In wasn’t anything out of the ordinary: Warwick Harbormaster Jeff Baris and his assistants faced a busy Saturday on the bay, including two sinking boats.

There was little wind to speak of, skies were clear and temperatures were headed to the 80s. It was a perfect end of a summer season of boating.

Conditions were similar to those on Sept. 1 when Juan and Agneiszka “Aga” Diplan, their son Gabriel and his girlfriend Angeline Fonseca set off for a week-long vacation on Block Island aboard their 46-foot Wellcraft. They didn’t even get to clear Potomomut Point before the vessel came to an abrupt stop. Fortunately, nobody was injured. They couldn’t imagine what had happened until Juan checked for damage and found water pouring into the bilge from the stern. Aga radioed a “mayday” and Baris was the first of a flotilla of first responders on the scene.

He suspected immediately that the Reel Good Karma had struck Round Rock – actually a pile of rocks – that is totally submerged at high tide. The hazard is marked by a flashing green buoy about 150 yards to the east. But unless mariners are familiar with this stretch of Narragansett Bay about a half-mile offshore from Potowomut or navigating by chart, they would never know what lies beneath the surface.

Juan immediately aborted their vacation cruise and with Baris alongside headed back to Warwick Cove and Pleasant Marina, where marina owner Joe DiCenzo stood by with the Travelift ready to haul the boat. When they reached the mouth of the cove, the boat was listing and Baris decided the safest thing to do was to purposely ground it rather than risk having it sink in the cove channel. A day later, afloat on an inflatable skirt, it was towed to the marina. The collision with Round Rock had torn out the two rudder posts.

Rock strikes go unreported

So far this year, that’s the only Round Rock episode Baris has had to respond to, although he believes there were countless more hits that went unreported. Divers can attest to the numerous encounters, having found a vast collection of propellers, rudders and outboard drives strewn between the rocks.

Mariners – Baris included – have questioned why the rocks aren’t better marked by a fixed warning: a metal post with a moon-shaped disc on top, often called a lollipop. Indeed, Baris agrees that would clearly identify the rocks. On the other hand, he notes, mariners need to familiarize themselves with the waters and that with 39 miles of coastline, there are numerous rocks close to shore, not to mention shoals including Conimicut Point, where he guesses during the summer as many as a half dozen boats run aground daily. The shoal at the mouth to Warwick Cove is another hazard. Based on a 2023 study, there are 900 groundings annually by vessels straying from the cove channel, Baris said.

“If someone is navigating by chart they’ll be all right,” said Baris.

East Greenwich Harbormaster John Parker, echoed that thought. While East Greenwich Cove is narrow and doesn’t have natural obstructions, Parker said, “step one [to navigate and avoid rocks] is reading a chart … it comes down to proper use of charting system.”

As one way of identifying Round Rock and its companion, Flat Rock, apart from the warning buoy, Baris suggests keeping an eye out for other boats in the vicinity, as the “clump of rocks” is a popular fishing spot. Another notable rock in the Greenwich Bay area is Sally Rock, which like Round Rock, is marked by a buoy at some distance. Apart from serving a warning, the buoy is frequently used as turning mark in sailing regattas.

The Coast Guard is considering the removal of 350 of the 5,640 navigational aids between New Jersey and Maine. Thirty two of those aids are in Rhode Island waters close to Narragansett Bay. The Round Rock buoy, although at some distance from the hazard, is not one of the aids listed for removal.

Navigational aids being evaluated

In a release issued in May, the Coast Guard said, “the current buoy constellation predates global navigation satellite systems, electronic navigation charts and electronic charting systems (ECS), which are widely used by today’s mariners. This long term effort is designed to determine the most sustainable navigational risk reduction tools to support and complement mariners’ ECS and smartphone navigation apps that are more widely available and affordable.”

The announcement spawned a deluge of 3,000 comments, prompting the Coast Guard in August to postpone its plan to remove the navigational aids.

The Warwick Neck shoreline offers a jumble of rocks that are an obvious danger to even a neophyte mariner. And then proceeding north, there’s Rocky Point. And yes, there are plenty of rocks there. North of Rocky Point there’s Barren Ledge, where Baris recalls seeing a yacht sitting high and dry. The ledge, more than 200 feet offshore, is visible at low tide and is marked on charts.

East of Conimicut Point is Nayatt Point, which has a necklace of rocks. And north of Conimicut reaching up to Gaspee Point are shallows dotted by a couple of boulders that show themselves at low tide. Farther north there’s a string of rocks off Passeonkquis Cove that feed into the breakwater to Pawtuxet Cove. There’s good reason to abide by the Pawtuxet Cove channel markers.

Pawtuxet Cove was last dredged in 2011 in the wake of the 2010 floods that washed tons of silt down from the Pawtuxet River. Baris said the Army Corps of Engineers haven’t scheduled it or Apponaug Cove for foreseeable maintenance dredging. He said Pawtuxet Cove “could use a touch-up.” On the other hand, Warwick Cove, the busiest in the city with more than 2,000 boats moored and docked, needs work. He said the Army Corps is in the early stages of planning a widening and deepening of the channel. He thinks the work would probably start in 2027.

Baris’ advice to those lured by the magic of the sea is to remember, “Going to sea is hazardous; the more you know, the better off you are.”

As for the two sinking boats on Saturday, neither was in distress from striking a rock or a collision. Baris said both boats were swamped from the heavy rain on Thursday and from the failure of automatic bilge pumps or owner neglect. The boats were hauled without complication.