island. Called “Rhode Island” on the
charts, Aquidneck contain s
the towns of Portsmouth, Middletown and Newport. As
I started early at 7AM (early for me anyway) on a clear
day in late June, the winds were light, about 3 to 5
knots from the S. Not exactly great for making time
down the bay, but I was able to clear the southern tip
of Prudence with only one pair of tacks. The winds
quit when I got there. Fifteen minutes later I was
dropping anchor off Dutch Island to eat breakfast and
call my wife on the cell phone. Gotta love that 50 HP
Mercury.
Taking a set of pictures of Dutch Island Light, I got the
idea to do a lighthouse tour of the bay -- something I
a lways wanted to do. So I continued under motor to Beavertail Light on the
southern tip of Connanicut Island.
From there, I motored across the
entrance to the bay to get a glimpse of
Castle Hill Light -- the local home of the
Coast Guard. A couple of racing boats
were heading out for some tune up
match racing in Rhode Island Sound
just as the wind was picking up again . Time for
more sailing. The winds were 8 to 10 knots
from the SW, perfect to get the boat
moving while enabling me to still focus on
pictures. I misjudged and needed to do a
short tack to clear Brenton Reef, then was
able to bear off to a beam reach along the
southern end of the island. Going further
east then I would have otherwise, I took a
long distance shot of Sakonnet Point Light. I was tempted to head up and
keep going to Cuttyhunk, but instead stuck to my plan and jibbed to begin
the trip north up the Sakonnet River.
I sailed lazily downwind at about 4 knots for about an
hour and a half, eating lunch and getting a picture of
Almy Rock Light. I could understand why gentlemen
don’t go to weather. Suddenly, the wind doubled in
strength and shifted to the WSW just off McCorrie
Point. After an exciting few minutes that felt much
longer, I managed to get the main reefed and made a
mental note to look into jiffy reefing. The ride up the
“river” was now managable but a lot more exciting on a
broad reach at 5 to 5.5 knots. Off Gould Island, I took the sails down for the
trip through the mooring field between the old and new bridges. Between
the current, the Optimist fleet of teenagers that were taking a lesson and the
other boat  traffic, I was glad to motor.
Once safely through, up went the sails. The wind had
continued to become more westerly, which made trip across
the top of the island and under the Mt. Hope Bridge more of a
tacking exercise then it usually is. On the other hand, it made
for a nice beam reach ride down the East Passage and back to
the marina. By 5:30, Seven C’s was safely back in its slip and I
was toasting an excellent day with a well-earned beer.
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