I'm a Bristol Boy

Growing up in Bristol, Tennessee, I was well aware there were other Bristols. England, Connecticut and Rhode Island. But until Monday, I had never been to any of them.

After a short 14-mile trip up the Narragansett Bay, we arrived in Bristol at 10:00 a.m. We had used a new app called "Dockwa" to book our slip in the Marina that is part of the sailing museum here. It wasn't like we needed a computer to fight off the crowds. Once again, we were the only transient boat in the Marina.



We've now heard the word for this period before people start boating in large numbers here -- it's called the "shoulder season." Things are open but not very busy. The dockmaster at Newport explained that the boating season has been getting longer in the fall because the weather has been staying warm later than it used to. But it has not been getting warmer earlier. He told us that this year it has stayed colder much later than normal (and nobody knows that better than us). So, in the "Shoulder Season" we have had no problem getting a slip in a Marina. He says that will not be the case in June.

America's most famous naval architect was named Nathaniel Herreshoff, from Bristol (Rhode Island). His factory is now a museum of his spectacular wooden boats (both sail and power). The Museum was closed today, but they unlocked the doors and turned on the lights for us. We enjoyed being alone in and among these beautiful vessels. Several of them are positioned so that you can actually go inside the boats and poke around the antique interiors.









"Captain Nat's" design studio has been recreated in the upper loft of the warehouse. Many of the thousands of "half-hull models" that he carved are on display. Like Mystic, it was a very hands-on experience. Mr. Herreshoff was commissioned to design and build eight America's Cup contenders in the early 1900s. One of them, "Reliance," was the largest ever made -- standing taller than today's Space Shuttle. And it was all wood.



We walked into the super clean and neat town of Bristol. The temperature hit 79, a record for us on this trip. The slight breeze made it a perfect day for exploring a New England town on foot. When crossing the Main Street, you pick up an orange flag and carry it through the crosswalk to a receptacle on the other side. I guess it's cheaper than flashing lights.



We came back to the boat and decided that we needed to do some homeopathic doctoring on the CMO's foot. After a couple of attempts we learned that the best material for the job is duct tape. Olive was very glad that I had some duct tape that matched her background fur. We'll let you know if it works to heal her sore foot.


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