We are approaching the Isles of Shoals in New Hampshire/Maine, a group of rock islands about six miles offshore east of Portsmouth. We
had a gentle sail from Rockport on Sunday. It amazes us how flat
and calm the Atlantic Ocean can be while we are able to sail along at
4-5 knots. The ocean has been gentle and kind to us so far in our
trip. You can see the unmanned automated lighthouse on White Island. You can click on the photos to enlarge.
The Portsmouth Yacht Club owns some moorings in the central harbor formed by the islands and lets "we" visitors
use them if they are vacant. Priority is tethered to the blue barrel mooring as Jay
goes dinghy exploring on the islands. Behind him is the Star Island
Resort used in the summer for retreats and conferences.
On Smuttynose Island we found the Haley House which is characteristic of the New England cottages and fishing shantys on many islands. The seagull on the chimney alerted the other birds that we were on their island.
Most of the islands are uninhabited offering hiking trails among protected bird rookeries with beautiful ocean seascapes. We took warning with this sign as we began a hike.
There were hundreds of parent seagulls calling out to warn us to leave their babies alone. The young seagulls were almost as large as their parents but not yet able to fly. We should have made a video of them all calling out warnings to us. Norma said to "turn back" but Jay said "stay together, go slow and go forward on the trail".
We made it to the point of the peninsula on Smuttynose Island but we upset lots of seagulls along the way. Jay looks triumphant but there is a seagull coming to stand its ground behind him.
Most seagulls were protecting one or two young but one set of busy parents had these three chicks to protect. They were happy to see us leave the trails and return to Prioirty. Northeast winds and thunderstorms passing through the area on Monday caused us to stay an extra day and wait for more favorable weather to move on to Portland.
