Two Weeks on Salt Water - End of Another Great Vacation

Our annual summer vacation at the beach ended today, so packing up to go home trumped paddling this morning. I was able to paddle every day of our two-week vacation. Fog and wind kept me close to the cottage most of the first week. I did get out to a few old favorites the second week including Narrow River, Dutch Harbor, Wickford, Jamestown Harbor and Fort Wetherill. I also led a trip for RICKA on Point Judith Pond during the Blessing of the Fleet. 

South County Vacation from Erik Eckilson on Vimeo.

Wickford Harbor - July 30, 2021

The Castle

With last night’s storm I wasn’t sure what the conditions would be like on the bay this morning, so I decided to head to Wilson Park to paddle the calm protected waters of Wickford Harbor.

Wickford was established in the early 17th century when Roger Williams purchased land from the Narragansett Indians and established a trading post. In 1637, Williams sold the land to Richard Smith who constructed a large fortified house on the site, giving the house its nickname the “Castle”. That house was burned during King Philip's War, and the structure that can be seen from the put-in today was built in 1678.

Wickford Shipyard

Wickford grew to become a major port and shipbuilding center, and today contains a large collection of 17th and 18th century homes. It is a picturesque village whose streets are lined with shops and restaurants, and whose harbor is filled with sailboats and yachts. 

While the backwaters around Rabbit Island and Cornelius Island looked interesting, I headed out into Wickford Harbor and then into Wickford Cove. It was low tide so I was able to paddle under the Brown Street Bridge and into Academy Cove behind the Kayak Centre.

Boston Neck Road (Route 1A) Bridge

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Dutch Island – July 29, 2021

Dutch Harbor from the put-in

After my aborted attempt yesterday, I went back to Dutch Harbor today to paddle out to Dutch Island and the Dutch Island Light. The bay was calm, winds were light and conditions were perfect.

Dutch Island is located in the West Passage of Narragansett Bay and took its name from the Dutch East India Company that established a trading post here around 1636. After the Revolutionary War the island was fortified to protect the West Passage from invasion by sea. In the 1890’s the Army established Fort Greble here. Like Fort Weatherill on the East Passage, Fort Greble was active through World War II and was part of a series of heavily fortified artillery placements that protected Narragansett Bay.

Dutch Island Light

The first lighthouse was completed on the southern tip of Dutch Island in 1826. The original tower was replaced with the current tower in 1857. The lighthouse remained in service until 1979 when it was replaced with a flashing buoy. It then fell into disrepair until 2007 when it was restored by the Dutch Island Lighthouse Society.

I put in at Dutch Harbor and paddled out toward the Dutch Island Light. After snapping a few pictures, I continued around the west side of island before retuning to the take out.

Newport Bridge

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Fort Wetherill – July 28, 2021

View from the put-in

My original plan was to paddle over to Dutch Island, but an iffy forecast and dark clouds to the north had me thinking better of if. I did a quick lap around Dutch Harbor before heading over to Beavertail to take a few pictures. From Beavertail I could see that the bay on the southern side of Jamestown was relatively calm, so I decided to check out Fort Wetherill. 

Fort Wetherill is a former coastal defense battery and training camp located on 100-foot high granite cliffs across the East Passage from Newport and Fort Adams. Shortly after the Revolutionary War, Fort Dumpling was built on this site to protect this strategic access to Newport Harbor and Narragansett Bay. 

View to Mackerel Cove

The site would eventually become Fort Wetherill - part of an extensive coastal defense battery that included Fort Greene on Point Judith, Fort Greble on Dutch Island, Fort Hamilton on Rose Island, and Fort Adams in Newport that protected Narragansett Bay during World War II. 

I put in at the boat ramp at around 8:30. I paddled around out into West Cove but didn’t venture any further out into the bay. Still, the views of Newport and the rocky coast of Jamestown are great.

Cormorant Rock

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Narrow River – July 27, 2021

I needed to get back early for a conference call for work, so I decided to head down to the Narrow River.

The Narrow River, also known at the Pettaquamscutt River, is the tidal extension of the Mattatuxet River. It begins below the Carr Pond Dam at the Gilbert Stuart Birthplace and flows south for approximately 6.3-miles forming the border between South Kingstown and Narragansett before entering Pettaquamscutt Cove and then flowing out into Narragansett Bay.

The Narrow River gets its name from either the long narrow section from Bridgetown Road to Middlebridge Road, or the narrow mouth of the river below the Sprague Bridge where it empties into Narragansett Bay.

I put in at the Pollock Avenue Boat Ramp and paddled up through the “upper” Narrows. This section of the river is lined with boat docks and summer houses. Above and below the Narrows the river opens up again and you can paddle up to the Gilbert Stuart Birthplace or down into Pettaquamscutt Cove and the John H. Chafee National Wildlife Refuge.

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Point Judith Pond Again - July 26, 2021

Horseshoe Point

The kids were visiting and morning fog had rolled in, so I decided to stay local and paddle around the cottage. I took a lot of pictures with the zoom lens to get a long view of the waves and riffles on the water - an interesting effect with the fog. Only later in the day did I hear on the news was that the fog was actually another batch of "smoke-fog" from fires in the west. It did "burn off" later in the day - no pun intended.

Oyster famers commuting to work

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The Narrows - July 25, 2021

Cormorant Rock

The day was clouding up fast, and rain was in the forecast, so I decided to head over to the Narrow River to paddle down to the Narrows. The Narrow River, also known as the Pettaquamscutt River, originates in North Kingstown and flows south into Narragansett Bay above the Narragansett Town Beach.

I put in at the Sprague Bridge on Boston Neck Road, and paddled down to take some pictures at the rocks at Cormorant Point before heading back. Above the bridge is the John H Chafee Wildlife Refuge. Established in 1973, the refuge at Pettaquamscutt Cove includes over 550 acres of wetland that attracts bird of all species. I'll paddle that another day.

Approaching the Narrows

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