Pavane In Potter Cove

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We had a very pleasant run, with sunshine, down to Potter Cove, dropping the anchor near the innermost buoy (#6) at 3pm.

Potter Cove is only three miles from Bristol and a little more than that from Barrington, so it is a popular hang-out spot for boats from both those major boating harbors. We were very surprised to find only a dozen boats in the cove when we arrived. On a sunny week-end afternoon in mid-Summer, we have shared the cove with fifty or more.

A smart looking 40-foot ketch out of Wickford named “Bellerophon” arrived at the same time and picked up a mooring alongside us. She looks as though she might be a far-east-built boat. The moorings here are put down by locals with no apparent organization or supervision so we have no idea what is on the bottom but suspect that some of these moorings may be held in place with a variety of old car parts, so we do not use them.

We are in our favorite anchoring spot, just inshore of the “last” buoy. This enables us to watch the parade of boats as they enter and leave the cove. About half a dozen boats head in and out per hour throughout the afternoon and evening. A red powerboat which boasts “730 HP” on its side in large letters arrives right behind a simple black hulled sailboat that ghosts in using zero horsepower. Biased? Me??

We can see the entrance to Bristol harbor a couple of miles across the sound. Between here and there is the main “big ship” channel to Providence, so we watch a hundred-passenger cruise-ship head up to Providence, followed by a small oil tanker.

Our first dinner in the cockpit is a great success. Pavane has a wonderful cockpit and we eat there most evenings when at anchor.

This winter, I bought a new LED-powered anchor light online from Bebi Electronics and was surprised when it arrived by mail direct from Fiji, where it was made. Tonight is the first time we use it. It lights up the cockpit like a dance floor and is, we think, much more effective in a small anchorage than a traditional anchor light at the top of a 40 foot mast. Also, it just sips our precious electricity. The photo may make it look big; in fact, it is one-and-a-half inches in diameter.

The sun sets at 8pm and the Mount Hope road bridge on the other side of the sound is illuminated. It provides a very pretty background but we forget to photograph it. Perhaps next time we are here?

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