Newport sucks, really!

Coffee Stop at Castle Hill with Durbin

We stayed now for more than one week in Newport. And as the title says, it really sucks. 

First of all it's very expensive for boaters. I mean - really freaking expensive. A berth in a marina is 200 USD and up for a boat of 40 feet PER NIGHT. A mooring is 45 USD per night. No weekly or monthly rates available of course, even Rahel's charm didn't help (just seems to work in the Caribbean...). And like planned, the designated anchor field is cluttered with moorings and there is literally no space for some nice carefree nights on the hook. 

And if you think it cannot get worse, there are those people! Take Bill for example. We met him back in Culebra, Puerto Rico, where he was working in the "Dinghy Dock Bar & Restaurant" on the weekends. He actually owns a well known Irish pub back in Charleston himself ("Dunleavy's Pub" on Sullivan's Island). But since he rather likes to cruise than to work in his own bar his nephew is taking care of it now and Bill bartenders all over the US instead. Since twenty plus years or so. Which means he of course used to work in the best bar/restaurant in Newport and our favorite hangout - the "Black Pearl" - as well. No surprise he knows everybody, or better everybody who owns a bar or works or used to work behind a counter at one time. And that's now a real big disaster for our cruising kitty!

The "gang": Denise, Wolfgang (s/v Moony), Rahel, Dave, Marco (pic by Bill)

After one week most of the local bartenders in the hippest locations do greet us by name already ;-) They're not even asking anymore if we'd like to open a tap - it's taken for granted.  Not particular something you get for free!
And it got even worse: Instead of curing our hangover on the boat we had to meet up with Durbin at 10am ashore! He insisted to show us around Newport in his car. As you can imagine it was no fun at all... I mean, who wants to hang around with a local guy who knows all the details of each of the amazing mansions, or knows every secret sightseeing jewel no tourist will ever get to see? Who really needs to know that you can eat delicious sandwiches right besides the amazing super yachts in a working marina? To top the bad news, he gave me the best fishing advices since years. I caught one fantastic 20 inch fluke just within 20 minutes after using his advice and his lures. That really sucks as my wife now expects that I get the same kind of fish every night to make up for the too much needed $$ in the bars. And as you know, I really hate pressure!

Durbin & his lovely wife Ludi with Marco in front of Claiborne Pell Newport bridge

To make the whole story worse there is Dave, a sailing buddy of Bill's. We met back in Bermuda for the first time. He calls Block Island his home, which by pure accident will be our next destination. I can already foresee whole nights of discussions about things we do not agree on at all (besides the common understanding that one last beer may clear the other persons view...) And knowing me and my old sales habits, I will not stop until Dave understands...

Did I mention that Bill will start working in a bar on Block Island in a few days and Durbin and his lovely wife Ludi are going to spend some time there too? For some racing, fishing and bocce on the beach?

Folks, please get me out of here...!

PS: Here you can see Bill being interviewed back in 2012 about the "Polar Plunge" at his pub, an event to raise money to benefit Special Olympics SC athletes ;-)