Fw: 9 June, 2015. Newport Rhode Island. 41.29.15N 71.19.16W
Alcedo
David Batten
Tue 16 Jun 2015 11:13
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8th
June, up very early as not meant to have spent the night where we were and
motored out of the Mystic River at about 06.30. Sunny but very cold.
Motor sailing as usual to start with, through the Sugar Reef gap off Watch Hill
point with Anthony in the galley preparing breakfast. By 09.00, full sails
and wind at 60 degrees off the bow, going well but really cold with not much sun
and disappointingly like sailing in England. Our cold weather gear is
somewhat limited and getting rather too much exposure for anyone’s liking.
We did manage to find a mooring in the harbour, courtesy of Oldport Moorings,
with an excellent ferry service even if it did seem a bit pricey at 60$ for the
mooring and 3$ per person per ferry ride. So safely attached to the
bottom, we left Alcedo in an increasing and increasingly cold wind in the very
mixed company of the ultra expensive and smart super and racing yachts to the
tatty and small, while we explored Newport and did the cliff walk which goes
along the front of millionaires’ row.   The fort at the entrance to Newport, taken on our way out not
in!
The start of the Cliff Walk
Our walk took us straight past The Breakers, the Vanderbilts’ summer house
and so we diverted in to enjoy an excellent tour with in inclusive audio guide,
but no photographs in the house. A very impressive mansion, very well
restored and the audio guide gave a fascinating insight into the story of the
Vanderbilts and rich Americans of the late 19th Century. We then
made our way back to the boat down Bellevue Avenue, “millionaires’ road” which
is a must do on any visit to Newport.
  The front entrance of The Breakers, the grandest of the Newport Summer
“Cottages” and the view from the patio at The Breakers, still maintained by the
Preservation Society of Newport County.
  The ceiling of the covered part of the patio at The
Breakers. The Skipper
walking down one of the Newport streets. Searching for missing items in
the inaccessible locker space.
The following day was dreary beyond belief, cold and foggy, so at times the
other side of the harbour disappeared from view. The crew, with the
exception of Anthony, spent the morning reseating a leaking turning block and
drilling into an inaccessible locker space in the hopes of finding a passport,
some credit cards and Jane’s missing dollars. The credit cards did emerge,
but sadly no passport or money other than a few euros. Meanwhile Anthony
had found fresh lobsters for supper, which he cooked in the new saucepan
purchased by the K-Hs for just such an occasion. While the lobsters
were cooling down after lunch, we visited another fabulous Newport Summer
Cottage, The Marble House, built for and under the command of Alva Vanderbilt
after her marriage to William Vanderbilt, the younger brother of the Vanderbilt
who had The Breakers built. Money being no object, it has the most
fabulous interior with marble walls throughout the downstairs rooms and again,
we were supplied with an excellent audio guide.
  Marble House from the lawn leading to the sea
view.
Rosecliff, another impressive summer cottage, seen from Bellevue Avenue.
After seeing how the other half lived, we stocked up on fresh provisions at
the Stop and Shop at the downtown end of Bellevue Avenue and then repaired to
the boat for an excellent lobster supper.
Tomorrow should be better weather and we are heading for Onset with its
narrow entrance off a fast flowing tide down the end of Buzzard’s Bay.
Alcedo.
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