Safe Boating

'Kick' back and plan to do some exploring

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How about a destination not too far, with calm seas, lovely scenery and a little history? Why not try the Kickemuit River? This is one of four rivers that flow into Mount Hope Bay. First, head into the East Passage. Go up around the north end of Prudence Island, and then southeast. Go under the Mount Hope Bridge, proceed up Mount Hope Bay and follow the shoreline, checking your chart, of course. The entrance to the Kick is at the Bristol narrows and Coggshell. The channel swings to the northeast, then to the northwest.

The entry to the Kick is the challenge. Hug the red buoys. Remember, Red Right Returning! A friend of mine, longtime sailor Dr. Bill Anderson, gave this advice for visiting the Kickemuit. “If you have any kind of a draft over four feet you should plan to go in on the tide. Stay in the channel. The channel's width varies, so we kept our speed to three knots, focusing on our depth sounder and GPS. As you enter the mouth of the Kick, [the] best holding ground is to the East, to your right. We leave 60 feet of chain out with our 80-pound plow anchor. It is generally a millpond, but we have had a bouncing evening when the wind was blowing 35 knots from the northwest. The waterfront is privately owned, but there is a spit of land by the opening of the channel we dinghy to for the dogs to stretch their legs. To the west there are several streets that end at the water. We have left the dinghy to walk up the hill to see the other side.”  

Bird watchers can get a look at osprey, heron, Baltimore orioles, pheasants, owls, red tailed hawks and more. Canoers and kayakers will enjoy the quiet scenic ride around the river trail. 

In 1632 the west bank of the Kickemuit was the site of a trading post used by the Wampanoags and the English Colonists from Plymouth. It was here that, decades later, King Philip’s War began between the Colonists and the Native Americans. A hundred years after that, area residents decided to harness the power of the tides to run a sawmill and a gristmill. A dam was built with a moving gate so that the tide would flow upstream, and have to flow through a waterwheel to get back downstream.  This worked well until the late 1800’s when a water company enlarged the dam across the whole river and blocked the tidal salt water from mixing with the fresh water. The newly created reservoir was a great benefit to surrounding communities for drinking water and more. Certain species of fish, however, live in salt water but must spawn in fresh water. When the dam had a waterwheel and gate, they could still access the fresh water. Now they were totally blocked and could not lay eggs. A few years ago, the Kickemuit River Association constructed a fish ladder, which allows the fish to go upstream to spawn. The association received the award for Best Conservation Project. Paddlers can explore this site at the north end by the dam.

It is a great place for private fireworks on the Fourth. Check on regulations. And sign up for a safe boating course! There is one starting Monday June 6 in Warwick. Go to www.northstarflotilla.com for information or to register. Safe Boating!

 Caption for:

Up the Bay to the Kickemuit

: Follow your chart carefully. The arrow just points to the Mt. Hope Bridge and the star is the Kickemuit River.

Caption for

Entrance to the Kickemuit

: Watch the winding channel! No room for error here. Your reward is a lovely, almost always calm anchorage. Bring your binoculars to do some bird watching, too.

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