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Cape Dory Sailboat Owners
Association
Cape Dory Rendezvous 2003:
Westbound Rendezvous Flotilla to Bristol
Thursday, July 31st
Current as of: 2 June 2003
Third Beach/
Middletown, RI
Click on chart thumbnail
for details.
Third Beach Itinerary:
We will be meeting in the afternoon on Thursday, July
31st and, if conditions allow, forming a raft-up in
the bight off Third Beach, Middletown, RI on the
Sakonnet River. This area is indicated on the chart
facsimile above.
If we cannot raft-up, please try to anchor
in the same general area. The largest vessel will become
the "host" vessel and and crews should congregate
onboard that vessel. Please bring snacks and beverages with
you to share with the other crews.
GC"3" off Flint Point, near the
entrance to Third Beach is approximately 15 nm WNW of our
previous destination of Cuttyhunk Harbor, 12.5 nm ESE of
Dutch Harbor, and 14.6 nm S of Bristol.
Mean tidal range is 3.1 feet.
Please monitor VHF Channel 16 and switch
to 72 for fleet communications.
Third Beach offers
a nice, protected, sandy beach and is ideal for swimming
and boating. This is also a popular windsurfing spot. There
is a concrete boat ramp and areas marked off for swimming,
boating, and anchoring. Once ashore you're an easy walk from Sachuest
National Wildlife Refuge and the Norman
Bird Sanctuary. Don't forget your swim suit or you binoculars!
The refuge provides bird walks, shoreline walks, and discussions
of local points of interest. Both parks are open to the public
from dawn to dusk.
About the Area:
Middletown, in Newport County, is located
in lower Narragansett Bay about twenty-five miles southeast
of Providence And about one mile from downtown Newport and
occupies the middle section of Aquidneck Island. The town's
14.7 square-mile area lies between Portsmouth to the north
and Newport to the southwest. Rhode Island Sound, Narragansett
Bay, and the Sakonnet River bound the community on the south,
west, and east, respectively.
Aquidneck Island is one of the earliest colonial
settlement sites in Rhode Island. The first European to make
contact with Indians in the Narragansett Bay region was Giovanni
da Verrazano, in 1524. By 1614 Dutch traders were conducting
an active business with the Indians in the area. When Roger
Williams arrived in 1636, Canonicus and Miantonomi were the
sachems of the Narragansetts. Portsmouth was founded in 1638
and Newport in 1639. Middletown was part of Newport until
it was set off in 1731.
In 1638, through the intercession of Roger
Williams, Aquidneck Island was deeded by the Narragansett
sachems Canonicus and Miantonomi to John Clarke, William
Coddington, Nicholas Easton, and several others from the
Massachusetts colony who established a settlement called
Pocasset (later Portsmouth) at the northern end of the island.
In 1639 a group led by Coddington, Clarke, and Easton left
Portsmouth and started a new settlement at the southern end
of Aquidneck. The island was divided along the present boundary
between Middletown and Portsmouth. What later became Middletown
was included within the jurisdiction of Newport and since
that time the history of Middletown has been closely associated
with that of Newport.
Cape Dory owners are invited to join the flotilla
anywhere along the route. Sail with us the whole way or just
for a couple of days -- whatever suits your schedule.
If you have any questions regarding this event,
please contact Diana Paquette, 508-728-2958 or at chicktnt@aol.com or Michael
Heintz, 203-838-7599 or at Mzenith@aol.com.
Please check this page often as we will include
more information as it becomes available.
Please see the "Events" page
for the current Northeast Fleet Rendezvous agenda.
For information on becoming part of the
NE Fleet see the "Fleet Information."
