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Postcards From Newport: Life on Third Beach

September 10th, 2007 in Monday Morning Tactician.

After arriving in Newport during Labor Day weekend everything seems on a trend towards tranquility. The beach crowds have thinned and the traffic in the parking lots have eased even though the $10 charge has disappeared. The lifeguard stands have been hauled off the beach and the channel markers off of the Third Beach launching ramp have been dragged out of the way. Three of the six public porta-potties have been removed from the grounds and the wind now whips sand instead of beach umbrellas through the boat yard.

A crowd of Laser sailors has arrived to replace the summer swimmers and sunbathers. Ten Lasers and Radials sit along the far side of the empty parking lot that we enjoy for our Olympic Trials facility. The railing lined with bushes bordering the Sachuest Nature Preserve provides marginal cover for our boats as they hunker down each evening after training.

Laser sailing, I suppose, is used to these sorts of spots. The sailing area is close to the beach. Ten minutes after pushing off the beach and you are in the racing area. The southwesterlies and southerly seabreezes produce three to five foot waves and plenty of breeze. The cold northerlies that will be here as autumn sets in will also give us wind with less exposure to the Atlantic Ocean, but good sailing conditions.

The small launch ramp that runs across the beach is the only real indication of a facility. Coaches must be ferried out to their boats riding on the bows of their sailors’ Lasers. Moorings are hard to come by legally. The house that we are renting in Middletown happens to own one, but we are some of the lucky ones who will not have to risk having our rented or borrowed power boats thrown off a mooring because we are not supposed to be there.

Gallons milk jugs of water have to be prepared before the day is started so that there is some fresh water on the spars and hardware after sailing. The lack of running water on the beach is one of those minor details that we’re somehow managing to look around, thanks to the generally nice sailing conditions. I’ve made an executive decision with some of my campaign donor’s funds and bought a five-gallon ’sun-shower’ that sits on top of the car while we’re training and absorbs the sun’s rays and pumps out a bit of hot water to rinse off and get warmed up. But it is generally a scramble to the car and back to the house for a real shower and clothing rinse. There is simply no reason to spend any more time than you absolutely have to at the sailing site.

As I said, we are making do. Of the two weeks I’ve been here, we’ve had 75% of the days with 12 knots or more. Unfortunately we’re in a bit of a light-air trough at present, but it is nice to have a bit of variety.

More to come from Third Beach…

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