Block Island

We left Norwich on August 5, right on time, and had a very nice cruise to BI in bright sunshine and seas that were exactly what we would have wanted. The boat ran flawlessly and seems to have consumed less fuel on this 45 mile trip than last year. We guess that the work we put into the starboard engine over the winter paid off.

Our crew, once again this year, included Pooka, the Boat Cat. He puked a little on the way over but was full of fun once we got there.

"It doesn't get much better than this"

That's what you see on many of the t-shirts worn by boaters at Block and we couldn't agree more. We've probably been there 25 times over the last 30+ years and the island - at least New Harbor - never seems to get old. 

 4.5 miles from New Harbor inlet

Frances called Payne's before we left, as she always does, and we got the usual "come on over" in response. We arrived at Payne's flagpole and this year, rather than waiting for someone to finally notice us floating around, we were almost immediately directed to go "around back." While we'd usually rather be at one of the front docks, this year, looking out over the mooring field and "The Oar" was perfect. 

We were tied to an older 37 ft. Carver and we got to know its owners, who were very nice people and who, due to health problems, may very well be at the end of their boating experience. We did enjoy talking to them and they even pronounced us "good neighbors" as we were leaving.

As the days passed, more boats rafted up next to us. At one point, there were seven boats and we met just about everyone. Kids and dogs were everywhere and Frances, who could make friends with the devil, was in her element.

At one point, we were walking the docks just before sundown and came across a 1950 steel ex-military tug that is now operated by the Sea Scouts from Elizabeth, NJ. Of course, Frances had to strike up a conversation with one of the young crew members.

As the sun went down, we were glad to have the spot we did.

The Payne family has made many improvements over the years. The bar, Mahogany Shoals (The bar you've been practicing for), is bigger and they have added a dockside restaurant that we found to be quite good and not all that expensive.

One morning, we walked over to Old Harbor and bought a pound of very expensive raw shrimp. That evening, Frances turned those shrimp and some other simple ingredients into a delicious dinner.

Here's Frances' recipe:

¾ lb. uncooked shrimp

1 Medium Vidalia or Purple Onion, sliced in thin rings

1 shallot sliced however…

7 cloves garlic, smashed, ground or chopped. (Yes, 7)

1 large farm fresh tomato (skinned and quartered)

1- ½ Tablespoons Pesto (I used Classico jarred)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

I chopped up 1/3 small yellow squash, but they did not add to flavor. Maybe red pepper would work?

De-vein the shrimp (Run under cold water while doing it. Works great)

Start pan with oil on low to cook garlic, then squash or red pepper, then onions

Cover until all are tender

Add tomato and pesto

Add shrimp and cook until pink

 Sprinkle Asiago cheese or Pecorino-Romano over dish

 Serve over pasta, or have bread to sop up sauce (or just lick the bowl)

Editor's note: This made enough so that we could enjoy it again two nights later and yes, it was just as good. 

The available dock space was filled quickly by Friday night and the Payne's crew began doing their magic - rafting boats in what seemed like almost impossible places. When a boater wanted to leave, even if his boat was up against the dock blocked by four or five other boats, the crew went to work and got him out without ever touching another boat. All that is required is following directions, something we found out when it was time for us to leave. 

Cliff Payne, the boss, took charge of getting us out of the the raft up we were in and past a 50 footer and its tender that was docked almost right in front of us. As we moved forward, Cliff didn't get off in time and opted to take a ride back to his gas dock on the front of our boat. Frances and Cliff discussed cloud formations as we went around.

Old Harbor has become a little too successful 

As many of you who read this blog know, Payne's and the other two private marinas are in New Harbor. It was formed when they cut a channel through the beach to Block Island Sound many years ago. Across the island on its eastern shore is Old Harbor and in one form or another, its been the island's main harbor for a couple of hundred years.

About ten years ago, the state of Rhode Island's tourism office began an ad campaign promoting the state's beaches and Block Island as a summer destination. That advertising, which has increased in quality and quantity over the years, began to develop a lot more visitor traffic. More ferries were added (now from New London, Point Judith and New Bedford). Today, large ferries arrive regularly every day during the summer and deposit up to 1,000 tourists each.

This year and the past few years, we've found it less than pleasant to visit Old Harbor because the sidewalks are crowded way beyond capacity and every shop and restaurant are packed. Some folks even bring their cars that fill streets that are narrow and with limited parking.

If the beach is the big draw, visitors soon find that even that short walk can be difficult with strollers and coolers.

We don't mean to be cranky about this. We don't own property on Block Island but we do like to visit by boat and we do spend considerable money while we're there. We now avoid Old Harbor as much as we can because it is exactly what we don't want to experience during our brief vacation.

Maybe it's time for Block Island to ease up on the advertising a little.

Video

We shot lots of video on this cruise, unfortunately much more than we can post. It takes a long time to transcode and then edit this material so our blog is a little later than usual.