Harbor of Refuge – July 18, 2018

East Jetty at the Harbor of Refuge

After a few days of paddling in Point Judith Pond, I decided to head over to Camp Cronin to paddle the Harbor of Refuge. The tide was low but coming in, and the wind was from the north blowing across the harbor.  

Despite the construction of the Point Judith Light (c. 1810/1857), conditions remained treacherous around Point Judith, and a Federal project was initiated to construct over 3-miles of jetties to provide a secure breakwater refuge for shipping. Work began in 1890 with construction of the east (3,640 feet) and west (2,240 feet) jetties, and was completed in 1910 with construction the V-shaped center jetty (6,970 feet).  A 1,500 foot opening was left for the east passage, and a 1,200 foot opening was left for the west passage.

Breakwater to the Harbor of  Refuge

While the jetties were originally constructed to provide a refuge for ships traveling between Boston and New York during bad weather, they also protected the newly constructed Port of Galilee. In 1910, the Town of South Kingstown and the State of Rhode Island dredged the current Breachway and stabilized it with stone jetties. 

Then, in the 1930's, the State of Rhode Island dredged an anchorage basin just inside the Breachway and built wharves to create a port for large, ocean-going fishing vessels. This allowed the Galilee to become one of the largest fishing ports on the east coast

Breaks in the rocks on the East Jetty

During World War II, much of the land on Point Judith was part of Fort Greene - named for Revolutionary war hero Nathanael Greene. Huge sixteen inch guns were located in the area now known as Fisherman's Memorial State Park to protect the west side of Narragansett Bay. Smaller fortifications were located along the shoreline. Fort Greene was part of a network of forts protecting Narragansett Bay including Fort Adams in Newport, Fort Greble on Dutch Island, Fort Weatherill in Jamestown, and Fort Hamilton on Rose Island.

There were surprisingly few fishermen on the east jetty as I headed out. The sea was relatively calm behind the breakwater with small wind-blown waves, but I crossed the east passage in 1-2 foot rolling waves – always the most stressful part of the trip.

Waves breaking on the East Jetty

The east side of the center jetty is in much worse condition than the west. Huge boulders were pushed aside leaving large gaps in the seawall. It's hard to imagine that water can move those huge rocks, but seeing the waves crash on the rocks give you some idea of the power. I paddled by the cormorants and other shore birds resting on the seawall, and got some pictures of the waves breaking on the rocks. Surprisingly, I found a small sandbar about a mile offshore in the tip of the “V” in the center jetty, and stopped for a picture.

It was easy to paddle down the west jetty into the wind, but a little more difficult paddling in the crosswind across the beach back to Camp Cronin.

Taking a break on the sandbar a mile from shore

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My Pictures

Camp Cronin from Rhode Island Blueways