Newport RI to Mystic, CT

May 11, 2025, WOW what a difference a day makes. We had a very calm exit from Sakonnet marina and headed for Newport where we had reservations right in downtown at Bowens Wharf. Newport is a touristy town with shops, restaurants and bars on every wharf. It was beautiful day with temperatures in the 70’s. and also Mother’s Day. Every restaurant, bar and tourist shop were filled to capacity with families enjoying themselves. It really was a festival atmosphere. Newport is a seafaring town that is true to its roots

We met up with Colin and Amanda Kennedy for drinks and dinner near Bowens Wharf. Colin and Amanda have been instrumental in us doing this trip. We can’t thank them enough for doing the pre offer inspection of the boat, housing us during the August – September 2024 timeframe, taking pictures of the boat after the boat was lifted for winter storage and delivering our packages to us on rainy, blustery days.

May 12, 2025, we left Newport around 10:15 and headed for the Atlantic Ocean and Mystic, Connecticut. On our way out we caught sight of one tall ship berthed by the old fort and a second one passed us in the channel. I wonder if there will be a tall shop festival somewhere for Memorial Day or was this an everyday sighting?

We rounded Point Judith which marks the beginning of Narragansett Bay and headed for Connecticut. We could see Block Island off our port side (to our left) which brought our thoughts back to all the Power Squadron navigation courses that use the 1210 chart of the area as a teaching aid. We did not have a chance to go out there on a shakedown cruise before starting the loop cruise, so it will have to be on our bucket list when we return.

The Atlantic Ocean laid down and allowed us a smooth transit. We did find a bit of adverse current that slowed us down delaying our arrival into Mystic Connecticut. The town of Mystic is about 3 miles up the Mystic River. We don’t plan to do much looking around this trip as we have visited the area by car in the past. The Mystic Sea port is here with whaler sailing ships of old. This will probably be the last sunny day for the week. Tomorrow, we go to Essex CT and will spend 2 days there exploring.