14 May 15

We had a good sleep at the dock and were up in time for a 09:30 departure. The wind was very light and right behind us, so we motored the 13 N-miles to Block Island, tying up to a mooring ball in Great Salt Pond just before noon. After lunch, we rowed ashore and walked around the south end of the island, taking in the Victorian old town and the Mohegan bluffs and the Southeast Lighthouse, walking over 10 miles altogether; and my dogs are barkin’ big time, but the Admiral is very pleased, so all is good. The weather was just gorgeous all day. While in town, we saw a photo of the Great Salt Pond, which was absolutely chock-a-block with boats; we are the only sail boat at a mooring today - cool. We stopped at The Oar for refreshments after our walk and decided to stay there for dinner. We had a nice chat with our waitress, Missy, who is an actual native (1 of 1000) of Block Island, 2014 graduate of Brown University. She is having a couple of gap years after graduation and seems to be enjoying herself immensely.  Forecast for tomorrow is 10 - 15 kn on the nose for a sprint to Lake Montauk on the east end of Long Island, so I think we will stay here for another day. No worries.

41 deg 11.064’N, 071 deg 34.573’W

15 May 15

We got up early and walked back into town to tour the North Light Fibers mill; they make wool out of alpaca, yak, llama, Scottish highland cows, and anything else with hair. Very interesting operation and they produce some beautiful wools. Then, we hired a couple of bikes and rode out to the north end of the island to see the North point lighthouse. Back on the boat, after another 18,000 steps, and I decided it was time to get “Swallow” out for a sail around Great Salt Pond. It was blowing a steady 16 kn, with gusts to 20 and lulls to 2. After nearly swamping for the second time (in 51 deg F water), I decided discretion was the better part of valor and called it a day, after about 30 minutes. We did find the perfect photo op.