The details of the overall race can be found here: Mitchell Regatta Spring 2026. Here I will detail my personal trip. It started on Saturday with leaving the house towing the boat before 07:00, driving to the public boat ramp in Galilee. Fortunately, it was not too crowded, just two runabouts that looked ready for fishing occupying both docks. There was at least enough room for me to launch ahead of one. I splashed the boat, loaded up all my gear, parked the car and trailer and set out rowing with the mast still down to make it under the causeway to Great Island in order to avoid the long, shallow-water row or sail around Great Island. A couple strokes away from the dock and one of my oars snapped in half! Olaf, the previous owner, had warned me to go easy since they were made from closet poles, but I suspect some rot had set in as well. Fortunately, I wasn't far from the dock and was able to paddle back using a single oar. I had two brand-new 9-foot aluminum oars sitting in my basement that I had purchased for my previous Day Sailer, but never gotten around to using. Low tide was predicated for 08:56 for Point Judith Harbor of Refuge and I wanted to make sure I got clear of the pond before then so I wouldn't have to fight current. I left the boat tied to the end of the dock, with what little breeze there was blowing it off. It was after 08:00 when I quickly unhitched the trailer from the car and raced home to get my other oars. Fortunately, I was back by about 08:30 and rowed away successfully, opting to row all the way out to the Harbor of Refuge, where I anchored, raised the mast, hoisted the sails and got under way by about 09:30. The 5 knot easterly winds made for a relaxed, but slow, sail out. There were brief periods where it "gusted" to 10-12 knots, and as usual the wind was plentiful in the channel to New Harbor, which required lots of tacking due to the direction. As I got to Payne's Dock around 13:00, I went around the shallow west side, hoping to get in the lee of the building for Sunday's forecast strong easterlies. I got lucky, there were two spots left, and I sailed gently up to the dock, hopping off with the bow line. I settled in and got the boom tent up so I was ready for the rain. Feeling hungry since I hadn't eaten anything but trail mix all day, I cooked a quick packet of chili with beans on my Trangia camp stove. Just what I needed! I then walked the dock looking for the racers. Not seeing anyone, I decided to grab a drink at Mahogany Shoals bar, now with nice side-curtains around the canopy-covered outside bar.
Within a couple hours, the racers all arrived and I greeted them at the dock. Larvik was the first, but Scappare and Sabre Tooth were not long after. Everyone got tied up facing east in preparation for the wind on Sunday. Kim and Bill aboard Larvik generously offered me a berth on their boat, but I really wanted to try out sleeping aboard Yamp Swankee. I went to dinner with the group from both Sabre Tooth and Scappare. Dave from Scappare generously paid for dinner at Poor People's Pub! On the walk back, Judy Mitchell (good friend and widow of the race founder) pulled over in her car to say hello and offer me a ride, which I politely declined since I didn't want to leave the others, but invited Judy to come by for the contests and awards the next day. By the time we got back, I was feeling tired and decided to turn in early, around 21:00, having gotten only about 6 hours sleep the night before.
I slept well until the wind and rain woke me up just after 03:00. I realized I was probably in turbulent air since I was right near the edge of the building, so I pulled the boat over to the adjacent empty slip, more behind the building, but it was still being bounced around by the breeze a lot. Finally, I drew the boat alongside the main dock, closer to the building and it was much better protected. Just after 06:00 I was feeling awake and hungry, so I put on my foul weather jacket and headed into town in search of breakfast. There were only a couple options open before 07:00 this time of year. I chose Ernie's, which looked warm and inviting, plus I hadn't been there before and like to try new places. I had a nice hot cup of coffee and delicious sausage gravy on biscuits. It seemed the perfect choice on a cold, rainy day! Chatting with the waittress, I found out she was one of Cliff Mitchell's cousins and of course knows Judy well also! The guy doing the cooking came out and chatted as well, telling me he used to live with Cliff and Judy. Small world!
After my usual organizer duties running the Bloody Mary and hors d'oeuvre contests, then the awards, I cooked up some beef stew, then mac and cheese on my stove for lunch. Later, I hung out on Larvik, having fun chatting and playing Farkle, with an incredible dinner of Chicken Mozambique made by Alex!
I got to bed sometime before midnight and slept well, awaking just after 06:00 and walking to town for breakfast again, this time at the Old Post Office Bagel Shop. I had just finished enjoying a very satisfying everything bagel with cold smoked salmon, cream cheese, and a smooth dark roast hot coffee when I looked up to see my friends Kyle and Rachel walk in! It was a surprise since they usually sail on Dark Star, who had signed up, but not sailed out this year. I soon learned the reason they here anyway; it seems Kyle had just proposed and Rachel accepted! It was his plan to propose on the island, but when Dark Star didn't sail out, they took the ferry on Sunday in some very rough conditions. I was thrilled to hear of their engagement and it was great to catch up for a bit while walking back to Payne's together. I paid Sands for the dockage and thanked him for supporting us. I made sure all the racers were all set before packing up my boat for the return trip. I positioned my boat held only by the bow line so it could swing head-to-wind and I could hoist the sails. Once the sails were up, I gave a shove off the dock and off I went! There was decent breeze already, about 10-12 knots from the southwest, forecast to hold all day. There was fog that came in and out, but luckily eventually burned off pretty well. I was able to see 1BI before long and had my navigation app (OpenCPN) ready on my phone if needed. Just past 1BI, Scappare passed me under spinnaker. Luckily, I had an uneventful sail across Block Island Sound, until about a mile from the Point Judith breakwater, where the seas were quite confused as is often the case. It seems the 4-6 foot swells from the southeast met with building chop from the southwest to make conditions pretty lively. The wind had also built to the upper teens at this point. Sailing just broad of a beam reach I managed to hit 13 knots surfing the swells! I sailed all the way through the channel into Point Judith Pond, then briefly hove-to and anchored just before the causeway, so I could drop the sails and rig to go under, back to the ramp. In the breeze and current, it seems the anchor didn't grab right away and dragged until it probably caught on the anchor of a nearby mooring. I got concerned it might get stuck, but figured worst case I had my wetsuit and mask if necessary. After getting the rig squared away, I hauled the anchor and realized it was coming up, but felt way too heavy. I'm guessing it was caught in the bottom chain of the mooring. Fortunately, dropping the anchor back down quickly got it free and I got it up, stored and rowed back under the causeway to the ramp. Unloading the boat and getting it back on the trailer went pretty smoothly. After the short drive back, it was great to be home!
