Providence - August 5, 2025

Under the I-way Bridge

With most of the crew up in the Adirondacks, I agreed to lead the Blackstone Valley Paddle Club Trip on the Providence River.

The Providence River is formed at the convergence of the Woonasquatucket and Moshassuck Rivers in downtown Providence. It flows south through Providence for a mile to its convergence with the Seekonk River at Bold Point/India Point. It then opens up into Providence Harbor and continues south for 8-miles to the narrows between Conimicut Point in Warwick and Nayatt Point in Barrington where it becomes Narraganset Bay.

Providence skyline

We had a group of 14 boats – all kayaks, although Danny joined us at Water Street in his canoe. It was high tide when we put in at Bold Point and headed out across Providence Harbor towards the Fox Point Hurricane Barrier. We passed the tugboats and paddled under the I-way Bridge and through the hurricane barrier into downtown Providence.

Providence was established in 1636 by Puritan theologian Roger Williams who was fleeing religious persecution in Boston. It became a trading center in the 18th century, a manufacturing center in the 19th century, and a financial center in the 20th century. This history can be seen today in the warehouses, mills and office buildings that line the river.

The Cove

In the heart of Providence the river passes through Waterplace Park. Completed in 1994, Waterplace Park includes pedestrian bridges over the river that connect over a mile of cobblestone-paved walkways known as the Riverwalk. The park is home to the popular summertime Waterfire events

We continued up the Woonasquatucket River into the Cove at Waterplace Park. We paddled under Providence Place before turning around, and had a leisurely paddle back through the city.

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Millbrook Outrage - August 4, 2025

I’ve finally joined the Millbrook club! I just bought a lightly-used Millbrook Outrage – coincidentally from the same guy who owed my old Encore. This is the second boat that I have in both royalex and composite versions - Wildfire/Yellowstone Solo and now the Outrage.

Millbrook Boats is known for lightweight and durable composite whitewater canoes. The company was founded by John Berry in 1959 and initially focused on whitewater slalom racing boats. In 1988, John Berry sold the business to John Kazimierczyk. John has expanded the market for Millbrook with boats like the 20/20 and Shacho that appeal to recreational paddlers as well as racers.

In 1995, Mad River Canoe introduced the Outrage, which was designed by Tom Foster and Jim Henry. Specifications for the Millbrook version are:

• Length: 12'
• Gunwale Width: 28"
• Depth at Center: 15.5"

Interestingly, the royalex version from Mad River is an inch shorter and a quarter inch narrower than the Millbrook composite boat. Both of mine were outfitted by John Kazimierczyk.

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My Pictures - Millbrook Outrage

My Pictures - Royalex vs Composite Outrage

Two Weeks on Salt Water - End of Another Great Vacation

Taking a break at East Matunuck Beach

Our annual summer vacation at the beach ended today, so packing up to go home trumped paddling this morning. With family, work and weather I missed a few days of paddling, but that’s OK. I was still able to get out to most of my favorites including Potter Pond, the Harbor of Refuge, Jamestown Harbor, the Narrow River and Wickford. I missed some old favorites like Dutch Harbor and Fort Wetherill. Of course, I spent a lot of time paddling on Point Judith Pond including another fun trip with RICKA.

Around Ram Island - July 31 2025

Denny and Ann’s grandnephew Zach is visiting from the UK and I offered to take him out kayaking. Denny and Zach used the kayaks from the cottage. The wind was gusting, but we still spent an hour paddling around Ram Island.  

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Wickford - July 31, 2025

The Castle

My first choice today was to paddle at Dutch Harbor, but it was fogged in. Instead, I headed over to Wickford to paddle Wickford Harbor. 

Wickford was established in the early 17th century when Roger Williams purchased land from the Narragansett Indians and established a trading post. In 1637, Williams sold the land to Richard Smith who constructed a large fortified house on the site, giving the house its nickname the “Castle”. That house was burned during King Philip's War, and the structure that can be seen from the put-in today was built in 1678.

Wickford Shipyard

Wickford grew to become a major port and shipbuilding center, and today contains a large collection of 17th and 18th century homes. It is a picturesque village whose streets are lined with shops and restaurants, and whose harbor is filled with sailboats and yachts.

I paddled out from Wilson Park into Mill Cove, then around Cornelius Island into Fishing Cove, and then out to the breakwater. From there I paddled around the outer harbor before returning to Wilson Park. 

Breakwater at Wickford Harbor

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Harbor of Refuge - July 30, 2025

Point Judith Light

I need to have just the right conditions to paddle around the breakwater at the Harbor of Refuge, and this morning I did - clear skies, calm winds, low tide at 6:00 a.m. and swells of just 1-foot. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Even after construction of the Point Judith Light (c. 1810/1857) conditions remained treacherous at the tip of Point Judith and a Federal project was initiated to construct over 3-miles of jetties to provide a secure breakwater refuge for shipping. Work began in 1890 with construction of the east (3,640 feet) and west (2,240 feet) jetties, and was completed in 1910 with construction the V-shaped center jetty (6,970 feet). A 1,500-foot opening was left for the east passage, and a 1,200-foot opening was left for the west passage.

Holes at the "V" in the center jetty

While the jetties were originally constructed to provide a refuge for ships traveling between Boston and New York during bad weather, they also protected the newly constructed Port of Galilee. In 1910, the Town of South Kingstown and the State of Rhode Island dredged the current Breachway and stabilized it with stone jetties. Then, in the 1930's, the State of Rhode Island dredged an anchorage basin just inside the Breachway and built wharves to create a port for large, ocean-going fishing vessels. This allowed the Galilee to become one of the largest fishing ports on the east coast

I lugged my boat and gear across the beach at Camp Cronin and launched at around 6:30 a.m. I was amazed how much damage was done by last year’s winter storms. The navigation tower at the east end of the center jetty was completely destroyed. Huge boulders were pushed aside leaving large gaps in the seawall, even at low tide. It's hard to imagine that water can move those huge rocks. I paddled by the cormorants and other shore birds resting on the seawall out to the tip of the "V" in the center jetty before heading back.

East end of the center jetty before and after the winter storms of 2024

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Jamestown Harbor - July 8, 2025

Newport Bridge in the fog

It was foggy this morning, so I decided to head over to Jamestown to paddle around Jamestown Harbor and get some pictures of the Newport Bridge. I put in at the East Ferry Boat Ramp and headed out into the harbor.

The Newport Bridge was completed in 1969 and is the longest suspension bridge in New England. It spans the East Passage of Narragansett Bay from Jamestown to Newport. The main span is over 1,600 feet long, and the road deck is more 200 feet above the water. The towers themselves are over 400 feet tall.

Clingstone or the "House on the Rock"

I followed the boat moorings down to the Dumplings - a grouping of rocks just off Bull Point. The most prominent of the Dumplings is Clingstone or the "House on the Rock". This massive post and beam home was built in 1905 and has been recently restored.

It turned out to be a nice morning with nice calm conditions. The fog burned off to hazy sunshine by the time I finished.

Newport Bridge from the Dumplings

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