Bareboat out of Newport RI

Don S/V ILLusion · Feb 23, 2013

Thoughts about what?
Are you looking for a source of bareboat charters in newport?

Don S/V ILLusion · Feb 23, 2013

Used to live in RI so I'll give you my take as we did the usual circuit often:

Newport one day
Vineyard Haven at least one day (6-8 hr sail from Newport)
Nantucket (6 hrs from VH)
Cuttyhunk (8 hrs from Nantucket)
Back to Newport (6-7 hrs)

Alternatively, there is always Block Island but it doesn't offer the charm or entertainment of the others and every time we went there, all we saw were the same people from our home marina(s).

Since we never chartered, I can't relate any first-hand info. There are a couple of choices but that's all I know.

I miss those places as there is nothing here to compare.

sailorrose31 · Feb 23, 2013

Newport Bare Boat Charters

We chartered a 42 Beneteau this past August from Newport to the surrounding
sights. Great week and the Company was excellent. The boat although almost 10 years
old was in excellent condition. About 3500.00 for the week.

Pat · Feb 24, 2013

rfrye1 said:
I had asked earlier about the Chesapeake. I am also looking at Newport and cruising out to Martha's Vineyard and points between. From what I can tell the sailing distances are greater, but I am going sailing, right?

Anyone cruise that area and can you give me your thoughts?

Thanks. Bob.

I lived in Newport for three years back in 1968-71 and it is one great place to live or visit. we return there often for the Boatshow in Sept. ..also enjoyed a 7 day cruise on the Schooner Shenandoah out of Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts and we enjoyed Cuttyhunk Island, Marthas Vineyard,
the Elizabeth Islands. It is a great area..We rented a Mercury Cougar
convertible on Marthas Vineyard and toured the island for one day of the trip....Great food and drink...you can also visit the great ports on Narragansett Bay, Wickford, then heading West to Stonington, Essex & Mystic.and don't forget Newport itself...great restaurants, taverns, and a lot of fun!...have fun! Can you tell I would like to be there right now?
Patrick

sailorrose31 · Feb 24, 2013

Newport 68 to 71

Pat said:
I lived in Newport for three years back in 1968-71 and it is one great place to live or visit. we return there often for the Boatshow in Sept. ..also enjoyed a 7 day cruise on the Schooner Shenandoah out of Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts and we enjoyed Cuttyhunk Island, Marthas Vineyard,
the Elizabeth Islands. It is a great area..We rented a Mercury Cougar
convertible on Marthas Vineyard and toured the island for one day of the trip....Great food and drink...you can also visit the great ports on Narragansett Bay, Wickford, then heading West to Stonington, Essex & Mystic.and don't forget Newport itself...great restaurants, taverns, and a lot of fun!...have fun! Can you tell I would like to be there right now?
Patrick[/QUOTE

Pat, I was also in Newport from 68 to 71 stationed onboard the USS MYLES C FOX(DD829). Were you Navy then? If so, where were you stationed. I sail a Hunter 31 out of the Chessapeake Bay.

shemandr · Feb 24, 2013

If you travel in the PM when the sea breeze is up, and travel with the tide the sailing times between ports are reasonable. Unfortunately, if you arrive in the afternoon you may not get a mooring (BI & Cuttyhunk) - I don't know about MV and Nantucket. You probably will not have choice spots to anchor. If you have a reservation in a Marina its not such a problem except BI where a reservation doesn't mean much.
I plan to stay more than 1 day at each destination and stay flexible. If you travel every day it's more difficult to get relaxed, you have no weather flexibility and there's the concern of missing your reservation which could lead to bad decisions. I've made some of my own.
I like moorings in general if they are available. Look for lesser known destinations. A really good book re the area is "The Coast of Summer" by Anthony Bailey. I'm not sure you can cruise like that any longer due to rules, and not everyone has his network of contacts. But that's the way it should be done.

Pat · Feb 24, 2013

sailorrose31 said:
Pat said:

I lived in Newport for three years back in 1968-71 and it is one great place to live or visit. we return there often for the Boatshow in Sept. ..also enjoyed a 7 day cruise on the Schooner Shenandoah out of Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts and we enjoyed Cuttyhunk Island, Marthas Vineyard,
the Elizabeth Islands. It is a great area..We rented a Mercury Cougar
convertible on Marthas Vineyard and toured the island for one day of the trip....Great food and drink...you can also visit the great ports on Narragansett Bay, Wickford, then heading West to Stonington, Essex & Mystic.and don't forget Newport itself...great restaurants, taverns, and a lot of fun!...have fun! Can you tell I would like to be there right now?
Patrick[/QUOTE

Pat, I was also in Newport from 68 to 71 stationed onboard the USS MYLES C FOX(DD829). Were you Navy then? If so, where were you stationed. I sail a Hunter 31 out of the Chessapeake Bay.

Click to expand

I was stationed at the Dental Clinic on the base....I was always able to live off-base and could write a book about Newport....1st I lived in Middletown
right on the beach...a pitiful little hut, then in Bonniecrest on the Ocean Drive, then on 3rd st. in the Thomas Townsend House....Yes, i was familiar
with the Myles C. Fox.......I was one very sad puppy when I left Newport.
Luckily, I've been able to get back often.. Pat

bffatcat · Feb 25, 2013

Cruising Newport and the Islands

Newport is my wife`s home town Newport, Cape cod and the Islands are great, but if you are coming this way, downeast is the place to cruise. The coast of Maine with its hundreds of Islands, harbors and coves is considered the best cruising on the East coast (My opinion)

Pat · Feb 25, 2013

Re: Cruising Newport and the Islands

I met my wife in Newport....she was going to school there - Vernon Court...many great
evenings at the Black Pearl and Christie's; also the Frat House...I've not been north of
Andover, Ma. She grew up in Connecticut, which is the reason we get back so often...or the excuse...Pat

captmarlena · Feb 25, 2013

Cruising around Newport.

rfrye1 said:
I had asked earlier about the Chesapeake. I am also looking at Newport and cruising out to Martha's Vineyard and points between. From what I can tell the sailing distances are greater, but I am going sailing, right?

Anyone cruise that area and can you give me your thoughts?

Thanks. Bob.

Hi Bob,

I have cruised that area extensively over the past 25 years and plan to be up there this summer on my cruising boat (not my Catalina).
Make sure you include Block Island. Anchor or grab a mooring in Great Salt Pond. It is an awesome spot. Say "hello" to Ruling Passion, a trimaran cahrter boat and good friends of mine. Great folks. Also, if you go to Pocassett, you can anchor near the back side of Bassetts Island, a real pretty spot.

Bob S · Feb 25, 2013

Don,

Did you sail through Vineyard Sound traveling from Nantucket to Cuttyhunk?

I feel lucky to have began my sailing adventures around here. Don gave me the courage to do my first trip through Woods Hole.

Not sure if you remember that Don! Lots of places to venture within a days sail. Get a travel guide and an Eldridge Book for currents direction and speeds. It will save you a lot of time. We love to anchor in Menemsha Bight. Great sunsets beautiful beach and a dinghy ride to good food. Also love Lake Tashmoo depending on the size of the boat you charter. You'll need some folding bikes unless you like walking. It's a mile or two into Vineyard Haven. We do both (I don't mind walking), bring a flash light as the road is dark at night, no street lights and tree shaded from the moon. I've anchored and picked up a mooring in Vineyard Haven outside the sea wall and I'm not a fan. The ferry is loud and there is always a wake from the traffic coming in and out. Edgartown is one of my favorite places to pick up a mooring. There are moorings in the inner harbor or anchor in the outer harbor depending on the wind direction/speeds. Don't anchor if the wind has a northerly component with any force. It can get very uncomfortable. This holds true for Vineyard Haven.

Nantucket will require a reservation. I'm not sure they allow anchoring anymore. At least my understanding is the boat can't be left unattended at anchor. If someone knows for sure let me/us know. Either way, anchoring would require a long and probably wet dinghy ride to town. You'll get a good taste of NE.

Someday I'll make it to Maine. We've vacationed in Arcadia National Park - Bar Harbor/Frenchman's Bay areas and always wanted to sail there. You could sail a lifetime and never see everything Maine has to offer.

rejackson73 · Feb 25, 2013

I rarely get out of the bay but cuttyhunk is largely discussed as a hotspot, much closer than any of the islands. Depending on how far you could also look at Montauk or Mystic.

within the bay there are all sorts of neat little coves and anchorages, so be sure to spend some time just cruising around there.

As for companies, I saw in Cruising world that there is a company out of Newport that will do bareboat charters. I'm more familiar with Narragansett Sailing...they are further north in Barrington but the guys that run it are top notch.

MarkTun · Feb 27, 2013

Hello Bob,

Thanks for your question about bareboat destinations in the Newport area. We had a week on a great charter boat from NarragansettSailing.com last year and had a great time.

Where to go in part depends on what kind of vacation you're looking to have. We decided to pass on Nantucket in favor of hitting other fine destinations. Ours included:

1) Narragansett Sailing Base to 3rd Beach, Newport (free moorings or anchor--dingy onto nice sandy beach)
2) 3rd Beach to Hadley Harbor, MA (adjacent to Wood's Hole; plan on anchoring, arrive for lunch)
3) Hadley Harbor through Wood's Hole to Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard (mooring reservations available; be sure to time your travel through wood's hole with slack tide, and must be clear weather)
4) Optional 2nd day in Edgartown, ashore. (plenty to do but we particularly enjoyed this tour by jeep: http://www.thetrustees.org/places-to-visit/cape-cod-islands/cape-pogue.html ).
5) Edgartown to Cuttyhunk. Dinner aboard. Relax.
6) Cuttyhunk to Jamestown, RI (Moorings available--beautiful spot with views at night, great restaurants ashore)
7) Jamestown to Narragansett Sailing base.

That was our week last August, and we had a great time. We 2nd REJackson's recommendation of Narragansett Sailing--reasonable prices, well run, etc. Our experience was very positive with them last year, and that's compared to having chartered with well known firms such as Hinkley (ME), TMM (BVI), and others.

Wherever you end up--have a great time!

Best wishes,

Mark