Reaching about 30 miles inland from the Atlantic, measuring 12 miles across at its widest point, Narragansett Bay is New England’s largest estuary. More than 30 islands dot its waters, and three of them—Aquidneck, Conanicut and Prudence—are quite large. They break the bay up into three north-south sections: the West Passage, East Passage and the Sakonnet River, which spans the bay’s eastern edge.

Aquidneck Island covers more than 40 square miles, and contains the town of Newport, Middletown, and Portsmouth. Prudence Island, along with uninhabited Hope and Patience islands, is home to the Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research Preserve, where roughly 4,400 acres of protected land and water are set aside for the many birds and other wildlife that live in the marshes and forests and along the rocky shores. Potter Cove, on the northeast side of Prudence Island, is especially popular among local sailors and gets pretty crowded on weekends. There’s usually little room to anchor, but any unoccupied mooring is fair game.

As the hours passed, we left Buzzards Bay, transited Rhode Island Sound and headed up the East Passage, leaving Newport to starboard. With its plethora of waterfront bars and restaurants, quaint shops, guided mansion tours and numerous beaches, Newport is a mandatory stop for any sailor. The annual Newport International Boat Show in September, the Museum of Yachting and Fort Adams, the International Yacht Restoration School and numerous classic yacht regattas all make a cruise to Newport well worth the effort. I considered putting in there now, but opted instead for a mooring across the way at Jamestown, on Conanicut Island. Although it’s open to the northeast, the harbor has good protection from strong southerly winds, which is what I wanted.After stopping for fuel at Conanicut Marine, we picked up a guest mooring. Shore leave was in order, so my crew and I hailed the launch and strolled into town. Jamestown is picturesque and laid-back. You can access the town from the marinas on the East Passage side of Conanicut, or you can put in at Dutch Harbor, on the other side of the island in the West Passage. Dutch Harbor offers excellent protection from northeasterly winds and is a great place to anchor.