Nothing better than a summer in the Northeast, specifically, the Ocean State of Rhode Island. For 2021, still cautious due to the pandemic, we saw family, friends and did a short island trip to help us get acclimated to Bubista II. As fall starts, it’s good to look back.

The start of our RI summer: arrival

After our 30 days at sea, it was great to be back on land, specifically, back on land and at home. All the people who had helped take care of the house while we were gone needed to be contacted and thanked - immensely. Everything at home was in good shape, except for the spruce bushes at the top of our property. A rainy summer and constant stress has left them brown. I’ve worked through some websites and hope they can be saved!

Guida, Germana, Luna, Kim. Tony and Carlos on board, also - didn’t leave the dock, but had plenty of food!

The cousins

The first folks to come visit us on Bubista II were the cousins. You can see some of our functions / events / chats here. Great aunts to Carlos - Luna, Germana and Tony have been instrumental in watching over our property. They were all born in Cape Verde and we felt a tour on the boat was a good thank you. Cozy quarters, lots of food and lots of laughter with remembrances. We didn’t even leave the dock…

A longer adventure for Bubista II and a surprise

Of course, we had the longest adventure coming from Sarasota to RI, now it was time to explore local islands. Martha’s Vineyard is a short drive and Ferry ride away, probably 3 hours. However, due to geography, its about 10 hours by boat. We prepared, packed up and started our journey. While exiting the marina channel, we notice a boat flying the Cape Verdean Flag! What a pleasant surprise! It will now take us the rest of the summer to find out who owns this boat, and try to get acquainted, if possible.

Elan at the Island House Bar & Grill, Martha’s Vineyard

The stay at Martha’s Vineyard was rainy and cool as we entered the harbor close to midnight. We had to be very careful of the wall that surrounded the harbor entrance - not very well lit at night! While there, we saw Elan Trotman, a very talented Saxophone player from Barbados.

Due to COVID, Elon did not bring the rest of his band, only himself. So the show was short. Fortunately for us, the restaurant venue before the show, Sarah Brown’s, had excellent food.

Sailing with long-time Friends & another cousin

We invited some of Carlos’ former workmates and running buddies Joe and John, for a day out. Also another cousin came along with us - from Kim’s side: Maya. Like a sister. The conversation gets techy nautical pretty quick - Joe has owned boats and John is an electronics engineer. They will be able to school us on all things “RI boating” and hopefully, some expertise on the navigation instrumentation gear. Maya and Merilee (Joe’s wife) got friendly quick and we discovered “Dave’s Marketplace” - best supermarket in Warwick. More like a local Whole Foods. This will definitely be one of our “GO-TO’s” for boat feasting.

More sailing days with friends

The summer stretched on after a really wet July. We had the opportunity to invite more friends and family aboard and continued to understand more about the workings of our new toy. All really enjoyed the day trips and we all had great conversations - getting to know each other better. This, actually, is the best part of boat ownership after the adventures…..

Grandkids aboard (again!)

The grandkids always have a good time on the boat. Between running up and down to the cabins, sitting at the captain’s helm, eating pizza or popcorn and sleeping on the trampoline, they never seem to get enough. Looking forward to the time we can also get in dinghy and cruise to a local beach. Unfortunately, a broken arm early in the visit put the damper on John’s swimming plans. Still had a birthday onboard for Vivienne, and enjoyed a great weather day. More fun to come next summer!!

The wonders of Watchemoket

Watchemoket is a inlet, cove, marchland area just along the Providence River just south of the City of Providence. On the other side of Narragansett Bay is the actual Port of Providence, with regular deliveries of salt, sand, automobiles, natural gas and heating fuel. Watchemoket Cove is a little protected jewel that includes a part of the East Bay 14 mile bikepath, two RI State Parks Squantum Woods and Pomham Rocks Lighthouse and a landmark golf course, Metacomet. A lot of Native American names here as this was the sacred lands of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and the Narragansett Tribe, who were the owners of these lands for centuries before Europeans settled here. They are both Federally recognized American Native Tribes.

The cove itself is on the path of the old Providence, Warren and Bristol RR, completed in 1855. These rail lines were a lifeline, bringing raw materials from the southern agricultural businesses to the northern industrial complexes for processing and packaging (think cotton). Its currently known as a bird watching hotspot, since many migrating species stop here to rest during their journeys. It is a primary place on eBird.com, 10’s of dozens of sightings per week.

A Glorious Summer in RI

Edgewater Life