About Our Area - Suggested Itineraries
We are located in what is truly one of the world’s premier
cruising grounds. Dozens of magical
harbors and coves are within a one or two day sail from Bristol. Among them are world the famous destinations
of Nantucket, Marthas Vineyard, Newport, Block Island and Mystic Seaport. What ever the weather you will never be more
than a few hours away from a secure, scenic harbor that offers a rich choice of activities and interests to
occupy your time ashore. Following this
discussion is a list of Distances to and from the most popular destinations, as well as some Suggested Reading and web site Links which offer a wealth of information about
the area.
Close to home
If your open water sailing experience is limited, there is no need
to leave the sheltered confines of Narragansett Bay and the Sakonnet River in
order to experience a rich variety of
exciting harbors and picturesque coves.
Our favorites: Newport, Wickford, Jamestown and our own home port of
Bristol.
A taste of the
islands
Once outside Narragansett Bay, you enter the open waters of Rhode
Island Sound. Your offshore adventure
can take the form of a modest cruise to two unforgettable islands: Cuttyhunk,
only 13 nautical miles from the mouth of the Sakonnet River; and Block Island,
16 nautical miles from Newport. The two islands are approximately 30 nautical
miles from one another which suggests an easy itinerary that starts with the
first leg to Cuttyhunk by way of the Sakonnet River, from there to Block
Island, and returning to Bristol by way of Narragansett Bay with stops in
Newport, Jamestown (another island!) and Wickford. The entire trip is a
little over 90 nautical miles.
Further a field
For the seasoned sailor the
most popular itinerary includes a visit to the islands of Marthas
Vineyard and/or Nantucket. The farthest
point, Nantucket, is approximately 80 nautical miles from Bristol. To get there you will pass through Vineyard
Sound which affords exceptional stopovers along the entire route. The choices
include Cuttyhunk, Tarpaulin Cove, Hadleys Harbor, Woods Hole, Vineyard Haven
and Edgartown. On the return, if time
permits, we suggest you sample some of the special locales Buzzards Bay has to
offer: Quissett, the area formed by Wings Neck and Scraggy Neck, Marion,
Mattapoisett and Padanarum.
When transiting Vineyard Sound and Woods Hole it is important to
plan for the set of the current, and accordingly either go north or south of
the Elizabeth Island chain. It can
easily mean the difference two hours or
more when sailing through this stretch of water.
The rest of the nearby world
Equally accessible from Bristol is Eastern Long Island Sound
featuring such popular destinations as Stonington, Fishers Island, Mystic
Seaport, Montauk and Sag Harbor. In the
future we hope to make this the subject of an additional web page.
Although
it should be obvious to most, it bears stating here that you should plan your
trip to reach the farthest destination you intend to visit early in the
charter. Then if the weather becomes
unfavorable you still can be assured of returning on time, comfortably and
without stress.
We are always happy to suggest ideas and help our charterers plan
their itinerary.