August 24th, 2018
Three Mile Harbour
From Mystic we sailed to Fishers island and spent a day catching up with work. Ten hours in front of the laptop was actually enjoyable for I was burning and turning. The next day we got up to a cold morning with heavy rain which meant we donning wet weather gear. Felt very odd after so long in shorts but within half an hour the sun came out, the wind picked up and we had one of those cracking sails that come out of nowhere. The wind rose to 20knts at one point and we had a steady eight to nine knots under full main and Gennaker on a broad reach.
Three Mile Harbor is not the easiest of entrances to find but it is like the magic garden for it opens up a huge protected bay. It a stunning gear change as you leave the rumbustious sea behind and glide into the serenity of this magical place. We came thanks to our very good friend Joan who used to live here and so it was a pleasure to have an evening with her brother Larry. A perfect arrival and evening out.
August 24th, 2018
Rope Walk
Lovely to see this working rope walk in Mystic Seaport Museum which is very much a working boat yard. As such it was a joy to wander about to the sound of logs being planked, wood being planed and hand tools banging away. It bought many memories of Spirit of Mystery back.
August 24th, 2018
Whaling Ship
Mystic Seaport Maritime Museum is a must and I have always wanted to visit having heard so much about it. It didn't disappoint and the truth is that I could have spent a second day there. One of the highlights was Charles W Morgan which is the last remaining Whaling Ship. Having read a lot about this era, seen the films and visited the Whaling Museum in Nantucket one could walk about and project oneself back in time.
To get here we stopped in Block Island for a few days but for some reason the camera didn't save the pictures so I will take some next time we go back, its a lovely spot. The weather wasn't too good with lots of yachts dragging anchor which made for some interesting viewing. People just don't put enough chain down and it amazes me to see people casually drop their anchor and pop off to the bar with no scope out at all. The tow boat man makes a good living off this.
August 24th, 2018
TONY BULLIMORE
Tony Bullimore was one of my inspirations as a young sailor and so it was sad to hear of his death. He was such a lovely man who always had time and good advice, particularly on my first single handed transatlantic race on Cornish Meadow. This picture was sent to me by a good friend of a BBQ in Newport after the finish. Tony is on the left with his lovely wife Lalel - the two kids on the right is us. Steve Callahan is the one standing up and eating. An amazing man who survived 76 days adrift in the Atlantic on a life raft. His book Adrift is fantastic.
August 24th, 2018
HOUSE
There is a lot of wealthy people about these parts and so the houses are impressive. In Cornwall, they would make for a good-sized hotel. This one has its own marina!!
August 24th, 2018
VIKINGS
I have been following the Draken Harald Harfagre for a while now and so was hugely excited to see that she was in Newport and open to visitors. This is just the most amazing project for it is the largest Viking ship of modern times. The design and construction is a joy to see and you must visit their website to see video of her sailing in rough seas. When we were designing Aqua Quorum Adrian Thompson and I had a few wines and decided to put a Viking ships lines through the computer and were amazed at the performance. We did it again in the morning to make sure we hadnt made a mistake. We hadn't.
August 24th, 2018
BREAKERS
The second summer cottage that we visited was Breakers which made up for its ugly exterior with an opulent, some might say vulgar, interior. Whatever you feel they are breathtaking and it was interesting to see the degree of cutting edge innovation that was folded into the design.
One of features of ones time in Newport was to throw lavish parties that got more and more out of hand as time ticked on. One lady threw a party for a hundred dogs who were dressed up and sat at a huge table. Another planted a big orange grove in the garden and had two full orchestra performing!!!
August 24th, 2018
KITES
Just had to add these kites for they were amazing thanks to colour, scale and the fact that the swimmers legs went up and down as they swam.
