It's no small task kayaking from Providence to Newport, but Warren resident Rock Singewald, 71, accomplished the feat last Friday. Mr. Singewald, an avid boater and member of the Warren Harbor Commission, made the trip during his training for the 350th anniversary of the trip Rhode Island founder Roger Williams completed in 1672, 348 years ago. Williams was 70 when he made that trip, so Mr. Singewald has him beat.
“I didn’t know for sure that I could make it,” Mr. Singewald said, “but I’m glad I gave it a try.”
The trip took him four hours, and he got help from a northwesterly wind and favorable tides. His time was a lot faster than the famous Rhode Islander, who left in the morning and arrived in Newport a little before midnight. But “I’m sure my boat was a lot lighter and easier to row than Williams’.”
Mr. Singewald and other local rowers want to recreate the trip on the 350th anniversary of Roger Williams' passage, in two years. Apart from his love of the water, the trip would dovetail into another projet he is working on, the Sowams Heritage Area Project, which seeks to establish a National Heritage Area from Providence to Bristol to interpret the events of the 17th century in the East Bay.