Boating in Point Judith, RI Map View

Point Judith Pond is a saltwater tidal pond entered between two rock jetties at The Breachway in the northwestern part of Point Judith Harbor of Refuge.
The east jetty is marked near its seaward end by a daybeacon. The pond extends 3.3 miles northerly to the town of Wakefield. It is used extensively by small fishing vessels and pleasure craft, and numerous fish wharves are inside the entrance.

The north end of Point Judith Pond affords good anchorage for boats of 4 feet draft or less during a heavy blow.

The village of Galilee on the east side of the entrance and Jerusalem on the west side at Succotash Point have state piers and numerous small piers chiefly used by fishermen. A State fisheries laboratory is just above the State pier at Jerusalem. A State pier superintendent controls the State piers at Galilee and Jerusalem; his office is at the head of the Galilee State Pier.

A channel with three dredged sections marked by buoys and a daybeacon extends from Point Judith Harbor of Refuge along the west side of the pond to the State Pier at Jerusalem, and thence northerly to the turning basin at Wakefield. A branch channel, on the east side, extends northeasterly from the entrance to the pond to the State Pier at Galilee, and into anchorage areas westward of Galilee and southward of Little Comfort Island.

The controlling depths are 11.8 feet (13.7 feet at midchannel) to the junction with the Galilee branch channel, thence 13.1 feet to the State Pier at Jerusalem, thence 2.3 feet to the turning basin at Wakefield with 5.5 to 6 feet in the basin; deeper water can be carried in the channel from Jerusalem to Wakefield; however, local knowledge is advised. The east branch channel has a controlling depth of 14.7 feet to the State Pier at Galilee, thence 14.1 feet to the end of the project at Buoy 3 southward of Little Comfort Island; the anchorage westward of Galilee had depths of10 feet.

Marine Facilities

Several boatyards and marinas are at Galilee, Jerusalem, Wakefield, and at Snug Harbor, on the west side of the pond about 0.8 mile above the entrance. Berths, electricity, gasoline, diesel fuel, water, ice, marine supplies, storage, launching ramps, and hull and engine repairs are available. The largest marine railway in the area, at the southern end of the waterfront at Snug Harbor, can handle craft up to 150 feet long or 400 tons.

Potter Pond, shallow and landlocked, is joined with Point Judith by a narrow channel near Snug Harbor. Local knowledge should be obtained before using this channel, which has depths of 2 to 4 feet and is crossed by overhead power and telephone cables with a clearance of 30 feet at the channel entrance and by a fixed Block Island Sound highway bridge with a clearance of 5 feet about 0.4 mile above the entrance. A current of more than 3 knots develops through the channel on the ebb.

The mean range of tide in the pond is about 1 foot, and it occurs about 2.5 hours later than in the Harbor of Refuge.

Tides and Currents

The mean range of tide in the pond is 2.8 feet and occurs later than in the Harbor of Refuge by about 10 minutes just inside the entrance and 30 minutes at the north end. The tidal currents in the entrance have a velocity of 1.8 knots on the flood and 1.5 knots on the ebb, and cause slight rips and overfalls at changes of tide.