On Thursday September 18th a crew of 5 paddlers (Jeremy Grosvenor, Drew Harvey, Nico McMahon, Nick Stevens, and Kyle Sturmann) took on a behemoth mission from Fishers Island to Block Island led by Dawgpatch guide vessel, the “Point to Point” captained by Dave Harvey out of Sag Harbor.

Start Point: East Pt. (Fishers Island, NY)

End Point: Great Salt Pond (Block Island, RI)

Mode of Travel: Prone Paddle

Distance: 17.5 NM = 20 miles

Duration of Completion: 6 hrs

Date of Completion: 09/18/2025

Levels of Support: 5 paddlers guided by 21.5 ft support boat, the “Point to Point” + Captain. VHF Marine Radio carried in case of emergency. Navigational tools used, compass and NOAA Chart #13205 reference on guide boat. Boat also carried additional water and food for check point stops made along the way (at no point did anyone board boat during paddle crossing). Boat transported boards and paddlers to start location and back from end location.

Trip Report: Loaded boat with all paddle boards the night before at Ship Ashore Marina in Sag Harbor, NY. Scheduled a 5:00 AM sharp meet up time on Thursday morning at the marina to push off the dock by 5:15 AM. Boated out to Fishers Island with all gear and paddlers to start location. Conditions were slightly more choppy than expected on the transport out. Winds were blowing out of the northeast at 10 kts and forecasted to drop by 7:00 AM. Sunrise was at 6:31 AM. High tide on Fishers Island was 7:28 AM.

Made it to East Pt. on Fishers Island by boat @7:00 AM and unloaded paddle boards. Paddlers went in to touch the rocky beach on Fishers Island for the start of the paddle crossing. Paddle started @ 7:30 AM.

Winds were dropping to 5 kts out of the West - Northwest. Tide was starting to ebb. Swell heights were pulsing at 2-3ft. Skys were overcast. Good day for a paddle.

With guide boat out in front, paddlers directed their course to 110 - 114 degrees towards Block Island’s Great Salt Pond, which was absolutely no where in site. Into the abyss we go.

We knew we had about 6 hours to complete the 20 mile paddle across the Block Island Sound before the tide switch. The first 2 hours we eased into the long day and stayed more or less as a group. At the first check point Captain Dave made mention that we were going to need to pick up the speed if we were going to make it to Block Island - reminding us this was a “challenge” not a “leisurely paddle.” As we filled up water and downed a few cliff bars we decided to hit the next hour strong before regrouping again.

By approximately 9:30 AM the water started to really glass off and the crew got their rhythm. Jeremy led the pack stroking effortlessly alongside the boat with the rest of the crew trailing close behind. We started making miles.

After our second big regroup (3 hour mark) we had made some significant headway, and Block Island became visible in the distance. The compass course was corrected to 120 degrees as we began to get set further east with the outgoing tide. After another water fill up we got back to paddling hard again for the next hour, and gunned it past an oncoming fishing boat in the thick of the Block Island sound.

Around 11:30 AM a pod of dolphin came up on us (most likely our friends who came to check us out during our swim crossing last year). As the dolphins passed we checked the map and saw we were on the back third of the paddle.

The water was going to a full glass off by the end of the paddle with winds blowing at no more than 2-3 kts. Perfect conditions. Block Island’s west side features became much more visible when we got to within 5 miles.

For the final hour of the paddle we had a good line of site to the Great Salt Pond inlet where we had planned to stop and regroup before entering the harbor as a pack. The muscles were pretty fatigued at this point for most but the end was in site. All paddlers made it to the inlet by 1:45 PM in good spirits and were welcomed by 2 seals at the mouth of the harbor.

The final leg of the paddle into the Great Salt Pond was made easy by an incoming tide push. We made our way through the mooring field to Champlins Marina where the guide boat refueled before paddlers finished at “The Oar” on Block Island.

Finally we disembarked the paddle boards, snapped a few photos on the dock and reloaded the boat with everything before grabbing a bite and some beverages at The Oar at 2:20 PM. At 3:46 PM we pushed off the dock and began the long journey home on our trusty 21.5 ft boat, the “Point to Point,” before the evening winds picked back up. We got back to Ship Ashore Marina in Sag Harbor by 6:00 PM making for a 13 hour day on the water dock to dock. GOOD DAY OUT.