Newport RI
VulcanSpirit
Richard & Alison Brunstrom
Thu 7 Jul 2016 12:41
Somewhat ludicrously we had come here partly to get our liferaft serviced. Readers may recall that this was prohibitively expensive in Australia, so we bought a cheaper Chinese raft there as well, as our good raft was out of test. Of course, when we took it in for service it performed superbly (this is a top flight WInslow raft which is vacuum sealed and therefore lasts for ever, but at least we have had peace of mind!). Here it is in the workshop; it has loads of super features which make all the difference - being American this even includes a mini-bible in the emergency pack. I think that if God was really looking after us then we wouldn't need the raft in the first place, but then I totally fail to understand religion.
Newport is famous for its 'cottages' as previously recounted in this Blog some years ago. Here is one that we missed last time round, 'The Elms' built in the late 1890s as the height of modernity, with flush toilets and electric lights, modelled as you can see on a French chateau. These houses lasted about 60 years, becoming redundant almost with the lifetime of their creators as the world changed. Built as an escape from New York for the summer season for rich industrialists (in this case a coal magnate) they became white elephants as soon as global travel became available. But just astounding as a demonstration of incredible wealth in the hands of the few - the Gilded Age.
Newport also has a wooden ship building school, and as part of it this sole remaining private yacht from the Gilded Age is being restored. Or rather, it is being rebuilt, totally, to an incredible standard. This thing is huge - look at the stepladder for scale, and entirely of wood.
While we were there the World Extreme Sailing series came for a visit. Here are a couple of the competitors screaming past our dinghy in light winds:
And there is the world class Newport Shipyard. Here is Commanche, one of the fastest yachts in the world, and winner of the last Sydney-Hobart. Just look at that deck layout:
Here is a gigantic mast being serviced. The carbon fibre shrouds are the size of fire hoses, and you can actually get inside the bottom of the mast - see the door!
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