A New Port
20 September 2010 | Gloucester Mass
Clear sky, Temp 68F, Wind NE15-20
Salem Mass
Our sail from Great Diamond Island down the southern coast of Maine was as usual, light airs and close hauled, but with a big swell from Hurricane Igor as it hit Bermuda. Again we were cautious about the forecast, strong winds from the north for the night. Usually we anchor in the Isles of Shoals, about 5 miles off Portsmouth NH. But they are completely open to the north, so we decided to head in to Portsmouth for the night, picking up a mooring from the friendly Portsmouth Yacht Club. And again we spent a quiet night in light winds. In the morning we cast off the mooring, still in light airs, not certain about our destination. In any case our first waypoint was off Cape Ann, due south. In light northerlies and the swell now at its peak of 7'-8', dead downwind was not a good plan. So we headed S-W and closed the shore near Seabrook NH. Scared off by waves breaking on the offshore shoals, we gybed just as the wind finally got serious. Now laying our waypoint on a beam reach in 15-20 knots, we raced across to Cape Ann where we gybed and headed down the shore. We decided to head in to Gloucester, a destination new to us, and as we approached the harbor, we surfed down a wave at 9.4 knots, a new record for Estelle!! Sails furled we headed in, unsure of what we would find. Our cruising guide describes it as a working harbor making few concessions to cruisers. Calling the Harbormaster about a mooring we were assigned one in the very protected inner harbor arriving at 3:45pm. After taking care of the "paperwork" ie. paying $25 for the night, we headed ashore, and found a beautiful town that has done a great job of maintaining and restoring its waterfront. In the evening we watched an anchor dance between two boats, one a 32' sailboat and one a 100' converted WW II hospital boat. The sailboat had anchored first, and the motor boat came in later and anchored too close. So the sailboat wanted to move but his anchor was stuck. Finally the Harbormaster came out and intervened. The motorboat skipper finally decided he "might" have dropped his anchor (350 lbs) in the sailboat's anchor chain. So as the sun set, they were trying to get untangled, drifting around the anchorage. Finally freed, the sailboat picked up a mooring and the motorboat re-anchored... very near us. But in the calm night all was well. Next port... Salem.