The only two requirements for the trip that Alice had were coffee in the morning and catch the 16:35 train to NYC on Saturday. Therefore Friday we absolutely had to be within easy reach of Boston -- otherwise she will never be allowed to sail with me again.
For Friday SailGRIB (a weather app) predicted very light winds until 11, and then south winds for the rest of the day, i.e. blowing straight in our face. We decided to trust the forecast and rather than set the bow directly towards Gloucester we started motoring offshore, also hoping to reach some fishing banks where we might spot whales or dolphins.
The forecast was right on: after two hours of motoring, at 11 we turned off the engine and could sail straight towards Gloucester on a close-hauled course. We didn't quite make it to Jeffrey's bank which is labeled as marine sanctuary, and didn't see any whales, but then on the VHF we heard that a fisherman discovered a pilot whale that got tangled in a lobster pot. Maybe that was the pilot whale we saw the previous evening? They were too far away for us to see them, but eventually we learned that the whale was freed. Yay!
It may seem boring to be just sailing, but actually it wasn't at all: we were reading, talking, cooking and eating, soaking up the sun, and enjoying the peace. As much as I like kids (an absolutely love my own), the sense of quiet with no child wildness aboard was extremely relaxing!
As we were nearing Gloucester, we had a choice to make: where are we spending the night. The two reasonable choices were to pick up a mooring by Thatcher island or press on another 2.5 hours and anchor behind the breakwater in Gloucester harbor. The waters off Thatcher island are not very well protected at all, but the forecast for the night was promising light winds, so we should be ok. And we were.
The island surprised us by having 2 lighthouses. That's ridiculous, we thought -- one should be enough! Turns out, the lighthouses were commissioned in 1860s when all lighthouses were lit up solid rather than flashing as they are today. And (according to the brochure) lighthouses were placed at harbor entrances. Thatcher island lighthouse was supposed to mark a danger rather than harbor entrance, so they erected 2 towers. There is also a fog horn that was an extra aid to navigation in poor visibility. The record for the lighthouse was running the fog horn continuously for 590 hours! That sounds rather awful.
Luckily, we were walking around the island in excellent visibility, and while we couldn't quite make out Boston, but the views were splendid! And whoever is taking care of the island seems to have a nice sense of humor as evidenced by the pictures:
The keeper allowed us to take a stroll on "manicured" paths. The number of seagulls was absolutely astounding. Many were on the rocks, totally out of our reach, but others were sitting by the path and allowed us to walk within maybe 3 meters. The birds that amused us were "guides". They walked in front of us on the path as if showing us where to go. Sometimes a bird would come from elsewhere and peck the guide out only to replace it.
Merrily strolling along we noticed two little baby gulls with full plumage, but down feathers still sticking out. We didn't want to scare them and started to patiently wait until they get out of the path. What happened next looked quite scary. Their mother apparently decided that we were endangering her babies and at full speed was charging towards us. Instinctively, both of us ducked as she gained height and went for a second round, and then a third. It looked like a fighter plane that meant serious business. She took a pause attacking us to scare off the other birds in the vicinity, but once I tried to take another step forward she charged again. Well, fine then we will just turn back. Scared off by a bird. And not a very large one. We contemplated what we would have to do if another mother was protecting another young as we were retreating, but besides watching a gull eat a crab we encountered no more threats.
A quiet night brought a nearly windless morning. We saw some seals on the rocks, and once we came around Thatcher island we could see Boston skyline. We did get to sail for about an hour, at 11 we turned on the engine to help our progress towards the harbor so as not to be late for the train.
The wildlife was still around us. We saw a pod of dolphins in the distance, and then I noticed a sunfish. I put the engine into neutral and we slowly glided by the fish who seemed to pay no attention to the boat or the noise of the engine.
From there on, the density of vessels was growing very quickly. We saw a lot of sails off Marblehead, then we saw a regatta heading towards us from Boston harbor, fishing boats, ferries, 500-foot freighter, then came airplanes, party boats. It was so NOISY and SMELLY! Yes, Portland had a fair amount of traffic, but this was a bit too much!
Nevertheless, sailing along the coast of of Massachusetts brought lots of warm memories from the 7 years I lived in greater Boston. Almost exactly 15 years ago we got married here, during the summer we came to Nahant for a swim in the chilly waters, we went to Salem, had lobster near Marblehead, swam in the quarries close to Gloucester. It's nice to be back!
Our friend Erica met us by the aquarium and gave Alice a ride to the South Station in time for the train. Mission accomplished. Then Erica and I walked through the city, briefly went aboard Salty Ginger around sunset and went for Chinese food in Chinatown. It was a strange experience to look at scantily dressed, slightly inebriated girls on high heels, hear the loud noises of Harleys, and see so many vehicles. Back to civilization for a week...
For Friday SailGRIB (a weather app) predicted very light winds until 11, and then south winds for the rest of the day, i.e. blowing straight in our face. We decided to trust the forecast and rather than set the bow directly towards Gloucester we started motoring offshore, also hoping to reach some fishing banks where we might spot whales or dolphins.
The forecast was right on: after two hours of motoring, at 11 we turned off the engine and could sail straight towards Gloucester on a close-hauled course. We didn't quite make it to Jeffrey's bank which is labeled as marine sanctuary, and didn't see any whales, but then on the VHF we heard that a fisherman discovered a pilot whale that got tangled in a lobster pot. Maybe that was the pilot whale we saw the previous evening? They were too far away for us to see them, but eventually we learned that the whale was freed. Yay!
It may seem boring to be just sailing, but actually it wasn't at all: we were reading, talking, cooking and eating, soaking up the sun, and enjoying the peace. As much as I like kids (an absolutely love my own), the sense of quiet with no child wildness aboard was extremely relaxing!
As we were nearing Gloucester, we had a choice to make: where are we spending the night. The two reasonable choices were to pick up a mooring by Thatcher island or press on another 2.5 hours and anchor behind the breakwater in Gloucester harbor. The waters off Thatcher island are not very well protected at all, but the forecast for the night was promising light winds, so we should be ok. And we were.
The island surprised us by having 2 lighthouses. That's ridiculous, we thought -- one should be enough! Turns out, the lighthouses were commissioned in 1860s when all lighthouses were lit up solid rather than flashing as they are today. And (according to the brochure) lighthouses were placed at harbor entrances. Thatcher island lighthouse was supposed to mark a danger rather than harbor entrance, so they erected 2 towers. There is also a fog horn that was an extra aid to navigation in poor visibility. The record for the lighthouse was running the fog horn continuously for 590 hours! That sounds rather awful.
Luckily, we were walking around the island in excellent visibility, and while we couldn't quite make out Boston, but the views were splendid! And whoever is taking care of the island seems to have a nice sense of humor as evidenced by the pictures:
The keeper allowed us to take a stroll on "manicured" paths. The number of seagulls was absolutely astounding. Many were on the rocks, totally out of our reach, but others were sitting by the path and allowed us to walk within maybe 3 meters. The birds that amused us were "guides". They walked in front of us on the path as if showing us where to go. Sometimes a bird would come from elsewhere and peck the guide out only to replace it.
Merrily strolling along we noticed two little baby gulls with full plumage, but down feathers still sticking out. We didn't want to scare them and started to patiently wait until they get out of the path. What happened next looked quite scary. Their mother apparently decided that we were endangering her babies and at full speed was charging towards us. Instinctively, both of us ducked as she gained height and went for a second round, and then a third. It looked like a fighter plane that meant serious business. She took a pause attacking us to scare off the other birds in the vicinity, but once I tried to take another step forward she charged again. Well, fine then we will just turn back. Scared off by a bird. And not a very large one. We contemplated what we would have to do if another mother was protecting another young as we were retreating, but besides watching a gull eat a crab we encountered no more threats.
A quiet night brought a nearly windless morning. We saw some seals on the rocks, and once we came around Thatcher island we could see Boston skyline. We did get to sail for about an hour, at 11 we turned on the engine to help our progress towards the harbor so as not to be late for the train.
The wildlife was still around us. We saw a pod of dolphins in the distance, and then I noticed a sunfish. I put the engine into neutral and we slowly glided by the fish who seemed to pay no attention to the boat or the noise of the engine.
From there on, the density of vessels was growing very quickly. We saw a lot of sails off Marblehead, then we saw a regatta heading towards us from Boston harbor, fishing boats, ferries, 500-foot freighter, then came airplanes, party boats. It was so NOISY and SMELLY! Yes, Portland had a fair amount of traffic, but this was a bit too much!
Nevertheless, sailing along the coast of of Massachusetts brought lots of warm memories from the 7 years I lived in greater Boston. Almost exactly 15 years ago we got married here, during the summer we came to Nahant for a swim in the chilly waters, we went to Salem, had lobster near Marblehead, swam in the quarries close to Gloucester. It's nice to be back!
Our friend Erica met us by the aquarium and gave Alice a ride to the South Station in time for the train. Mission accomplished. Then Erica and I walked through the city, briefly went aboard Salty Ginger around sunset and went for Chinese food in Chinatown. It was a strange experience to look at scantily dressed, slightly inebriated girls on high heels, hear the loud noises of Harleys, and see so many vehicles. Back to civilization for a week...
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