Gloucester, MA

Monday, 31 August, 2015

Today we splashed the dink and went ashore to the Harbormaster's dinghy dock.  The dogs were delighted to have a nice grassy area to walk, and well, uh, you know.

We walked up the hill, around a lovely park area with lots of small wayside exhibits that tell a little of the history of the town.

Then we walked around the circle, and in a southerly direction to the Gloucester Fishermen's Memorial, where the names of over 5368 "Men Known to be Lost at Sea and Honored Here" are on raised plaques in a semi-circle around a statue.  

Gleanings from the exhibit:

Of the nearly 1000 ships lost, those lost with all hands: 265

Between 1860-1906, a staggering 660 ships sank.

While many of the fishermen were saved, 3880 men were lost.

A single storm in 1862 claimed 15 schooners, and 120 men.

Another devastating storm in 1879 took the lives of 159 men.

The names date back to 1716, up to recent history.  I knew one of the men, who I'd met in Tortugas years ago.

There is a quote from Psalms 107:23-24   They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters:  These see the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep.

Speaking from the perspective of someone who has spent my life on the sea, it is a nice memorial.  

We walked back down to the harbor, this time through town, along a bunch of shops.

We met our friends on the Nordic Tug Encore, and the S/V Daruma, each of which came in this afternoon, and we all went to dinner together at The Gloucester House.  What great fun!  

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard to Gloucester, MA

Sunday, 30 August, 2015

This morning we finished up some things ashore.  The dogs had a nice, long walk with us, and then they were ready to be underway.  I think I saw a reluctant glance or two towards the end of the dock, which was the beginning of all our walks this past week.  We said hope-to-see-you-soon to our new friends we'd met here:  Rick and MaryAnn on the Grand Banks Rash Decision, and Mark and Joelle on the S/V Daruma.  We'd said farewell to Mark, the dockmaster, and Robert, on the Blue Mackerel yesterday.  

There was enough current on the way out to totally pull one of those three foot tall information buoys marking the "no wake" totally underwater.

We went out the harbor, enjoying the views that we had missed, due to the fog, on our way in.

We continued to the south, following the natural curve of the coast, rather than a shorter, more direct route.  The area south of Portsmouth as lots of houses, but as one continues south, much of the coast appears to be a sandy beach.

We entered the Annisquam River Inlet from the north, and it was like being in Fort Lauderdale on a week-end, with hundreds (thousands?) of small boats along the beaches, and rafted together in the heavy current.  We fell into a string of northbound vessels, constantly dodging the barrage of the numerous southbound, beachbound traffic.  

The river/canal has two interesting bridges: a railroad bridge that  is in a ninety degree bend that you can't see around (and narrow enough only one vessel can pass at a time), AND the Blyman Bridge which was packed with car traffic, in a spot in the river that narrows like a funnel under the bridge.  The bridge tender there tells the vessels headed up current to wait until the down current vessels are out of the way.

The one positive thing on the river, is that everyone seems to have the concept of giving the vessels headed down current the right of way.  The small boats also seem to have a sense of the law of tonnage.  (Get out of the way of any boat bigger than you are!)  We bucked the current coming into the canal,  and had it pushing us as we entered the harbor to the north.

We pulled into Gloucester's Inner Harbor and managed to get one of half a dozen transient moorings.  The harbormaster came around later in the evening and talked to us for awhile, had me fill in the necessary paperwork, and collected the city's $30 mooring fee.

In the morning, we plan to go into town.  Tonight we just enjoyed a lazy night on the mooring, grilling pork chops, and watching tv!  There are channels here!  Not much on any of the channels, but....

Salem, MA and area

Saturday, 29 August, 2015

When we came here, we rented a car for a week, which has enabled us to explore the area a little.  One of the places we decided to visit was Salem, MA.

I guess I've always associated Salem with "the witch hunts," which I actually knew very little about.   But, the whole association with witches that has come about in recent years had me uninterested in visiting the area.

There is a lot of American history around Salem, one of the oldest settlements in our country.  We visited the NPS Visitor Center to begin our exploration of Salem, and then took a hour long trolley ride around town.  They offer senior discounts, and when I asked if they gave military discounts, was told an ID lets you ride FREE!  We had a great tour guide, and we actually rode around one and a half times total.  You can get on and off the trolley at will, to visit different sites.

The town is pretty, with nice sidewalks and parks.  It has the oldest marked grave in the United States in its "Burying Place."  The Salem witch hunts happened throughout the neighboring communities, when someone could be accused by another, and convicted with limited testimony.  Each of the executed said they were not witches, and the signs around town say it was a "mass hysteria" and a "social problem" that led to the hangings, and the subsequent changes in our legal system.

Some of the downtown area has shops with witchcraft and pagan stores.  Like Key West, their major tourist draw is Halloween.  Not only did I stay away from the "witch tourism" places, it looked to me as though most people did.

There are a lot of great historical buildings around Salem, and the area is full of rich maritime history.  The NPS has a schooner replica that is open for tours, as are many of the houses along the waterfront.

The photos today are all from Salem.  These bunkers are for storing ammo at the old USCG base.

The other place that I have to give a thumbs up for is the Kittery Trading Post!  I went there when I only had an hour or so to look around.  I could spend a long time there!  It has everything outdoor, on the order of LL Bean.  Bikes, canoes/kayaks, watersports, tents, camping, backpacking, specialty clothing, guns, ammo, hunting stuff, dod stuff, cool outdoorsy stuff for your home...  etc.  Too much to even mention here.  Suffice it to say, If you are in the Kittery area, and interested in outdoors and sporting activities, you should visit the Kittery Trading Post!

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and surrounding area

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

We've been at a slip at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard since last Thursday night.  The dockage is in a great, protected area, with 40' slips, 30 amp power, and water.  The folks here are friendly, and we plan to be here until Sunday.  This will be the longest we've stopped anywhere since we left home.

The weather here has been foggy, with misty rain, hard rain, and bright sunshine, though not much of that.  

We rented a car for a week, enabling us to get groceries, go to church, do laundry, get lp gas, pick up prescriptions, and visit the surrounding area.  We made a trip up to Freeport, a little over an hour's drive, and did our mandatory tourist trip to LL Bean!

The "down" time has also given us an address for long enough to receive some mail.  The dogs are enjoying frequent walks.

I pulled the autopilot control head and display units off and sent them to RayMarine to see if they have the parts to fix my failing pilot.  That will mean we leave here without a heading sensor, so no radar overlay on the plotter, and no north up display on the radar.  After years of running vessels with North Up radar, I'll be temporarily reverting back to head-up radar.  I generally use a separate screen for radar, rather than a chart overlay when running in poor visibility anyhow.  Boy, these state of the art electronics really spoil you.

I don't think we've taken any photos since we've been here.  But, we have tons of photos of Maine, taken on our trip, since there are way too many to post.

Biddeford Pool to Portsmouth Naval Shipyard

Thursday, Friday 20-22 August, 2015

This morning it was foggy.  The fog lifted for a few minutes, and there really wan't much hope of it getting better.  We'd seen the community of Biddeford Pool, we had reservations at the marina at Portsmouth, and it was relatively calm, so off we went.

As you follow the progression of photos, you can see a house in Biddeford Pool, the lighthouse , what the rest of the day looked like, and the approach into Portsmouth.

We went into Back Sound to a slip at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, an MWR facility for military/retired.  We decided to rent a car, and see go to Freeport and a few places around the area.

For others doing the same thing:  the slips are perpendicular to the current, so advance planning for slack water may be a good idea.  The base provides nice 40' slips, water, and 30amp electric.  The rates are reasonable.

 Lighthouse in the photo!

Another note, Enterprise wouldn't pick us up, said they were short handed in the office.  Can't you find a way down here?  Let me get this, the company who says "we pick you up" can't spare 10 minutes to come and get me, but, wants me to walk the distance in the pouring rain?  Someone at the marina gave me a ride down....  Thanks, Robert!

It rained much of the day on Friday.  We picked up the car, made a commissary run, and did some boat maintenance.

The Basin to Biddeford Pool, ME

Wednesday, 19 August, 2015

We eased out of the Basin this morning, with its glass calm waters, trudging somewhat reluctantly to the south, sad to be leaving some of the most scenic areas of Maine.  

We went past Cundy Harbor, and out the New Meadows River.

Then we turned west, taking a cut between the islands, where there were a lot of lobster boats working.  I noticed two with a sail configuration.  Hmmm.  That's interesting!

I liked this bridge, too!

At Orrs Island, we turned more to the south again, passing Bailey's Island before turning to the southwest, crossing Casco Bay, with its open swells from the Atlantic.

We passed offshore Cape Elizabeth, with its two lighthouses.

We lost the swells after passing Cape Elizabeth, and turned towards Biddeford Pool, where we had called earlier today and made a reservation for a mooring.

There is a huge, shallow "pool" at Biddeford Pool that fills with the tide, and when the tide recedes, all that is left is a narrow creek.  The narrow cut at the outlet has a lot of current as all the tidal water flows through this opening.

We took the launch into town and walked around a little.

We had another picture perfect evening.

Five Island, ME to The Basin, ME

Tuesday, 18 August, 2015

This morning found Five Islands shrouded in the early morning fog.  As the sun came up, it looked more like a sunset than a sunrise.  The fog burned off almost entirely by 0900, and we weren't in any hurry to leave, anyhow.  

We went back down the Sheepscott River, and instead of running very close to the shore, went out towards Sequin Island before making our more westerly turn.

We went around Cape Small and through Small Point Harbor.

Then we continued north, doing the drive-by of the town of Sebasco.  I won't do that again!  The lobster floats were as thick as they had been at Jonesboro, except with added rocks, obstructions, and a narrower channel.

There is a nice looking anchorage in the north end of that cut, north of Malaga Island, and east of Bear Island.  

We were, however, bound for "The Basin" to anchor for the night.  We continued to the NNE for another mile up the New Meadows River, and then turned SE into the Basin inlet.

The Basin reminds you of a lake, with its protected water, and high, rocky, spruce lined banks.  The holding was good where we anchored, and it would be a great spot to ride out high winds.  In addition to being a comfortable anchorage, the place is beautiful, with lots of tern and other bird activity, and a shoreline that begs exploration.  I wished I had my kayak!  We saw several people kayaking around the area.

There were two sailboats, and three other trawlers who were anchored in the Basin with us, as well as half a dozen sailboats that looked to be on resident moorings.  We were anchored N43 48.400 W069 51.192

Bath, ME to Five Islands, ME

Monday, 17 August, 2015

The first part of our voyage today was a trip down memory lane.  Twenty-six years ago our ship dredged the lower Kennebec River, and we came and went from the launch at Popham Beach.  We took the ship up the Kennebec River, to the Bath Iron Works shipyard for a few days, before heading back down the east coast.

The things I remember most from that time was the shear beauty of Maine, the snow, the tides, and the current.  The river seems much larger and gentler now, part of which is from the perspective of much smaller vessel, and part of which is because we didn't run the river at a maximum current.  It wasn't snowing, and there were even people out on the beach.

We had missed the maximum ebb current, waiting for the railroad bridge tenders to come on duty to open the bridge at 0800, a little disappointment to me.  Nevertheless, the trip downstream is gorgeous!

When we came out of the Kennebec, we journeyed a little back to the east, to visit Five Islands, a place we had deliberately skipped over the week-end, figuring it would be crowded.  The local yacht club here has four moorings they offer transient boaters to stop and visit their community.  All four moorings were empty when we arrived, and only one other mooring was taken later in the day.  That is not to say that Five Islands wasn't bustling with activity.

Five Islands is a small lobstering community that seems to have found its niche appealing to tourism, most of which seems to come by automobile.  There is a floating dock for recreational small boats, which was full of dinghies and small vessels most of the day.  We tied to the floating dock, and went up the ramp into an area between three buildings.  One of the buildings sells live or boiled lobster, with boiled corn or potatoes.  One of the buildings sells fish sandwiches, lobster rolls, hamburgers, hot dogs, etc. and t-shirts.  The third building sells ice cream.  There is picnic table seating around the 3 buildings, overlooking the commercial dock where there was a steady trickle of small boats coming in to offload their lobster.  

It was interesting to me to see a bunch of happy kids that seemed to be everywhere working.  It was teen-agers working in the 3 buildings, and I saw a half a dozen different boys and girls (looked around 12 years old) pulling lobster traps with small skiffs.  There were adults around with some of the kids, but, the kids were learning and doing much of the work.

I'll always be grateful for the time I spent as a kid, working on boats.