It seems like each coastal state in the US has a place called Newport. The town in Rhode Island is definitely queen of the Newports, at least to sailors. Located on the shores of Narragansett Bay, Newport, RI, is best known for two things.
For most folks, Newport is most famous for its “summer cottages” built during the Gilded Age of the late 1800s. The barons of the oil, steel, railroad, and mining industries commissioned colossal mansions perched on the cliffs overlooking the Atlantic. As the coastal real estate became scarce, these cottages in name alone also began to stretch inland across the peninsula separating the ocean from the bay.
While the land on which the mansions are built remains private, there is a public right-of-way along the cliffs – this is Newport’s famous Cliff Walk. Winding along more than 3 miles (5km) of oceanfront, this path offers stunning views of the glistening natural wonder of the Atlantic to one side and the man-made wonder of enormous summer houses to the other.
To sailors, however, Newport is famous as the US home of the America’s Cup yacht race. While the regatta began in England, beginning in the early 1900s the race relocated to Newport. The strong sailing heritage is still present, and even towards the end of the season when Madrone visited the harbor bustled with sailing craft. The small sailing dinghies of the youth racing programs jostled for position with one another, 50-80 foot ocean racing catamarans and monohulls zipped across the bay during training runs, and a line of superyachts rested against the marina docks.
Madrone hasn’t tied up to a dock for more than a day or so since leaving Chile, so her currently salty and slightly grizzled exterior didn’t quite match up to the standards set by the glistening brightwork of Newport’s resident yachts. But she’s still a sailboat, so she fit right in.
