Afternoon Adventure- Dutch Island Lighthouse

So yesterday and today the heat is literally unbearable. The conference room that we sit in to do work does not have air conditioning. You’d think that by being right on Narragansett Bay it’d be pretty cool but NO. It’s a million degrees. So, today turned into “bring your fan to work day,” and I’m much happier. For some reason my ability to tolerate heat just isn’t there- I think like my dad. 

So yesterday I did something adventurous and crazy- something that was definitely on my list of things to do before I leave Rhode Island. 

There’s a little lighthouse on Dutch Point, an island between here and Jamestown. I look out my window at it every single day. My friend Jess heard one of the professors talk about how him and one of his students swum out to the lighthouse for exercise. Yesterday, Chris (my old roommate) was here, and we decided to go swimming at the little beach here after work. I jokingly told him about the swim out to the lighthouse, and he’s like “let’s do it!” Keep in mind- Chris is a lifeguard and a really good swimmer. I’m a decent enough swimmer with a really determined attitude- when I want to do something there’s no stopping me until I do it. 

So, regardless of the fact that the water was pretty chilly, it felt great after being hot ALL day. We were probably also dehydrated when we started from the heat. So, we started swimming out. It’s REALLY far. It’s really hard to judge distance on the surface of the water. 

It started out calm, in the shallows of the beach, but as we made our way out into the deeper water there was more wind, waves, and boat traffic (of which we were very aware, very cautious, and even if a boat was hundreds of yards away we made our way towards lobster pot buoys so we would be extra noticeable). Also, the further into the channel, the stronger the current. I looked up the tides before we went out- flood tide, which would mean we’d end up swept upriver and not out to sea. Plus, at the beginning you couldn’t feel any sort of current at all. It took us probably about an hour to get out there- nice leisurely swim, lots of laughs, etc. About a hundred feet from the shore of the lighthouse, my right calf muscle cramped- I’m talking really bad spasm, to the point where your muscle goes from concave (pointing outwards) to convex (pointing inwards). At this point though, we really couldn’t stop, so I pushed through the pain! We touched the rocks by the lighthouse (which are barnacle covered and not super fun to climb up) and then turned around. At this point, we’re swimming against the current (due to the angle at which we had to swim back), so I definitely swallowed some salt water. My left leg cramps- but again, we have to make it back, so I stop for a second but then just keep swimming. It was funny because my legs were bothering me and Chris’ armpit hair was chafing his armpits- we definitely had a few laughs!! Combined we made up one full able-bodied swimmer. 

So we’re swimming back, getting colder, more tired, and the sun is setting…  As a result of the current, we ended up way further upriver than we intended, hauled ourselves out of the water on somebody’s beachfront property (albeit at this time I could barely walk), and walked up their driveway. I stopped a really nice lady to ask her for directions back via the road, but she offered to drive us. If she hadn’t, it would have been probably about 2 miles walk back, at 8:30 at night, in our bathing suits, without shoes. 

Needless to say, it was awesome and there’s nobody I would have rather done it with. I’d never do it again- I realize that it was pretty dangerous and could have turned into a really bad situation. What's that expression? All's well that ends well! Next time maybe on a kayak….

Altogether it was just over 2 miles swimming if I mapped it correctly, which took us three hours, because most of it was against the current on the way back. 

(you can click on the pictures to see them bigger- and the picture of the lighthouse is from a website, I didn't have my camera with me. And the picture off the end of a dock is what my view of the lighthouse looks like from the lab window)