Newport Recomendo

[Hollingsworth]

This Great Lakes sailor finds himself in Newport, RI for a couple days next week, on biz, but with couple days tacked on for some poking around. Any recommendations from the rogues on this board as to what might be worth seeing? I'd love to poke my head into the likes of a yard, shop and hole-in-the-wall tavern.

[Hwyl]

The International Yacht Restoration Soc' is well worth a visit. It's across the road from Gary's Handy Lunch, which is a great diner (upgraded about ten years ago, was much better before). It's the kind of place where you could be sitting next to the local garbage man or Ted Turner.

The Mansion tour is pretty good. You can do a tour on the trolleys relatively inexpensively (I think it's two dollars to do the route).

Edited to add Fort Adams and it's historic wharf and (to some extent) it's museum.

Bannister's wharf sometimes has interesting boats, generally if you are walking and look "sailorly", you can ignore the "private" signs.

[ 06-16-2005, 01:55 PM: Message edited by: Hwyl ]

[YMT]

To be on the water in Newport. Check the Tour Boat companies. Bowen and Bannister's wharf.
Schooners Madeleine and Adirondack.
Sloop SightSailer.
http://www.sightsailing.com

[Scott Rosen]

The Herreshoff museum in Bristol, RI is worth a taxi ride or a day's car rental.

[Bruce Hooke]

If you'll have access to a vehicle you will also be an hour or so from Mystic Seaport...

[willmarsh3]

The cliff walk is fun. I did it when I was staying there to see the 2000 Woodenboat show.

Will.

[Tim Mooney]

For $58 you can see the place from the water in a Rhodes 19, keel version, available to rent for 3 hours from the fine outfit Sail Newport; an organization that provides public access to the water and promotes sailing and racing with alot of programs. They are at Ford Adams. There is not much prettier sailing than the East Passage of Narragansett Bay followed by a harbor tour.

YMT's suggestion to go on one of those schooners is not to be snuffed at just because they are tourist ideas. The schooners are as modern below the water as a Cal 40 and really move in the afternoon southwester. And his Sightsailer is fun too. Hi Yves.

North of town 15 minutes off RI138 is Melville yacht center with a variety and scale of boats not typical everywhere. Newport Shipyard, in town at Goat Island causeway, ditto. There is a lunch place in the yard for an excuse if security asks for your reason for entry.

As a general touring plan. The mansions bore me. Just my personal thing. But Newport was an economic backwater from the Revolutionary war when it was an English base, which killed the shipping merchants until the Navy came in and so all those colonial homes weren't razed for progress but were rebuilt in the seventies. Doris Duke had crews doing very authentic work on many homes and the area around Trinity Church (you can't miss it) is much like Williamsburg, except neater, in that it is lived in. Walking around is fun. To get away: go east on America's Cup Blvd out of town past first beach, past second beach, to Sachuest Point Fed Reserve for hiking or rock climbing and sea staring. It is as nice as the southern New England coast gets.

Tim Mooney

[Hollingsworth]

Thanks for the suggestions, one and all. Definitely will try to spend some time on the water. And keeping my eye out for anybody working on old wooden boats...