Point Judith Pond Paddle/Blessing of the Fleet – this Saturday
Posted by Erik on 7/22/2021, 1:15 pm
Hi folks - I didn’t realize when I scheduled this trip, but this Saturday is the Annual Blessing of the Fleet in Galilee. Boats go through the Breachway starting at noon. If we can find a place to stop and watch the decorated ships as they line up above the Breachway we will, but we will stay out of Galilee itself – it will be much too busy.
Looks like we will have a nice day – partly cloudy, temps in the high 70’s and winds from the south. We will put in at the public boat launch at Marina Park next to the 210 Oyster Bar. We will explore the Upper Pond before paddling through the Narrows into Point Judith Pond. We will then paddle down to Galilee and back – about 8 miles
Toughest part of this trip is launching at this busy boat ramp, and the Blessing of the Fleet will make it worse. Please don’t leave your boat on the boat ramp. There is a grassy area to the right where we can gather for the safety talk before launching as a group.
This is definitely a trip where the group needs to stay together. There are several places where we will be paddling along or crossing busy boat channels, and once again they will be busier than usual with the Blessing of the Fleet. Please stay with the group and be very careful of boat traffic.
Wind is also a variable on this trip. We will do our best to avoid the worst of the wind, but we will certainly be padding into the wind at some point one way or another.
Plan was to have lunch at the Galilee Boat Ramp since there are port-a-potties. That is probably still the best bet, but we’ll have to see how things go when we get there.
Boats 14 feet or longer are required. We may encounter wind, small waves and boat traffic. Bring a lunch.
Fun day - we were able to paddle down into Galilee to see some of the boats coming through the Breachway. Boats everywhere, but we did our best to stay out of the way.
Hi Erik, FYI I found another public put-in on the south side of the pond. (Because sometimes the marina area is so hot and also high tide doesn't leave much room for kayaks). There is parking for about 10 cars. It takes 2 kayakers because there is a set of stairs to the water. There is a small sandy area at the bottom of the stairs into the pond. It is located at the end of Knowlesway, take right after Dunkin Donuts.
