As is always the case, the wind dropped and the sun came out. It was time to leave Martha’s Vineyard and head back to Newport so we could collect our cabling for the solar panels and our water maker. On the way back we stopped off at Cuttyhunk and caught up with Tourterelle. It had only been 10 days since we had seen them but it was still great to catch-up. They headed into the village and purchased some locally caught sword fish and the yummiest scallops I have tasted. Ian cooked up a feast as always and had a lovely dinner.

The following day we set sail for Newport. Much to our excitement we managed to sail just about all the way. We found a nice anchoring spot and settled in. We had a couple of the Ocean Cruising Club (OCC) yachts come over and say hi. This turned into sundowners…great way to meet new friends.

The next day we met up with Tourterelle and visited the Vanderbilt mansion called “The Breakers”. The Vanderbilt’s made there fortune through the railway. It is one of the many mansions that were built in Rhode Island in the mid to late 1800’s. Simon and I were both impressed with the opulence and the level of detail that was built into the walls and ceilings. Sadly the fellow who built this impressive house died within a year of it being completed. It continued to be occupied by Vanderbilt’s until 1948 as their lifestyle caught up with them and they could no longer maintain this beautiful house.

Mansions Tour

That night a few of the OCC crew and Tourterelle went to a concert at Fort Adam’s. It was a fusion of Indian, African and Jazz music. They were also accompanied by two Indian dancers who were fantastic. The final piece brought all the music together with both India and African dance. It was very different but a great night out.

On Saturday, we headed to Boston with Ian and Ann and their friends Karen and Michael. There were heading back to the UK so we decided to tag along. The drive there was wet but fortunately as we arrived the rain stopped. Si selected a lovely Italian restaurant where we enjoyed some fresh pasta and Italian wine. We also caught up with Steve and Dee who were anchored off Boston. After lunch we walked the Freedom trail and learnt some of the history of the American Revolution and the Boston tea party. We visited the Italian quarter, went to the fruit and veg market. A dollar sale was on, two punnets of blueberries for a dollar and the same for a pineapple. We spent the remainder of the afternoon visiting several Irish bars. The second bar that we visited was the oldest Irish bar in Boston (maybe the US but I would be making that up).

The following day was Ken’s (Lady Rebel) birthday so we all headed to the park for a picnic and a few celebratory beverages. The park has music every Sunday and this weekend coincided with the Newport Jazz Festival, we enjoy the sunshine and grass with two different Jazz bands playing in the background. It was relatively uneventful until it was time to go home. Ann was helping Ken into his dingy when he gently slid into the water. He only half went in but Ann and Jen struggled to get him back into his dingy. Fortunately we were going past at the time and Si was able to assisted with getting him back into dingy…incident diverted or so we thought. We had left a bag on the dock so Si went and retrieved it only to slip on one of the dingy’s on the way back and somehow managed to scissor Ken around the head (not sure how he managed to do it) and they both went crashing into the water with Simon landing on top of poor Ken. Ann was able to grab Ken by the collar and get his head out of the water. Si managed to get himself and Ken back out of the water. No one was hurt but poor Simon felt really bad and that was the end of the evening’s frivolities for him. I went over to Lady Rebel and poor Ken had also put himself to bed. As you could imagine it provided plenty of entertainment for the rest of us. The following day, every time I thought about it I would burst into fits of laughter.

Jazz in the Park

So Newport ended up being a very social time but we also managed to finalise the cabling for our solar panels and we are making lots of electricity. So much fun watching it trickle into our batteries. Si also re-installed the vessel for the water maker and it no longer leaks.

All good things must come to an end and it was time to more on once again….this time our destination is New York soo stay tuned for the next exciting chapter as we make our way through Long Island Sound to the Big Apple.

Farewell Newport