Sailing to Block Island

[windcree]

I am quite familiar with Narraganset Bay and just off Newport. But looking for suggestions for sailing from Jamestown to Block Island. For example best tide range and course. Ultimate destination will be the Great Salt Pond.

[wingless]

Radar is very handy for that transit.

Every time I've done that route it was pea soup fog.

[CarlF]

After June, the fog usually lifts by 10AM while you're still getting out of Narraganset Bay.

If you have radar, great but if not add an AIS transponder first (for much less money than a radar) All commercial and fishing boats over 65ft have it. A lot of pleasure boats too. You want the Block Island ferries to see you on his AIS display. Even if it's not foggy.

Block Island is also a good lesson in "don't have a fixed schedule". When a summer afternoon southerly blows up to 25knots, it can be a brutal trip out or a terrifying trip home. I know two wives who gave up sailing after an afternoon trip home from Block Island with 6ft waves threatening to poop the cockpit. Be prepared to stay over another night.

Otherwise, it's a good trip with few hazards. Just don't go on a summer weekend. It's a zoo.

But I think a much better "first trip" out of Narraganset Bay is to go to Cuttyhunk. Nicer island to visit. Tends to be a more pleasant sail. Not as crowded as Block Island. If you want a mooring in the inner harbor on a weekend, get there by about 2PM. There's always room in the outer harbor. Don't forget to buy oysters from the Cuttyhunk Raw Bar boat that comes around.

[Boatguy30]

On the ferry right now! Very easy trip with no issues but a bit of current off the tip of the island but only a few knots Max.

[Chotu]

Cuttyhunk was better before that ferry from New Bedford started running.

I'd say watch for instances where the wind and swells are coming from different directions going to/from Block.

Often, the wind will howl out of the west, then turn south, or vice versa. The swells are still coming from the previous wind direction and the new chop is coming from the new direction. Makes for an awful ride and sea sickness.

[fred4936]

We were in Great Salt Pond three weeks ago. Nice place! But we experienced heavy fog from there almost all the way home to Bellport Bay. Good sea state though, we were lucky there. I concur about Cuttyhunk, beautiful spot!

[hlev00]

We often went from Jamestown to BI. We didn’t normally pay too much attention to currents but it can really rip when you get close to the green marker off the north end. So for less hassle look for fair current. No worries about tide or current for actually entering the pond.

[Mediator]

Sailed from Jamestown to BI last month. Pleasant trip but we had fog the whole way down - radar and AIS was nice to have. Lots of motorboats zooming around don't have AIS or radar reflectors so we utilized a lookout on the bow as well.

Current is not worth worrying about in my opinion, but maybe I had favorable conditions that day.

[hlev00]

There has been a crazy amount of fog this year. Hopefully water will warm soon to reduce the occurrence.

[psk125]

Just be reassured that Block will still be there, fog or no. If you head out from Jamestown going SW, leave Point Judith (you'll hear it, even in fog) to starboard, and then keep going. You'll end up hearing or seeing the 1BI gong off to port. If it's foggy, the next things to listen for are the R2 bell and then the horn on the breakwater at the harbor entrance. The trick is to avoid being run down by sport fishermen running on autopilot at 20 knots.

[Hoodsail]

Would buy Eldridge's tide & pilot 2019 paperback. lists all tides, currents for the areas you are considering. Would echo the thoughts on Cuttyhunk, very nice, well-protected, make sure your dink is usable though as no launch is available. Further up the Elizabeth islands are a number of inlets that make for excellent anchoring, especially Hadley Harbor. Encountered fog sporadically when leaving Block Is in the summer mornings, but cleared after motoring westward after about 45-60 minutes. Had my AIS active (which sends & receives) due to the ferry traffic. A nice visual reference is James Bildner's book "Visual Cruising Guide to the Southern NE Coast". he is a helicopter pilot as well as a sailor, so the overhead pictures of approaches and anchorages are a nice aid. Block Is is definitely busy in the summer, but that can be 1/2 the fun...people/boat watching..have a good trip. dave

[Scrimshaw4]

Go on the Ebb out of Naraganset Bay and return on the Flood. Wind vs tide can be nasty. It's New England so you know there may be fog.

[OrangeCrush]

I'd add another vote for Cuttyhunk over Block Island. It's such a lovely island to walk around. There is a good deal of room in the inner harbor behind all the moorings to anchor in about 10 feet of water. Anchoring in the Salt Pond on Block Island, on the other hand, has been quite a headache with 30+ feet of depth and very little space behind the mooring field before the restricted area starts. If you want to spend a few days and you can book a mooring, Block Island may be worth it, but for one night I would prefer Cuttyhunk for ease of anchoring and tranquility. Get lunch from the Raw Bar and dinner from the Pizza Place and walk up to the old WWII lookout bunkers. I also agree that the Eldridge Book is a must have, primarily for the maps of tidal currents in the area.