From Bowen's Wharf Past Castle Hill Light: Newport by Water
A narrated loop of Newport Harbor and Narragansett Bay on a restored 1969 wooden boat, with a Del's lemonade in hand.
Newport keeps some of its best angles offshore. The company that runs this trip describes the payoff as historical sights visible only from the water, and for a town whose shoreline estates and lighthouses all face the bay, that is a fair way to put it. The afternoon departure leaves Bowen's Wharf, works down the harbor and out into Narragansett Bay, then comes back the way it went. The boat is wooden, built in Maine in 1969 and rebuilt from the frames out in 2007.
One guide works the deck and narrates the whole way while the captain handles the boat. The listing describes a seventy-five minute cruise while its own duration field reads seventy, so plan on about an hour and a quarter on the water. Afternoon passengers get a Del's frozen lemonade, the Rhode Island summer staple, at no extra charge. A cash bar covers wine, beer, soda and mixed drinks, and outside food and drink stay ashore.
Afternoon Grand Tour | Gansett Cruises in Newport, RINarrated 75-minute harbor and bay cruise aboard M/V Gansett, departing Bowen's Wharf. Complimentary Del's lemonade, cash bar aboard.www.viator.comFort Adams, Hammersmith Farm, and a House on a Rock
Fort Adams holds the point at the harbor mouth, and the route runs out past it into the bay. Hammersmith Farm follows on Harrison Avenue, the shingle-style house that went up in 1887 for the Auchincloss family and later became Jacqueline Bouvier’s childhood home. She held her wedding reception there in 1953, and President Kennedy signed the Peace Corps Act during a stay there in 1961. The house returned to private use in 1999. Castle Hill Light, completed in 1890, stands where the bay opens into the East Passage. Off toward Jamestown, alone on a rock in the Dumplings, sits the 1905 house that locals call the House on a Rock. Every place the itinerary names is a pass-by. Nobody gets off the boat.
A 1969 Hull, Rebuilt From the Frames Out
The company describes M/V Gansett as a wooden boat built in Maine as a fishing vessel in 1969, restored in 2007. A trade-press account it reprints on its own site covers that rebuild in detail: twenty-one new steam-bent timbers, a new stern, and a hull of mahogany planking over split white oak frames. Gansett Cruises started running trips the same year the restoration finished. What passengers board now is fifty feet of painted wood and varnished trim, with a canopied main deck below and an open sun deck on top. The operator puts her capacity at forty-nine, and the booking platform sells the same number of seats per departure.
Two Decks, and Three Steps to Reach Them
Boarding runs down a ramp to the dock, along the float, and up a second ramp to the boat. The last move is three steps down from the ramp onto the deck, and wheelchairs cannot come aboard at all. Staff will hold a wheelchair at the ticket booth during the trip, and the same goes for strollers and car seats, which are also barred from the deck. Soft-soled shoes only, and no heels or wedges, which the crew enforces for footing on a wet deck. There is a marine head on board, though the booth recommends using a public restroom first. Dogs stay home unless they are certified service animals.
Where to Park and When to Show Up
Newport runs on metered street parking and public lots, and the company suggests allowing half an hour to park and walk in during the busy months. The dock sits at 2 Bowen’s Landing, off Bowen’s Wharf. Check in at the ticket booth to collect a boarding pass, and budget twenty-five minutes before your departure time, because the boat will not wait. The company’s own page asks for twenty. Either way the earlier number is the one that keeps you aboard.
Trips run in drizzle, light rain and fog as long as the captain judges it safe, and a cancellation on their side gets you a new date or a refund. Cancel on your own side and the twenty-four hour line applies. A departure can also be called off if too few passengers book it, which brings the same choice of another date or your money back. Layers help; the breeze off the bay stays cool even in August. Bowen's Wharf is still there when you step off, with the rest of the evening in front of you.