8/24/2026
Update:
We are in Wickford,
Rhode Island on a mooring in Wickford Harbor. Tomorrow we are going to
Philadelphia for a follow up at Wills Eye Hospital. My eyesight continues to
improve so we are expecting this to be just a check-in appointment. We will
take the train and stay for two nights in our favorite Holliday Inn Express. I
am not eating any Philly cheesesteaks this trip, but we will visit the Thai food
restaurant Grandma’s Philly for the curry puffs.
A week in the Cruising Life:
Things have been going well in New England, short hops and small towns. We decided to take a cruise around Buzzard’s Bay after visiting Newport. Al has been to spots in Buzzards Bay many times, but we got out the cruising guide to look up new places to visit.
Sunday August 16th was a sunny day with light winds. We raised anchor in Newport harbor and sailed up Buzzard’s Bay to Hadley’s Harbor. The trip took 6 and ½ hours. Hadley’s Harbor is a small, protected harbor at the eastern end of Naushon Island. The island is owned by the Forbes family; it is in a natural state except for a few very nice houses. The public are allowed to anchor or pick up one of the free moorings provided by the Forbes family. There is one small area where people can go ashore, we only saw people with dogs go there. The afternoon we arrived it was very crowded; all the moorings were taken and every anchoring spot as well. Fortunately, a large boat left as we were motoring around so we anchored where he left an opening. People were finishing up their weekend fun, swimming off the back of their boats and enjoying the sunny weather. I was not terribly impressed, it was small, lots of people, but sometimes you have to wait for the good parts.
Monday August 17th we woke up to rain, and it rained all day, so we spent the day cooking. I made chicken soup using the pressure cooker and Al made chourico and peppers for dinner. The most striking thing about this harbor was an experience of quietness I had on the night of the 17th. The rain had stopped; there was no wind and after a lazy day I couldn’t easily fall asleep. I decided to just listen. Our berth is surrounded on 3 sides by ports that are a few inches above the mattress. I listened very hard. I thought I heard an engine in the distance, then a plane flying overhead, after that there was no sound. The lack of sound traveled in my ears and to the center of my head. It seemed to touch an ancient area that loved the sensation of no sound and at the same time longed for more. It seemed very right but I also felt sad because I knew this was a fleeting experience. The feeling was profound, as if a deep need was satisfied. I am hoping we can go back there.
Tuesday August 18th we raised the anchor in Hadley’s Harbor and moved the boat across Buzzard’s Bay to the small town of Marion. The cruising guide described the town as lovely plus neither of us had been there. The trip took two and ½ hours. We picked up a free CCA mooring. Al is a member of the Cruising Club of America; they have a few moorings in the area for members. Marion Harbor is ringed with nice houses, the Beverly Yacht Club, one or two small marinas, the Harbormasters Office and the Tabor Academy. The harbor is filled with 1000 moorings. It was cloudy and rainy; we stayed on the boat and ate dinner onboard.
Wednesday August 19th we went ashore in Marion and first checked in with the Harbormaster to make sure we docked the dinghy in the correct place. We have learned in these small towns you don’t want to anger the Harbormaster. Marion is a picture-perfect New England town. We had lunch at the Front Street General Store and then went to the main attraction, the Natural History Museum which was in the library. The best part was walking around the quiet streets checking out the colonial houses and their gardens. I love looking at houses. We went back to the boat and then had dinner at the Beverly Yacht Club. It’s a nice small yacht club with a screened-in back porch open for dinner. They even picked us up in their launch and brought us back to the boat after dinner. It was nice.
Thursday August 20th we dropped the mooring in Marion and moved to Bristol Harbor which was a 9-hour trip. The consistent cloudy, rainy weather in the last 3 days had not been good for our solar charged batteries. We needed to get to a dock and plug in. We anchored for the night in Bristol Harbor and had dinner on the boat.
Friday August 21st was another rainy day. We waited for the rain to let up and then motored over to the Herreshoff Marine Museum dock in Bristol. They only have 4 or 5 slips, so we were lucky to get one. The museum summer sailing camp was wrapping up another week of sailing classes. All the young sailing instructors came over to ask about our boat because it is unusual for New England. We gave them a tour and had fun chatting with them. After we tied up the boat Al and I walked to a tavern we like for a late lunch. We plugged in and the batteries charged up. We like to sit in the cabin on chilly rainy evenings and read or play double solitaire. I have read more books on this trip than I have in years.
Saturday August 22nd was a day to do our chores but with a twist. We took an Uber to a laundromat at 8:30 am. Friends of ours from St Pete, who now live in Rhode Island picked us up at 12:30 and we all went to lunch in Bristol. Then they took us to the grocery store and waited while we bought some groceries. They took us and our laundry and groceries back to the boat; we put everything away and that turned out to be a full day. I believe we had another double solitaire tournament that night. I used to win every game, but Al is starting to win some now, too.
So that is a full week of cruising. It’s a beautiful area and especially nice when it’s not raining. We miss our friends from home, but we do have some friends here too, which is great.
Well, that’s all for this blog. Thank you very much for reading.
Love and Peace,
Frances Lima
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