I know, I’ve been slacking on this blog thing… Life has been a bit nuts lately but I’m determined to get y’all caught up. In the last post, we spent a month or so in Mattapoisett and then grabbed a slip in a marina in New Bedford to finish up boat projects. With the projects complete, we intended to enjoy what was left of our summer in New England.

Martha’s Vineyard

When we left New Bedford, our first stop was Martha’s Vineyard. We grabbed a mooring ball in the Edgartown mooring field and dinghied to shore to explore. Of course, we happened to visit over a holiday (Labor Day) weekend so it was a bit crazy on the waters and on shore. It was already late afternoon on a Friday so we walked around a bit and then decided to grab a beer at historic restaurant and pub, The Newes of America.

JAWS Bridge and the Gingerbread Cottages

Our next day on the island started a bit rainy, but we decided to forge ahead and rented bikes to explore. We found a dog-friendly bike rental place that had towable trailers so we could take Sophie with us. She acclimated well but had to poke her nose out the back every so often to make sure I was following along. Our first destination was to check out the JAWS Bridge. The American Legion Memorial Bridge was made famous by the scene of the shark attacking the docks. It was a bit eerie standing on the bridge imagining a great white coming into the inlet! Many scenes in the movie Jaws were filmed at various locations on Martha’s Vineyard so it was very cool to check it out after viewing the movie so many times.

After seeing the JAWS bridge, we continued our trip toward Oak Bluffs to visit the Gingerbread Cottages. The “gingerbread cottages” on Martha’s Vineyard are a collection of colorful, intricately designed cottages, which originated from a 19th-century Methodist camp meeting movement. Now used as summer homes, they are meticulously maintained and a beautiful sight to see on the island. After viewing the cottages, we continued to explore Oak Bluffs and then took a scenic route back toward Edgartown.

Our final day at Martha’s Vineyard was spent with walking/hiking the area. We checked out the lighthouse, hiked a local trail and eventually found ourselves at the local brewery, Bad Martha’s. We enjoyed Martha’s Vineyard but it was time to move on.

Exploring Narragansett Bay

Newport, Rhode Island

After cruising 49 nautical miles from Martha’s Vineyard, we grabbed a mooring ball in the town of Newport, RI. Newport is a bustling waterfront town with it’s yacht-lined harbor and Gilded Age mansions. We only spent a day and half there, but had so much fun walking the downtown area shops and grabbing a drink and some food at one of the local restaurants.

Bristol, RI

About 12 nautical miles north on Narragansett Bay from Newport is Bristol, RI. We spent a few days in Bristol and enjoyed the small town feel. We loved having access to the East Bay Bike Path, which runs 14.5 miles from Bristol to Providence, for walking and running. We made a provision run which was quit a hike in itself and we also got to meet up with our cruiser friends Tanya and Jay from SV Minx. One evening, our crew walked to Pivotal Brewery to catch up over some brews. We ordered food from one of the restaurants next door, Basil and Bunny (a fabulous vegetarian place) and enjoyed it with our beers.

Wickford, RI

After Bristol, we cruised about 13 miles west on the bay to Wickford, RI. Wickford is a quaint little town on the western side of Narragansett Bay. It checks all the boxed for me: fabric shop, yarn shop and brewery. While I didn’t get to check out the shops, we did visit the local brewery (of course!), West Passage Brewing Company. We also got to meet up with SV Minx again on their sailboat and we met Andrew and Leslie of SV Sonrisa, also a Valiant 40′ like Minx. We enjoyed dinner and drinks and even had a cat overboard drill when Tanya and Jay’s cat Peanut accidentally went for a swim! Thankfully, he was all ok, although Mom and Dad were a bit shook up. The next morning, it was time to move on toward Long Island…

New Bedford, MA to Martha's Vineyard = 33 nm
Martha's Vinyard to Newport, RI = 49 nm
Newport, RI to Bristol, RI = 12 nm
Bristol, RI to Wickford, RI = 13 nm

TOTAL miles to date: = 6,963 nm