Kayaks rest on the shore of Weaver Cove in Portsmouth before dignitaries take a short water tour yesterday.

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The Providence Journal / Sandor Bodo

PORTSMOUTH

What had to be the most heavily protected group of paddlers in the history of the Ocean State set out onto Narragansett Bay yesterday to dedicate a new “blue trail” for kayakers and canoeists.

With three-quarters of Rhode Island’s congressional delegation participating in the celebration, not to mention numerous members of the General Assembly and state and local governments, organizers weren’t taking any chances. The Coast Guard patrolled in a boat nearby, a helicopter flew overhead, a handful of kayaking experts provided a secure escort and the commander of Naval Station Newport, Capt. Michael Poirier, led the group.

“We don’t want to be responsible for Senator [Jack] Reed going into the drink,” quipped Tina Dolen, executive director of the Aquidneck Island Planning Commission, which hosted the event.

A bit less attention had to be paid to U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse — not because he is the junior member of the delegation who, unlike Reed, was never mentioned as a possible vice presidential pick — but because he is an experienced kayaker.

“In the right boat, I can probably do an Eskimo roll,” Whitehouse said before nimbly climbing into a kayak and paddling off smoothly and quickly.

Getting the two senators and U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy into kayaks and onto the water yesterday served two purposes: garnering publicity for the Narragansett Bay Blue Trail and thanking the delegation for securing more than $600,000 to form the commission and fund a master plan for Aquidneck Island’s western shore, including the Blue Trail.

Plans call for the trail to cover 10 miles between Portsmouth and Newport Harbor, much of it along Burma Road. Signs have been posted at Cory’s Lane and Weaver Cove, in Portsmouth, where boats can be launched. Plans call for additional spots on shoreline properties the Navy plans to relinquish and two offshore sites: Rose Island and Dyer Island.

Yesterday’s ceremony took place at Weaver Cove. At the top of a path down to the beach stood a new wooden kiosk displaying a map of the trail, decorated with photographs of a blue heron and a cormorant.

Beneath a tent, nearly 100 people gathered for the ceremony, including Michael Tikoian, chairman of the Coastal Resources Management Council; W. Michael Sullivan, director of the state Department of Environmental Management, and Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Paiva Weed.

Kennedy praised Portsmouth, Newport and Middletown for working jointly with the commission to plan for the shared western shoreline.

“The dollars we bring back really act as a catalyst to bring the towns together,” he said.

The commission formed, said Reed, after it became widely speculated that the Navy would be divesting itself of large tracts of western shoreline no longer needed. The master plan, completed in 2005, focuses on economic development, transportation, open space and recreation, with many of the proposals aimed at taking advantage of the Navy properties. Reed called yesterday’s dedication “the first celebration of what will be many celebrations.” He finished his remarks saying, “I will sit down because I look forward to going kayaking a bit.”

While others, including Kennedy, arrived in shorts, Reed and Whitehouse wore long khaki pants. They didn’t seem terribly comfortable for a paddle, but the two senators came expecting to go out on the water. The glassy smooth surface of Narragansett Bay beckoned and soon the flotilla of about two dozen kayakers glided into the water beneath a sky devoid of all but one exclamation dot of a cloud.

“Go Teresa!” state Rep. Amy Rice called to a tentative Paiva Weed, while state Sen. June Gibbs, who sailboards and boogie boards, paddled off comfortably.

After a 20-minute paddle toward Carr Point — with views of Prudence Island nearby and the Pell Bridge off in the distance — the three members of the congressional delegation returned to shore.

Dolen said she couldn’t have asked for more perfect conditions to show off the new water trail, which she said is part of a growing trend across the country.

rsalit@projo.com