# Block Island - Marina recommendations?



## Pamlicotraveler (Aug 13, 2006)

We are going to arrive at Block Island around June 26th or 27th. Any recommendations on marinas and other options. 

I have thought we would stay at Champlins since that's the only one I've heard of. Just checked their website - rates are $4.00 foot! We're 43' so thats $172 a night. I've never paid that much before at a marina, but then again I never paid $4.00 for a gallon of gas until this week. 

What are the mooring/anchoring options and what's the "best" place to be. If it's this much we might just decide to be at a dock for a night or two at least and I guess then anchor or move on.


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## tokobe (Oct 17, 2007)

*Block Island Marina*

Champlin's is mainly used by power boats, although a limited number of sailers do stay there. There are two other marinas in Great Salt Pond, and on the east side of the Island, very limited anchorage in Old Harbor.

Great Salt Pond is the body of water you will sail or motor into by entering on the west side of Block. North of the pond's navigation channel ( which itself runs wnw to ese) is the mooring field and the anchoring area. There are a series of white bouys running sw to ne beginning near the west side of the pond entrance once through the channel entry from Block Island Sound (check the charts). The area north of these bouys is for water sports- skiing and dingy sailing, but no anchoring. And this is enforced.

You will find generally good holding but there are areas where that is not true. I have found what is effective is either two anchors or one with a kellet to improve holding 1/2 to 2/3 of the way down the anchor rode. For me the ground tackle system has 30' of chain and then whatever I need of 300' of 3/4" rode. This works well on our 20,000 lb Hinckley Bermuda 40 aft cabin yawl that frequents Great Salt Pond.

And note, a quiet morning can easily become a very busy afternoon with 25-30 mph gusts. Or even more fun, a dark eveing with fresh storm conditions as thunderstorms cross from west to east. Effective anchoring skills are important here, even without lots of wave or current actions.

Depth (remember it's tidal) can be anywhere from 4-6' in the ene part near the dingy beach to 50' in the nw part of the anchoring area north of the navigation channel. South of the channel is the mooring field, both private and town. The town moorings are available nightly by vhf discussion with the harbor master. There is a nightly fee, probably $40 a night if you sleep better on a mooring than the hook. You will meet the harbormaster your first afternoon/night on a mooring as the Town of New Shoreham will assure each vessel pays that is on a mooring.

If you choose not to use your dingy, there are two launch services raised on vhf (might be 68) that provide for $1.50 per person each way transportation to shore. Always more entertaining and dryer to do this, especially in the later evening as the inebriation level rises after dark. Especially on this island....

Realize this was the first harbor in the northeast to go 'clean', as in Federal Discharge penalties. They take this very seriously, so do not get confused about it. So if you do not have an effective holding tank system and or are not willing to use it, go to a marina and use the shore facilities only. By vhf channel 78, when on a mooring or the hook as well as if tied to a dock at one of the marinas, the Town of New Shoreham runs several pumpout boats morning and afternoon for free, contributions appreciated. And remember, you will see the harbormaster and his associates perusing the clean waters of Great Salt Pond at a variety of random times for anyone so foolish as to think pumping overboard is wise.

Several years ago the town paper reported over 78,000 gallons of marine pumpout was handled that year, not by the Pond, but by the island's waste water facilities. It is now delightful to swim, sail dingys, kayak, clam etc., before this with sometimes 750 -1,000 boats in this pond per night, not so. Read up on Block Island, lots of things to do. It is a great destination, with over half the island in permanent open space without the mansion events of MV or Nantucket.

Have fun, we always do.


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## TrueBlue (Oct 11, 2004)

Pamlicotraveler,
tokobe has accurately described what to expect with overnighting in The Great Salt Pond. We have been cruising there for many years and will continue to do so with our next boat. Block Island is a wonderful destination and despite the party atmosphere generated by Champlins and the hundreds of powerboaters who summer at that marina, I consider it an ideal sailor's destination.

You're arriving on a Thursday or Friday at the end of June. My sense is you will have a difficult time finding a mooring on Friday, better odds on Thursday. We have never reserved a slip - can't even consider why we would do this. The anchorage conditions, with sufficient ground tackle and anchoring skills, is very good in most places, and if you cruise the perimeter of the public mooring field for a while, boats do leave on occasion.

I would suspect most slips will be filled on every summer weekends - arrive on short notice and Champlins, Block Island Boat Basin, and Paynes, will raft you alongside existing boats . . . at times five or more boats are rafted together at Champlins - the most greedy marina there. If you must have a slip, then BIBB is the best place to be - but they're usually booked well in advance. At this time of year, there may be cancellations, so you never know until you call upon arriving. Be sure to hang out at The Oar, the local sailor's watering hole/restaurant at BIBB.

Another favorite pastime is to dinghy over to Dinghy Beach - at the northeastern corner of the pond. Either beach or anchor your dink and walk across the sand bar/roadway to Crescent Beach - the best beach in Block Island.

Enjoy your stay - hard not to if weather is favorable. We'd join you there if our daughter wasn't getting married in Newport on the 28th.


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## Pamlicotraveler (Aug 13, 2006)

Excellent information Tokobe and TB ... much appreciated. I am printing it out and will have it right there in my chartbook ready for our arrival. 

I guess my thought is we'd want to fuel and water up at a marina and possibly have a night or two at a dock after having been at sea for 4-5 days. I am going to at least take a look at the others.

Our ground tackle is 150" chain and 160" 3/4 rode for the primary (bruce)....so the chain would serve as the "kellet" to improve the "catenary" (I could impress my friends with these terms)  or could put out a second anchor. Actually, if the mooring is available I probably would be able to drink more wine.

We'll have to use our holding tank in the aft since our Lectra San has a small holding tank (17 gall). But the idea that they will come to you is great.


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Pam...the anchorage will be crowded on the weekend so you'll need to use 2 to reduce swing room most likely. I highly recommend the moorings and calling the guy singing "Andiamo" over to your boat when you see him!


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## Pamlicotraveler (Aug 13, 2006)

camaraderie said:


> calling the guy singing "Andiamo"


There's some local knowledge I haven't seen! Thanks Cam.

Hey, by the way...we were just discussing we don't have a "mooring pennant" as we never have even used a mooring ball. Is that something we need to buy or is there a substitute we could safely get by with?


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## christyleigh (Dec 17, 2001)

Pamlicotraveler said:


> Hey, by the way...we were just discussing we don't have a "mooring pennant" as we never have even used a mooring ball. Is that something we need to buy or is there a substitute we could safely get by with?


 I don't remember if BI moorings have the same large eye as this one on Cuttyhunk, but all I did was run my bow lines through it after getting secured.


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## JimsCAL (May 23, 2007)

Very complete posts tokobe and TB! Having been to Block Island well over a dozen times over the years, I can confirm the great advice you both gave. 

One quick question: Is the harbormaster now reserving town moorings via VHF? I was always under the impression they were first come, first served.

Pamlico, the mooring pennant is the line attached to the mooring ball to pick up and put on your bow cleat. No need for your own.


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## Pamlicotraveler (Aug 13, 2006)

JimsCAL said:


> Pamlico, the mooring pennant is the line attached to the mooring ball to pick up and put on your bow cleat. No need for your own.


That's what I was wondering. So is the line we pick up long enough to make it to the bow cleat? I was assuming we had to connect our bowline to something.


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## christyleigh (Dec 17, 2001)

Jimscal jogged my memory - Yes, you can simply attach the long mooring line with the big eye splice on the end to your bow cleats, but if I'm staying more than a day I still run my bow lines through it instead to center it and keep it from messing with the 2 anhcors I have hanging there while swinging around.


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## christyleigh (Dec 17, 2001)

JimsCAL said:


> One quick question: Is the harbormaster now reserving town moorings via VHF? I was always under the impression they were first come, first served.


 I have the same question as I have never heard that is was possible to Reserve the - Lime Green - town moorings.


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## tokobe (Oct 17, 2007)

As a clarification, moorings are first come, first served. I have experienced the harbormaster directing which mooring from time to timebut not often, unlike Newport, RI where one needs the launch service to assign moorings. And the moorings come with a single substantial pennant that has an eye that fits over Tokobe's 12' fore deck cleat. Enjoy.


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## Brezzin (Dec 4, 2006)

I think the harbor master only gets involved with boats over 50' he directs them to an orange mooring ball if available.


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## cranki (Jun 11, 2006)

Thought I'd add this question to this thread. I haven't sailed to Block Island in probably 20 years. I am planning to cruise there from Watch Hill on Tuesday, July, 15. Anybody give me an idea of what time I'd need to be there to be reasonably sure off picking up a mooring ball. Are they all taken on weekdays?

I know this is prime cruising time and grounds and. you guys know, New harbor could get pretty crowded 20 years ago. Of course it was much worse on weekends.

Side note: I believe the guys in the "andiamo" boat are descendants of Aldo, who was doing that when I was a teen; I'm in my 50's now.


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## kreinestja (Mar 1, 2002)

*Block Island*


I hope you post your Block Island experience soon. I am curious as to which marina you chose or if you ended up anchoring? My first time at Block Island was near the 4th of July week and it was pretty crazy. You may find my experience with anchoring there interesting, albeit a bit late to help you. If you do a search my post is titled "Block Island Adventure". The font is a little crazy however.
 I have returned to Block Island since my first "adventure" but always time it so that I can grab a mooring. I do plan on trying to anchor there again someday, just to prove to myself that I can do it. 

Cheers,
Jeri


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## nk235 (Apr 8, 2007)

I went to Block for the first time last year on my 25' and loved it. We rafted up to a Tartan 28 who anchored and my buddy rafted up to me with his small boat. Best week of my life. I just remember the water in the harbor being so clean and clear that you could easily jump off and go swimming right off the boats even when there are about 1000 other boats anchored up around you. And whats even better than hearing "ANDIAMO" in the morning is hearing it in the afternoon when he comes back with shrimp cocktail, and chicken parm heros 

Now that I have my new 32' I am dieing to go back. I had a trip planned at the end of August with 4 other boats of my closests friends. However I also earned a trip to Hawaii through work which is the week before but they do not want me missing two work weeks in a row. I would actually rather skip Hawaii (which is all inclusive and already paid through my company) and go to Block. Thats how much I loved it there. Too bad my gf doesn't think the same way... 

Either way though, docking, mooring or anchoring you will enjoy it.


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## JimsCAL (May 23, 2007)

cranki said:


> Anybody give me an idea of what time I'd need to be there to be reasonably sure off picking up a mooring ball. Are they all taken on weekdays?
> 
> Side note: I believe the guys in the "andiamo" boat are descendants of Aldo, who was doing that when I was a teen; I'm in my 50's now.


Chances of finding an empty mooring in July are slim except in the morning when boats are leaving. Most empties are picked up quickly by those who anchored the night before.

The "andiamo" boat selling pastries is still operated by Aldo's.


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Well I'll jump in and say that Pamlico made it to Block and has left and no longer needs mooring or marina advice. I'm sure he'll say thanks and supply full details of his trip when he returns.


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## cranki (Jun 11, 2006)

JimsCAL said:


> Chances of finding an empty mooring in July are slim except in the morning when boats are leaving. Most empties are picked up quickly by those who anchored the night before.


Good point JimsCal. I should have thought of that myself.


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## Pamlicotraveler (Aug 13, 2006)

Thanks all and for your advice.

We did go to Block Island and it is a wonderful place. It is really beautiful and a great natural area. We pulled up to a mooring in Great Salt Pond, the "new harbor" at about 6:00 in the morning. We didn't call anybody in advance and we knew just to look for the "Granny Smith green Apple" colored balls. There were plenty available all of time we were there. The first one we tried and the little floating part that holds the line was tangled around the mooring chain and we couldn't untangle it so we went to the next one - #67 - and it was a breeze. We just reached for the floating buoy with a boat hook and pulled it in. The line that is connected to the mooring has the right amount of line to bring straight to the anchor chock. The harbor master came by soon to collect the rent. They were $30 a night.

I will say that one concern I had is that we have a long bowsprit and thus bobstays supporting the stays at the end of the bowsprit. Since our anchor chocks are way back I sort of felt like I needed a bridle of some sort to even the pull on the two sides of the boat. We were just attached to the mooring ball on one side and it was about 3 feet back from the jib. When the wind blew a certain way the mooring line would put pressure on the bobstay (see the photo).









I could have made a bridle of some sort, or tied another line to the ball, but it never got stormy while we were there so I didn't worry about it. I wasn't sure how that one line was supposed to work with a boat like ours, and when we picked up a mooring at City Island in New York it had two lines coming from the mooring. This was much better since it balanced the boat to the center.

There is a very convenient shuttle taxi from the moorings to a landing. It's a great way to go. We would use the dinghy to save money sometimes, but when your "all primped up" and ready for a night on the town it is nice to just call the shuttle guys and get onto a sturdy platform. I think it was $3 per person and we had 5 people and we would always tip, so after a while the dinghy had its appeal.

Great Salt Pond was formerly a fresh water lake; a big one. It was turned into a salt water pond at some point and thus the name "new harbor." Many people said you should definitely stay at the new Harbor. The old harbor is just a jetty with room for a few boats on the eastern side of the island. But if you were able to get a mooring there it would be more central to the town. From the Great Salt Pond it is a couple of miles walking, or bicycling, or an expensive taxi. The new harbor is right there.

I highly recommend Block Island as a cruising destination. It is a very beautiful Island and is 75% owned by the nature conservancy. There are great restaurants all around and it is a fun island atmosphere. You can walk, rent bikes and boats, take taxis to get around, shop etc and the views are really impressive.

One of our brave crew members went to the top of the mast to take this picture of the Great Salt Pond at Block Island. Its a beautiful place!


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## CBinRI (May 17, 2004)

cranki said:


> Thought I'd add this question to this thread. I haven't sailed to Block Island in probably 20 years. I am planning to cruise there from Watch Hill on Tuesday, July, 15. Anybody give me an idea of what time I'd need to be there to be reasonably sure off picking up a mooring ball. Are they all taken on weekdays?
> 
> I know this is prime cruising time and grounds and. you guys know, New harbor could get pretty crowded 20 years ago. Of course it was much worse on weekends.
> 
> Side note: I believe the guys in the "andiamo" boat are descendants of Aldo, who was doing that when I was a teen; I'm in my 50's now.


I would bet you won't have much of a problem on a Tuesday. There are also a lot less powerboats making the trip this year, thanks to gas prices.


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## JimsCAL (May 23, 2007)

Glad you had a great time at Block Island Pamlicotraveler. It is really a special place. I have cruised there over a dozen times over the last 20+ years and never tire of it. Sounds like the mooring availability is better - maybe one of the few positive things from the high fuel prices.


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## cranki (Jun 11, 2006)

Hi everyone.

Just got back from our cruise to Block and thought I'd update the thread with a quick report.

I almost broke my neck boogie boarding at Napatree Point , Watch Hill Tuesday AM. We had planned to sail to Block right after a morning session,but, I got nailed! Drilled into the sand face first by a vicious shore break. I have never been hit so hard in my life! I could barely move. We walked to the clinic in Watch Hill and they checked me out and gave me some prescriptions. Being that my neck, back and shoulder were all hurting, along with my face... We decided to continue on to Block, but stay at Champlain's instead of anchoring/mooring. 

I had it from here that we might be rafted but we needed a dock. We got a nice spot on the far north end of the docks and no rafting. Oh it was pricey, but, worth it. We were there for 2 nights. I did not see any town moorings available when we came in around 4:30PM Tuesday.

Cab driver (who lives aboard a 31' sloop) confirmed about 25 - 30% less business this season.

The Harbor View restaurant next to the pool at Champlain's is excellent - really. The Harbor Inn, in town, sucked - really.

Last week was a beautiful week for a cruise and I am on the mend. Curse that shore break!

This is probably the subject for a completely different thread, but, we are considering keeping the boat up in Stonington or somewhere in Fisher's Island Sound area next summer. It is about a 90 minute drive from our home and we think it would be nice to have anchorages like Watch Hill and Block Island so close for weekend trips. Anyone have any experience with dong this?


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## Pamlicotraveler (Aug 13, 2006)

Cranki, 

Sorry to hear about your accident. I'm sure it'll be worth a laugh once you have recovered, but it sounds like it could have been a very serious injury. Be careful.

The moorings probably get more scarce as the season goes on. We were there the week before July 4th and I was surprised to hear that in Block the season starts July 4th weekend. Some restaurants were just opening up that week.

Incidentally, our mooring was probably 100 yards from Champlains. It seemed kind of "out of the flow" to getting towards town because the public docks were at the other end. We ended up taking the taxi shuttle to the eastern side where the ferry/dinghy docks were and walking or renting bikes to get into the main part of town where the old harbor is. 

Our only stop at Champlains was on our way out. We really didn't need fuel, but we topped off the tanks so we could get some water. They said that was OK since we were buying fuel. They didn't have a hose though, so we had to dig ours out. I thought that was funny - they obviously don't want sailors taking their dock space to get water. I think we pumped about about 10 gallons of diesel and filled all three water tanks (200 gallons). A cabin cruiser was waiting to get our space at the fuel dock, so by the end of the 200 gallon water fill I was feeling a little pressure from the Champlain's folks. They were nice, but understandably they would rather be pumping gas of diesel than water. Getting water can become a little bit of an issue in places like this.


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Cranki...hope yer doing a bit better now. 
On the issue of longer drives for better cruising grounds...I would say to do it IF you can get off work Friday 5PM and head to the boat make a weekend of it on the boat. My own experience in a different venue on the Chesapeake is that the 90 minutes looms large if you are just trying to day sail and you use the boat less. On the other hand...if you can get to the boat Friday night and have some great cruising to look forward to till Sunday night...each weekend becomes a mini-vacation. Good luck with the decision!


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## JimsCAL (May 23, 2007)

Getting water in Block Island when anchored or on a mooring is a problem. Most seem to dinghy in and fill up a couple of portable containers each morning.


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## Brezzin (Dec 4, 2006)

I was at BI July 5th they raised the mooring fee from from 30.00 to 40.00 and like Pamlico we were on the far end of the mooring field. That night there were available moorings right up until 8 pm when from our mooring we saw a boat come in and pick up the last available Orange mooring. We were fortunate that the Fireworks were postponed from the July 4 to the 5th and we were able to enjoy them from the boat.


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## Pamlicotraveler (Aug 13, 2006)

I meant to mention that I witnessed one of the most fantastic cases of seamanship I have ever seen - right there in the Block Island mooring field. I was so busy being amazed I didn't get a video of it. I wish I had - I would certainly post it here.

A guy on a 35(ish) foot boat sailed and weaved his way right through the mooring field with a 10 knot breeze. He was under main as he navigated through the maze of boats. He eyed his mooring ball, turned into the wind at the perfect moment, and his crew on the bow grabbed the mooring line on the first try. The helmsman quickly went forward to douse the sails. It was flawless. 

For those that have been there, you know how crowded the field is - Boats are moored with just enough swinging room fto allow for the biggest boat. If he had misjudged somehow he could have had serious problems. 

Later I detoured my dinghy and told the guy that I was impressed with his great seamanship. He said "it's a rush, you should try it." Not gonna happen, but I would like to test myself in the open sometime.


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## JDHinckley (Nov 2, 2015)

Really great info in this series. Thanks. I am looking for a spot to keep my 36' Hinckley Picnic Boat on Block Island for 90 days, August 1 - October 31 in 2016. Is my best bet a mooring in the Great Salt Pond and if yes, will they lease it for 90 days? In the alternative, are the private moorings for rent for 90 days?

Many thanks.

JD


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