CENTRAL FALLS -- It was a sunny afternoon last Sunday, and down
by the dock, everything was ready for the 3 p.m. tea cruise. The tea was
from Marks & Spencer, the genuine British canal boat was from
Cambridgeshire, England. And the river was in . . .
Central Falls?
Rhode Island's urban core might seem a strange place to find someone
marketing an American version of the bucolic British canal experience,
but for five years, the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council has been
running weekend tea excursions and overnight river sojourns from the
Central Falls Landing.
The main attraction is the Samuel Slater, a 40-foot-long, 10-foot-wide
canal boat built in England. It can hold a party of up to 12, and sleeps
4 overnight.
The council also operates two other tour boats on the river, the
Blackstone Explorer and the Spirit of the Blackstone, but they are
essentially tour buses on the water. They provide daytime tours for
groups, for set periods of time, Robert Billington, president of the
Blackstone Valley Tourism Council, said. The reservation-only Samuel
Slater -- with its overnight rentals -- is meant to provide a different
sort of river experience.
"It's designed to be a presence on the river 24 hours a day," Billington
said. "We didn't want to compete with the Explorer, but to complement
it."
"You can be on the river at 11 at night, you can be there at 5 a.m. and
hear the herons," Billington said. One of his favorite moments on the
boat is when it returns to the dock at the Central Falls Landing at
night, he said. At that time, the 1915 stone bridge that carries Broad
Street across the river is alight with its curving black-iron street
lights.
"With those lights lit, it's incredible," Billington said. "People don't
believe it."
The tea tours cost $17.50 a person, and last about 90 minutes. They will
be offered at 1 and 3 p.m. on Aug. 7 and 21, and on Sept. 4 and 18.
The overnight stays include a clambake dinner -- 1 1/4-pound lobster,
mussels, clams, sausage, potatoes and corn on the cob -- and breakfast.
Rates run from $129 for a single to $329 a night for a group of four.
The boat can be chartered for private meetings or parties.
The vessel is shorter than its British cousins, which are built for the
placid waters of the United Kingdom's canal system. The Samuel Slater
was designed specifically to handle the currents and wind conditions of
the Blackstone River, Billington said.
The bow has no roof, with benches on either side for guests to sit on
while the boat plies the river.
Inside, the boat is a cross between a recreational vehicle and a country
bed-and-breakfast. It has batteries for electricity, running water, even
a bathroom and shower.
Entering from the bow, the door opens on the kitchen area, with a sink
and gas stove, a combination TV-VCR and a radio-tape-CD player. A small
dining table is flanked by two couches with thick, dark red cushions
that let them turn into single beds at night.
The curved ceiling is shiny slats of pine; the walls are mahogany-hued.
The windows have dark blue curtains. Small framed pictures -- attached
at the top and bottom -- line the walls.
The main corridor runs down the boat's port (left) side. The first door
opens to a bathroom with a shower and toilet. The next is to the main
bedroom, with a double bed. At the end of the corridor, stairs lead to
the open back deck, where the pilot steers the boat and guests can sit
on two benches.
Beth Scribner, who sets up the boat for the Tourism Council's tea
cruises, said guests can also use two brass footholds to climb up and
lie on the boat's roof, on sunny days.
Her job is to ready the boat for the cruises and provide running
commentary on the river for the guests who have paid $17.50 per person
for the 90-minute cruise 2 1/2 miles up the river and back.
Though much work was put into the boat's interior accommodations,
members of a tea-cruise group last week said the other passengers wound
up being every bit as much an attraction as the boat.
"I'd clipped an article in the paper about it two years ago," said Kathe
Bernard, of Clinton, Conn., said. "It was all yellow and curled up, and
I thought, 'You know, I ought to go.'
"The really nice thing was, you get to talk to people," Bernard said.
"Anything else -- you'd just be a bunch of strangers on a boat."
Meredy Nelson, of Pawtucket, and Mary Johndrew, of Providence, had begun
looking for a canoe trip for Nelson's birthday.
"She'd been going on about the river and how she wanted to ride a canoe,
and I found this," Johndrew said.
"I'm so glad we didn't do canoes," Nelson said.
"It would have been death on the river," added Johndrew with a laugh as
she leaned back on her bench in the summer breeze.
How to get there
How to get to the Samuel Slater canal boat:
The boat is docked at Central Falls Landing, on the Blackstone River
near the Cumberland-Central Falls line.
From the south: Get on Broad Street in Pawtucket (Route 114)
and go north to just before the Blackstone River. Turn left onto Madeira
Avenue. The parking lot for the landing will be immediately on the right.
From the north: From Route 295 north or south, take Exit 11
(Route 114) and go south. At Dexter Street, turn right (remaining on
Route 114).
Dexter Street will end very soon. At the end of the street, go left
(away from Cumberland Town Hall). Once across the river, turn right onto
Madeira Avenue. The landing's parking lot will be immediately on the
right.
Trips on the boat are by reservation only. For information, call the
Blackstone Valley Tourism Council at (401) 724-2200 or toll-free at
(800) 454-2882.
Events this week
Highlights of events this week along the Blackstone:
TOMORROW 6:30 p.m. Evening Arts in the Park Children's
Performance Series. Live performances by local children's entertainers,
musicians and storytellers. Slater Memorial Park, Armistice Boulevard,
Pawtucket. Performance area is near Daggett House and the tennis courts.
Pawtucket Parks & Recreation, (401) 728-0500, ext. 251. WEDNESDAY 1 to 4
p.m. 1 to 4 p.m. Junior Ranger Program. Children ages 11 to 14
learn about local wildlife and history. Blackstone River & Canal
Heritage State Park, River Bend Farm Visitor Center, 287 Oak St.,
Uxbridge, Mass. Call (508) 278-7604 to register.
THURSDAY Noon to 12:50 p.m. Noon to 12:50 p.m. Bag Lunch Riverboat
Tour. Cruise on the Blackstone Valley Explorer. Leaves from
Central Falls Landing, Broad Street and Madeira Avenue, Central Falls.
Minimum 15 passengers. Reservations required; call (401) 724-2200. All
seats $7.
9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Project Learning Tree Workshop. FRIDAY 11
a.m. 11 a.m. Children's Summer Entertainment Series. Kaleidoscope
Theatre Company presents Three Little Pigs at the Stadium Theatre
Performing Arts Centre, Monument Square, Woonsocket. Tickets are $7.
Call (401) 762-4545.
1 to 2:30 p.m. Timeline Trekkers. 6 to 8 p.m. Family Night
Campfire. 6:30 to 7:45 p.m. Twilight Cruise. 7 p.m.
Friday Night at the Movies. SATURDAY 5 p.m. 5 p.m. Concerts on
the Canal / Shakespeare in the Park , featuring Othello. Bring a
lawn chair or blanket; picnic area with grills available. River Bend
Farm Visitor Center, Blackstone River & Canal Heritage State Park, 287
Oak St., Uxbridge, Mass. (508) 278-7604.
8:30 to 10 p.m. Skywatch: It's Out of this World. SUNDAY 1
p.m. and 3 p.m. 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. British Tea Tour. Tea cruise on
the Blackstone River aboard a British Canal Boat, leaving from Central
Falls Landing, Broad Street at Madeira Avenue, Central Falls. All seats
$17.50. Reservations required; contact Blackstone Valley Tourism
Council, (401) 724-2200.
1 to 3 p.m. Free Sunday Concert Series. 1 to 4 p.m.
Blackstone Valley Explorer Wilderness Tour. 3:30 to 5 p.m.
Concerts on the Canal / Shakespeare in the Park, featuring Othello.
5 to 6 p.m. Sunday Concerts on the Common. 6 p.m. Sunday
Evening Concert Series 6:30 p.m. Pawtucket Riverfront Concert
Series SOURCES: Blackstone Valley Tourism Council's Web site,
www.tourblackstone.com; Massachusetts Department of Conservation and
Recreation, Division of State Parks and Recreation.
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