AMC Paddle - Wickford to Rome Point

This day I had two different paddling adventures to choose from.  I wound up going with the Narragansett AMC since I haven't seen them all season.  As it turned out, I've paddled this route before (see Wickford).  That didn't matter, though, because as you'll see, the pictures I took and the overall experience was quite different.  Last time, I paddled my Cape Horn, a shorter and heavier boat, at a higher rate of speed, making that day much more exhausting than this one.

Today began as a "soft day", as it's known in Ireland - the air and the waters were still while a gentle mist hung in the air.  Because I didn't know if/when it was going to start actually raining, I decided to start with my paddling jacket on, even though when the sun came out later, I might be feeling a bit of heat.

Lined up and ready to go, my Gulfstream is front and center.

You get a real sense of the "soft day" looking down towards the Jamestown bridge.  Look really carefully under the bridge and you'll see he light house that we'll be paddling towards.

Coming out of the marina, we passed this unusual sight. 
Evidently there's no "bull" allowed on the Braveheart.

Ospreys nest on the channel market at the outskirts of the marina.

Here's something you don't see every day. This looked like part sailboat, part pirate ship.

Coming up on the lighthouse and bridge, it looks really close, but there's still some paddling to do.

Here's the Plum Beach Lighthouse up close.  Click on the link to read lots of interesting history about this light and how it was rescued from ruin to its beautiful restoration today.

We've been out over 2 hours, but we still paddle around to the north side of Rome Point, which is part of the John H. Chafee Nature Preserve.  At certain times of the year it's an excellent place for seal watching.

This is why we didn't land on the south side
of Rome Point.  Too many rocks.  Notice
above the rocks there
a distinctive white band of...

... small snail shells - millions and millions of them. 

After lunch, it's back to the boats for the final leg of the journey.

We paddle out of Bissell Cove.  During low tide, we might have to exit the cove the way we came in.  However, with the tide on the high side, we'll be able to paddle around the peninsula and exit at the north end.

We made it back to our put-in sometime later, as most of us returned via the scenic route, hugging the coastline and viewing sites and houses in the nearby town.  In total, we paddled 11.56 miles in 4h31m.  We had a pretty relaxed pace, averaging just over 2.5mph.  Our "soft day" had turned into a mostly sunny and very enjoyable one.