Moving up the Massachusetts Coastline from Boston

Leaving Boston Harbor in the northern shipping lane we passed Deer Island with its unique egg shaped wastewater treatment plant that is a visible sign of Boston's efforts to clean up its harbor. Boston used to use the islands to dump its trash but in the 1990s efforts began to turn the islands into a healthy place for camping, hiking and even swimming.

We discovered what a "hard" bottom meant as we tried to anchor in Nahant Harbor.  With 90' of anchor chain out, the anchor just could not dig in and hold but slowly drug across the bottom.  When winds picked up after lunch we decided to sail on north to Salem where we picked up a mooring for the night. Finding a laundromat and market store (we always need eggs and salad greens) ashore worked well before a quiet night.  The harbor was filled with moorings but no good areas for anchoring.  We are beginning to realize why the guides recommend "picking up a mooring or getting a slip for the night" the hard bottom is like anchoring on a parking lot.  As we leave Salem harbor you can see all the moored boats behind the boat.

New England coastline is showing itself more often with rocky edged shores as these lighthouses depict. The first is the lighthouse on Bakers Island as we leave Salem.  The second photo is the Cape Ann Light on Thacher Island.  Only one of the two Cape Ann lighthouses is lit now. They make very identifiable landmarks if it is not foggy.

We sailed to and then motored into the small harbor of Rockport, Massachusetts, a fishing village turning to timber and granite quarries through the years.  It has become a very popular with artists and writers and tourists who visit in the summer.  The Harbormaster had us dock right by motif #1, the red fishing shack.  We learned the red building is the most photographed symbol of New England's fishing villages.

Nine foot tide changes determine how and where we can anchor and tie up to a dock.  As you can see, the tide is low and have a climb to reach the dock. I snap a photo of Jay up on the dock adjusting our dock lines.

Jay snapped a photo of me down on Priority.  You can see the top view of our boat with all the cruising gear we carry - extra jugs, oars, solar panels and our dinghy on the bow.

Rockport was especially busy over this holiday weekend.  We strolled its fishing shack village turned into galleries and stores with many other visitors.  The little harbor was busy with boats, kayaks and paddle boarders.

Lobstering is definitely the common seaside occupation.  Lobster pots and floats are everywhere here in Rockport -very colorful.

After walking the town, we returned to climb down the ladder to get back aboard Priority but the tide is coming in.  We'll leave Rockport tomorrow on Sunday and continue on our journey.