Block Island

The wind forecast promised strong winds for the 5^th and 6^th July, and they were not wrong. It was windy enough to blow a toupé into the next state. So, we left Bristol and headed over to Dutch Harbour where we stayed onboard Lady Jane while the wind battered us. This wasn’t all bad, however, the sunsets were spectacular.

Sunset

On 7^th July we made our way over to Block Island, where we managed to rid Lady Jane of a week’s worth of pent-up rubbish. After that, we met up with the OCC crowd at the Oar restaurant for beer, games and food. The game here is throwing a beanbag in a hole. This is more commonly known as Cornhole. I’m not sure if beer makes the player better or worse, but I suspect it neither improves or worsens the ability to play. I didn’t get any better as the afternoon proceeded, but the beer made it seem more fun.

Cornhole at The Oar

The next day we dug out of the Brompton bikes from the bowels of the boat locker and headed back to The Oar dinghy pontoon as a starting point to cycle around the island. Despite the traffic, Block Island is well suited for cycling. The speed limit here is 25 mph, and there are several bike hire shops around, so there’s safety in numbers too.

Lashing the bikes down

Round about the wrong way

In retrospect, following the cycle tour guide in a clockwise direction wasn’t the smartest move. This delivered a definite uphill bias. On the other hand, by going this way we did get a good workout and a nice lunch at a Mexican-inspired restaurant. And after treating ourselves to ice cream following our successful completion of the loop, we had the energy to ride along the coast road to the North Lighthouse, where many visitors leave behind stone stacks on the beach. 

Sixteen miles later and the cycle back to The Oar drained that ice-cream-provided energy, so we passed on the arranged dinner on the other side of the island and ate onboard instead. 

On the 9th July, Peter and Patty off Serendipitous kindly lent us their paddle board. Maria and I are thinking about getting one, so we wanted to try out an inflatable version. Unfortunately, the wind was blowing again and neither of us fancied the embarrassment and hard work of trying it in those conditions. So, with cowardice being the best part of valour, we deflated the board and packed it away for later.

North Lighthouse

Rock stack things

Farmland

Ice cream energy

Maria Victoria Pendleton

Lighthouse

Down at the beach

The Gothic Inn

Champlins

Bumper Boats

Lady Jane at anchor

The Bay