Newport, RI

Courtney (soon to be 11) - Kelli (the mom) - Sydney (8) on Tequila on 9-7-09


This has been a 5 day lay-over in one spot, so we've had time to "experience"Newport and the harbor. What an experience!!!! Newport is considered the center of yachting in the Northeast, and it's easy to understand why. The harbor is filled with more sailboats than I've ever seen in one harbor. There are many 12-meter racers from the classic America's Cup era. The New York Yacht Club occupies a beautiful mansion here and sailing traditions are strong-------cannons are fired at 8 am and sundown to alert crews to raise and lower their flags; the race committee wears slacks, blue blazers, and ties to monitor races; the Newport Sailing School has students zipping in and out of the mooring field on fast little J-22 boats.


But, it's the big yachts (make that mega-yachts) that are breathtaking. How important does someone need to be and how much money does it take to buy a yacht and put a small helicopter on the roof? I can't begin to imagine it. As we dingied by, we saw 2 of these "monsters" from Georgetown, Cayman Islands. We wondered if we had met them on one of our visits. :-)


I'd say the highlight of our stay here has been taking Kelli and her daughters (Courtney and Sydney) out for their first sail. Kelli is the daughter of some old-time Michigan friends, and we've know her since she was about 7 years old. They were all good sports even though the waves made them a little queasy. Kelli had a million questions about daily living on a sail boat.....


*Q-Why doesn't water come out of the tap?

A-We are out of water and then the pump has to be turned on. (Three days at the mooring
completely empties our two water tanks.)


*Q-How do you do laundry?

A-We take it to a laundromat by bike or by dingy.


*Q-How often do you grocery shop and how do you get the groceries back to the boat?

A-Right now it's been three weeks. (Don will never believe that I can stay away from the
grocery store that long!) That's why we're out of everything. They got crackers and
peanut butter for lunch. :-(


*Q-What do you do all day?

A- Lou sails, navigates, reads-----I read, help a little, fix meals (skimpy as they may be)
While we're in a port we attend to the necessary tasks like getting water and fuel, finding
showers and Internet spots, doing laundry, etc. It's a pretty simple life.


Today we'll take the boat launch into town, ride our bikes to the Information Center where we'll catch the purple bus to Walmart and a grocery store for bread and fruit, find a place to do the blog and read email, and then return to the boat for a hot dog roast for dinner.


On Wednesday our friends, Bill and Karen Murray, will be arriving from Charlevoix with our car for a few days of sailing. Our plan is to go to Martha's Vineyard and maybe Buzzards Bay with them. Then we'll take the boat to Bristol and get it ready for winter.