Newport and Bristol had become major ports for ship owners in the Colonies and were harassed by the Point Judith shoals and Brenton reefs at the entrance of Narragansett Bay .<br> 60 to 90 percent of the ships owned were slave ships generating enormous profits depositing human cargo along the tlantic coast.   A nighttime navigation aid location on Beavertail Point was ideal for safe guidance.  Its form was a wood fire.