Chilly days and nights have finally arrived, but you can warm up your outlook by thinking of this coming summer’s boating. If you venture into the lower East Passage of Narragansett Bay, you may cruise by Goat Island. It’s fun to be able to relate a little of its history. In the 1600’s early British Colonists bought this island from the Narragansett Tribe as a perfect place to graze their goats. Plenty for the animals to eat and they couldn’t wander far.

Later, in 1703, the Brits built the rough earthen Fort Anne in case of attack in the War of Spanish Succession, which ended ten years later with no conflict in this area. Meanwhile, Newport, already engaged in molasses smuggling, had become a major sanctuary for pirates. They brought wealth to the town and had many prominent sponsors in Newport. The deep-water port was ideal for bringing their newly captured ships up to the dock to be refit, disguised, renamed, and registered as a new, legitimate ships.  Blackbeard and Captain Kidd were frequent visitors here and had many contacts among the citizens. This pirate-friendly situation continued until the local merchants found their business was being ruined since they were unable to compete with the pirate goods, and pirates began preying on Newport ships! The attitude was increasingly hostile until finally, in 1723, 26 pirates were hanged on Gravelly Point and buried at the north end of Goat Island just below high tide mark.

Some say that Capt. Kidd’s ship, the Endeavor, sank north of Goat Island, and that his gold is buried near Newport. If you dinghy in to Newport you can take the Pirates and Scoundrels Walking Tour and walk in their footsteps. Actually, if you have dined at the White Horse Tavern, you may have been sitting right where Thomas Tew and Capt. Kidd raised a glass of ale.

In 1738 Goat Island’s Fort Anne was replaced by a stone fort and named Fort George, after the British King. The British ships’ crews became more and more of a problem, demanding a stop to the molasses smuggling etc., and in 1764, when the crew of the HMS St. John robbed the colonists, the Newport men rowed over to Goat Island and stormed the fort, firing on the British ship with the British fort’s own guns. A few years later the HMS Liberty broke free of its anchor and drifted to the north end of Goat Island and the Newporters burned it. After the Revolutionary War the fort was rebuilt and named Fort George Washington. Later the government purchased it and renamed it Fort Wolcott.

In 1869 Goat Island became a US Naval Torpedo Station, and became involved in the manufacturer of torpedoes for World War I and World War II. Finally, in 1960, a developer bought the island and put up a hotel, condominiums, and restaurant.

When you cruise by, take a good look and think of the rich history of Goat Island.

Trivia Question: What is the purpose of a forward spring line? For the answer and more information, go to:  www.northstarflotilla.

com. Safe Boating!