August 13, 2026 Block Island, Rhode Island

Monday August 10, 2026 Old Lyme, Conn. to Block Island, R.I. 46 miles and 3.9 hours

We had a really nice time in Connecticut. Could have spent even more time there and may even stop back on our return south. Beautiful countryside and cute historic towns. But time to move on. A bit of a late start Monday. While Martha was returning the rental car, I gave the boat a decent but not in-depth wash. Emphasis was on removing the dirty areas I created while replacing the windshield wiper arms. Finally made it off the dock around 11:00. Today's destination - Block Island, R.I. Sort of one of those storied locations for cruising people some 15 miles off the tip of Long Island and 10 miles to Rhode Island proper. Part of the allure is the large, well-protected body of water in the middle of the island called the Salt Pond. Deep water, very clear, lots of mooring balls. The trip over was once again a non-event. Just the way we like them. Sunny sky, calm seas, nice temperature. Out the Connecticut River and then a straight heading of 103 degrees all the way. Once again, Otto to the rescue. Only sights along the way were the lighthouse at the eastern tip of Fishers Island where crazy tidal currents and undulating water depths create a confusing sea state. Made good time as a receding tide pulled us out toward the open Atlantic the entire way. Came into the harbor and greeted by a very full anchorage. Town moorings are first-come first-serve. We had anticipated that a Monday arrival would have all the weekenders gone. WRONG!! Not a single open mooring. We call the harbormaster and he's at least able to accommodate us for the night at a private mooring. They say a town mooring should be available in the morning. People leave early and by 8-9 o'clock just come to the mooring field and grab one of their balls. You can stay up to 14 days on a town mooring. Private ones are just for overnight stays. We plan on staying several days so getting a town mooring is preferable.

Race Rock Lighthouse off Fishers Island and the unsettled waters
around it on an otherwise perfectly calm day

Navigation Map of Block Island showing the narrow entrance
channel leading to the Salt Pond

Old Lifesaving Station at harbor entrance - now a US Coast Guard Station

Journey for August 10, 2026

Tuesday we head to the mooring field at 8:30. They have numerous green moorings for boats under 47' and a select number of orange for larger boats. All the orange balls are occupied. Wait a bit, circle a few times and finally decide to head over to the anchorage area. Not crazy about this, as much of the area is 25' to 45' deep requiring a lot of anchor chain to be deployed. We get settled and I'm sitting up on the flybridge watching the mooring field as a boat leaves an orange mooring. Start the engines, haul up the anchor and quickly head to the ball. Just beating out another boat who had come into the harbor. Didn't feel too bad as they were shorter than us and found an available green mooring. Too much drama, too much stress. Didn't do much the rest of the day but chill, read and pay the harbormaster for 3 more nights. Two interesting things during the day. First, a couple came over on their dingy. They had seen our boat as we were moving to the mooring and thought it looked familiar. Discovered they were the original owners of our boat. Bought it up here in Connecticut and had it for 8 years. Sent us a picture from when they owned it with its original blue hull. Second owner had the boat Awlgrip painted in the current color. Determined we were now the 5th owners. We just found this so crazy...what are the chances that we would both be anchored at the same place at the same time?! Funny thing, they mentioned spotting our/their boat one other time in Florida a few years back before we were the owners. The second interesting thing today was a big pod of dolphins in the harbor. Rather surprising due to the sheer number of boats in here. Repeated radio messages from harbormaster said it was a "birthing pod" and to give them 150 feet clearance whenever possible. Strange behavior as the pod would all surface a few times and then disappear only to resurface as a group in a new location. Spent the entire day swimming all around the harbor. Got a close look at them as they surfaced near our boat. Different from their southern relatives the Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins that we're used to seeing. These are Atlantic White Sided Dolphins. Smaller overall size with a distinctive light-colored belly.

Picture of Alisong (now As You Wish) with her original owners and a blue hull.
Not sure how it didn't tip over with 34 people on the one side.

A portion of the pod of dolphins as they passed the boat.
Small fraction of mooring field in the background.

Wednesday we grabbed the launch and headed to the island. Farmers market nearby so headed over. Lots of crafts vendors, a few food vendors, no real farmers so nothing for us to buy. Decided to head over to the Old Harbor area on the other side of the island. Nice visit at the Historical Society Museum. Island has a long history. Several Native American tribes dating back thousands of years have inhabited the island. Amerigo Vespucci was the first European to document the island's existence and noted the native people on shore but never landed as the island had no safe harbor. The Dutch landed in 1611 and started settlements. Subsistence farming and fishing mostly. Then the English took possession. In the mid 1800's a breakwater was installed creating the usable Old Harbor and kicking off the area as a resort. Clear air and clean water made it a perfect destination for people escaping the crowded and industrialized cities. WWI, WWII, Great Depression and finally the Great Hurricane of 1938 saw the island's demise as a resort. Sort of rediscovered in the 1960's as an alternative summer destination to the crowds at Martha's Vinyard, Newport, and Nantucket areas. Limited development, older historic homes and inns and an island with almost 50% of the land reserved as conservation areas has continued to keep it fairly pristine.

Historic Block Island Beach House (grey building) with
Historic National Hotel behind (white building)

Giving the rocky beach a quick look

Numerous old inns like this scattered around the town

Impressive building at crest of hill overlooking the New Harbor was once
home to "U.S. Weather Bureau - Department of Agriculture"

Cars are allowed and come over on the ferry but lots of people travel by bike and motor scooters. Continued our walk back to New Harbor. Cruising reports all say you MUST stop at The Oar and get one of their famous Mudslide drinks. Midafternoon so opted for a late lunch to go with drinks. Club sandwich and a mudslide for Martha. Lobster roll and a Captains Daughter DIPA for John. A Mudslide is a frozen vodka, Kahlua and Baileys concoction. Our waitress commented that she honestly thought the bar at Champlin's Marina had a better Mudslide. We had heard that from the harbormaster too. So decided to try for ourselves. Enjoyed some live music over there as we sipped our drinks. Verdict for us was The Oars drink was a bit sweeter and our preference although Champlin's did have a bit more flavor. Launch back to the boat to finish the day. Health app said we did a lot of walking. Thunderstorm overnight as forecasted that continued into the early morning.

Mudslide # 1 from The Oar

Mudslide #2 from Champlin's. Another Captains Daughter for me.

Got to love the brewer's description

Plan for Thursday had been to go to town early and rent scooters to explore the island. Rain put a damper on those plans. Called the Aldo's Bakery boat on the radio and got some goodies for breakfast instead while waiting for weather to clear out. Clouds eventually gave way to partial sunshine so we headed to shore.

Aldo's Bakery delivery boat amidst the school of dolphins.
130' King of Fun in the background

Just a portion of the harbor. It was pretty well packed like this.

Rented a scooter and drove around the island for a couple hours. Down to the Southeast Lighthouse and Mohegan Bluffs, then cut across the island and headed along Crescent Beach to Block Island North Light. Beginning to see why people like coming here. Very much a scenic step back in time. Rolling land, stone fencing everywhere delineating the original property lines, houses scattered and well separated. Most in that classic New England style with weathered cedar shake shingles. An occasional sandy beach nestled in between a rough and rocky shoreline. Back to town, returned the scooter after our 2-hour ride and find ourselves at The Oar yet again. One last Mudslide to verify we preferred theirs. Another Captains Daughter DIPA and split some sushi for dinner before heading back to the boat. Coming into the harbor, seeing all the boats, issues with getting a mooring - had me not really "feeling it". Expected it to be just another busy crowded tourist stop. By the end of our visit, I better understood the allure of the island. May need to make it a stop on our way back south to see what it's like in the offseason and check in on those 1000 year-round residents.