Potter Cove - June 6, 2026

Getting ready to launch at Potter Cove

The weather has been sunny and hot, so I decided to take my sea kayak to the RICKA trip at Potter Cove. This was a joint trip for the Flatwater and Sea Kayak groups.

The RICKA Sea Kayak group assigns levels to trips, not to paddlers. Trip levels range from Level 1 (no previous skill required) to Level 5 (long distances in extremely challenging conditions). It is recommended that newer paddlers start off with Level 2 before moving up to Level 3. Level 2 trips tend to be protected coastal paddling, while Level 3 trips tend to be open water with bigger swells, longer crossings and beach landings.

Heading out from Potter Cove

This would be a level 2 trip. The plan was to put in at Potter Cove and follow the shore though Jamestown Harbor to the Dumplings and back. We had 15 boats for the trip, and it was nice to see several new faces. We had a couple of folks who attended our “Get to Know RICKA Night”, and a couple who were just looking to check things out. Winds were from the SW 10 to 15 kt with waves of 1-2 feet and a high tide at 1:00 p.m.

We launched at around 9:30 into the calm water of Potter Cove. Potter Cove is a long sandy beach facing the East Passage of Narragansett Bay. The beach and Taylor Point, which is just south of the beach, are both part of a town park that is popular for swimming, fishing and boating, so parking can be difficult. On days when the wind blows out of the south, which is most days, Potter Cove is somewhat protected. We knew the conditions would change once we got around Taylor Point.

Taylor Point and the Newport Bridge

As you round Taylor Point the amazing view of the Newport Bridge rises up in front of you. The Newport Bridge was completed in 1969 and is the longest suspension bridge in New England. The main span is over 1,600 feet long, and the road deck is more 200 feet above the water. The towers themselves are over 400 feet tall. Its massive size allowed large Navy ships to access the old Newport Navy Base. The big ships are gone, but Naval Station Newport with the Naval War College is now the Navy’s premiere learning center.

As expected, the wind and waves picked up as we came around Tylor Point. We paddled under the Newport Bridge and into Jamestown Harbor with some light chop and a strong headwind. We took a break near the East Ferry Boat Ramp to make sure everyone was feeling OK. From there we headed out into Jamestown Harbor. It is early in the season, so the mooring field was still relatively empty. You could see the masts of large sailboats still sitting onshore in the nearby boatyards.

Clingstone - the House on a Rock

At the southern end of Jamestown Harbor lies the Dumplings – a grouping of rocks just off Bull Point. These jagged, granite boulders were deposited at the end of the last ice age and resemble dumplings in soup. They are often covered by cormorants and other shore birds.

The most prominent of the Dumplings is Clingstone or the "House on the Rock". This massive post and beam home was built in 1905 and has been recently restored.

Into the open water of the East Passage

We took a break at an isolated beach on the southern end of Jamestown Harbor with great views of the Newport Bridge, the Dumplings and the sailboats out in the East Passage.

After the break we paddled out around Bull Point to get a better sense of what it is like to paddle in the open water of Narraganset Bay. We paddled into a strong headwind with 1-2 foot rolling waves. We paddled around the small island off Bull Point before heading back into Jamestown Harbor.

Newport Bridge on the trip back

From there, we headed back in the more exposed water at the edge of the mooring field. We now had a tail wing with 1-2 foot rolling waves The views of the Newport Bridge were amazing, but you definitely needed to pay attention to your paddling. Larger boat wake is also more common in the open water, and we had a couple of 2-3 foot waves come through. Everyone made it back fine.

As we came around Tylor Point into Potter Cove it was like a different world with flat, calm water. We helped each other get boats and gear back to the cars before getting on our way after another great trip.

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My Pictures

Potter Cove from Rhode island Blueways