Newport, Rhode Island

 8/15/2026

Update:

We are in Newport, Rhode Island, a mecca for mega Yachts, sailboat racing and classic sail boats. A great pastime here is sitting in the cockpit watching the activity in the harbor. It is rare to see a boat that is not beautiful and well cared for. We are in the anchorage and it’s surprisingly not crowded. When we visited here 15 years ago it was difficult to find room in the anchorage because so many boats anchored here all summer. Now the Newport Harbormaster instituted a 14-day maximum stay. Most boats in the harbor are on a mooring and the mooring field is huge. Launches come and go all day to take people from their boats to town. Sailboats head out every day to race in the protected harbor nearby. During the week tiny sailboats with little sailors fan out from the summer camp bases to learn how to sail. Classic sailboats of every size are everywhere and are a delight to see especially if sailing. Today I saw a schooner leave the harbor under sail and towing a dinghy. I have never seen a cruising schooner before.

We have eaten at our favorite restaurant, Clarke Cooke House and we went to a great outdoor play tonight about the American Revolution. Yesterday I was shoe shopping in town by Uber and discovered that the Ulta store had a hair salon in the back. That was super convenient; they had time to see me right then. There is nothing too exciting or risky to report. No close calls and no overnight passages. I am not sure how long we can keep up this pace. We may be addicted to excitement and resort to doing something potentially dangerous again soon. Regardless, we are moving on to another harbor tomorrow morning.

The subject for this week’s blog is Middle-Class Boating:

I know they say the middle class is disappearing, but it was around a long time. Middle-class boating is a term I developed for the type of boating we and all our friends do. I have watched this level of boating for decades and feel I am an expert on the middle-class boater. I will describe it in detail since it is something not many people are familiar with and a dying breed. A middle-class boater is a person or a couple who work full time and decide to buy a fairly large sailboat. By that I mean a 30 to 50 foot sailboat that stays in the water full time, in Florida that is 12 months a year. The boater of this type usually cannot completely afford the boat but the lure of the sea and envisioning the fun they can have overrides reality.

Picture the systems in your house such as plumbing, electrical wiring, running water, refrigeration, bedding and storage and put them in a continually damp, saltwater environment that is always moving. In addition, the boat has sails, rigging, navigation equipment, steering mechanisms, computers, sophisticated batteries, communication equipment and one or two engines. The middle-class boater typically buys a used boat and learns how to repair and maintain all the above systems themselves. Middle-class boaters become expert bargain hunters. They scour boating flea markets, consignment shops and e bay. When they take these boats out on day sails or for the weekend it gets interesting to see what works and what doesn’t. This is why the camaraderie and companionship of fellow sailors is so strong. Boaters are always discussing their latest repair problem or new project. We have all kinds of mishaps and adventures along the way but are constantly learning.  We learn from our friends, take classes and always try to do as much as we can ourselves. It is like developing a second profession. It is a knowledge base developed over time and with experience. But this is the beauty of this type of boating. The boater can become independent, knowing they can fix problems by themselves out at sea. This is where the freedom to travel widely comes from.

My secret weapon is Al. He knows how to repair almost anything. He got started on this early in life, working on cars as a teenager. His repair and maintenance abilities just continued from there. He learned how to sail and then built his own boat. I am a good boater, but Al is the reason we can travel on our boat like this.

It is amazing what you can develop in life with time and experience and the interesting and beautiful times you can have as a result.

I believe that will be all for today. Thank you for reading!

Love and Peace,

Frances Lima