Block Island - Our Favorite Places

Boat/US Magazine, March, 2004 by Scott Croft

We've all heard about "independent" New Englanders. But the folks on a seven-by-three-mile speck of land 12 miles off the Rhode Island coast take it to the next level. When the U.S. declared war on Germany in January 1942, the 671 residents of Block Island, RI, were asked by state authorities to evacuate to the mainland. "No thanks," came the spry reply, and the islanders didn't budge.

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Fast forward to June 2003. I am aboard the Pt. Judith/Block Island ferry headed to this isolated boater's haven with throngs of summer families, couples, station wagons and mountain bikes. We disembark in Old Harbor, the island's main entry point, and I'm instantly struck on how much this island relies on the mainland for its livelihood.

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So, where is this "independence"?

Grand Victorian and Gothic tourist hotels dominate the waterfront, a national historic district. Filling them to capacity are my fellow ferry passengers. The small harbor is jammed with day-trippers hailing from Long Island, New Jersey and beyond. The year-round population of 900 grows ten-fold in the summer. This place was made for people who don't live here.

So while the locals may still be of independent stock, they warmly roll out the red carpet each tourist season with open arms, and the place thrives. Small but tasty, Block Island is dessert for boaters.

Each of the three largest offshore New England Islands has a different personality. In Jamaica, they call it a "vibe," and in Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, the vibe can best be characterized as starched collar, according to BoatU.S. members Jim and Bonny Cleary, who have been sailing the region for 25 years in their Morgan 38.

Ask the Clearys--or anyone else on the water, for that matter--and they say Block Island is known for being laid back, let-your-hair-down, and simply fun, clearly different from its Atlantic Ocean sisters. People come here to have a good time without the Gucci. Dressing up on Block Island means going from swimsuit to shorts. You don't wear a collared shirt to go out at night.

"There are no fancy stores," says Jim. Indeed, a walk through Old Harbor or a taxi tour circumnavigation reveals no high-end jewelry makers or clothiers--atypical to the standard upscale resort town as weathered grey shingled siding is to New England.

"Everyone comes here for the same reason--to party," says Jim. He thinks the vibe rubs off from the throngs of college kids working on the island. He's on to something. This is a summer school for collegians--they are working everywhere.

So what does this "Bermuda of the North" have to offer boaters? It is a land of Gothic spires, mansard roofs, wide lazy verandas, and Victorian gingerbread spread upon a slice of windswept dunes, towering bluffs and clover-green rolling moors dotted with hundreds of fresh water ponds and two thousand miles of low stone fences.

Accommodations are historic hotels, B & Bs or rentals--there are no motels or chain properties.

While the ferry does bring cars to the island, the most common modes of transportation are taxi, bicycle or scooter--the latter a questionable choice for most four-wheel drivers who've never driven powered, two-wheel transportation. There's a 25-mph island speed limit.

Walking the island's 25-mile public network of Greenway Trails, a pedestrian could get confused--is this Ireland or Rhode Island? Forty percent of the island is set aside for conservation. There are no squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits or skunks, but plenty of deer, hawks, egrets and geese.

There are two main ports--Old Harbor and New Harbor, which is on Great Salt Pond. Old Harbor is widely known for being the "party" harbor, while New Harbor is quieter--at least on a mooring or hook.

Old Harbor's town docks are run by Dock Master John Calhoun, who for 30 years has had the great skill of squeezing in dozens of boats into an area seemingly no larger than a Little League infield. Commercial, pleasure and charter boats share the dock and Calhoun deserves a lot of credit for keeping everyone happy.

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With dockage assigned on a first come, first served basis, much of the recreational fleet is stacked 10 deep, rubrail-to-rubrail, so if you are one of the closest ones in, you'll have visitors transiting. "It's standing room only in July, and be sure to bring extra fenders," says Calhoun. But that doesn't seem to bother many here. With boisterous bars just paces away, boaters who overnight here know what they're getting into.

"The town dock is a party spot and has a good singles scene," says BoatU.S. member Joe Castonguay. He says he likes being so close to all the action. "The festivities last long into the night, and it's not altogether uncommon to find a lost partyer in the morning sleeping in the back," he says with a chuckle.

Now with a 29-foot Formula, Castonguay has been coming to Block Island for 20 years and has the entertainment circuit down, "Thursday is martini night at Spring House, Fridays it's happening at Kittens and Nicks."