Block Island Rendezvous and Gam1
As announced at this year’s Annual Meeting, after a several-year hiatus the Association will once again be holding the Block Island Rendezvous and gam. The Rendezvous will be held on Saturday, June 14th 2025 at Payne’s Dock located at the southeast end of Block Island’s Great Salt Pond. Headquarters for the Rendezvous will be Mahogany Shoals, “the bar that you’ve been practicing for” located right on Payne’s Dock.
The Rendezvous is open to all schooners2, all member boats regardless of rig and all members and guests whether they come by boat, ferry, car or air!
We are still working out the details, but the overall idea is for participating boats to arrive by mid-day, Saturday, June 14th for lunch, followed by an afternoon of socializing at Mahogany Shoals, boat visits, laughs and libations. Dinner will be a cookout/pot luck dinner, with the association providing basic cookout provisions on the Shoals upper deck in the evening. All boats are encouraged to provide some kind of “pot luck” for the dinner. We will not be able to accommodate any special dietary needs, so please be prepared to fend for yourselves if necessary.
Shantyman Cliff Haslam will be joining us at the rendezvous to add music as the evening progresses. We are hoping and expecting there will be some musicians among the attendees who will be willing to break out their instruments and voices and jump in with Cliff and help the music and sea shanties flow.
At the moment, we don’t have anything specific planned for Sunday morning.
As in the past, there is no cost for the Rendezvous, other than dockage. We will need everyone to register so we have a headcount for the Saturday night cookout. Register, including guests, for the Rendezvous through the Association online event registration at https://amschooner.net/event-6133748.
If attending by boat, your dockage reservation should be arranged directly with Payne’s Dock at https://paynesdock.com/. Payne’s is giving us a discounted rate of 4.50/foot per night. Power is charged separately at $45/day. All boats are encouraged to dock at Payne’s to make it easier for boat visits and to support Payne’s in appreciation of their giving us the run of their dock. If you prefer to anchor out and dinghy in, there are plenty of moorings and anchorage space available on the Great Salt Pond in mid-June. Moorings cannot be reserved but are available on a first-come first-served basis. Contact the Block Island Harbormaster on VHF ch. 12.
If you are not attending by boat and planning on staying overnight, the most convenient accommodation is the Narraganset Inn, located at the base of Payne’s dock. Reservations can be made at https://secure.thinkreservations.com/narragansettblockislandresorts/reservations. You can also check out the Block Island Tourism Council’s site https://www.blockislandinfo.com/places-to-stay/ for many more options.
Block Island is a wonderful place to explore, particularly in June, when it is relatively quiet. Consider arriving early or staying beyond the rendezvous to fully enjoy all the island has to offer. Check out https://www.blockislandinfo.com.
Paul
Paul Gray
Secretary/Treasurer
1 "Gam is a nautical term to describe one whaling ship (or "whaler") paying a social visit to another at sea. The term was first used to describe a school of whales, and whalemen may have taken its meaning from that source." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gam_(nautical_term)
2 If you are a charter boat with paying passengers, please contact me to discuss accommodating your passengers at the Rendezvous.
