Because the weather was forecast to be a bit sketchy and the anchoring options limited, we opted to spring for an inner harbor mooring for the couple of nights we’d be in Gloucester. Although there are a few spots that allowed for dinghy access, we got our money’s worth out of the launch service that was included in the mooring rental.
Although some cruisers pass through, the harbor serves a lot of locals, including fishermen who keep their boats here. We met a lobsterman and his teen-aged son on the launch who were also on their way ashore after a day on the water. I asked how their day fishing was and were treated to a great story, complete with video, of their having caught/released a huge 15# female lobster in one of their traps. It was released because it was well over the size limit for what can be kept. Amazingly though she was not “notched”. (If a lobsterman traps an egg-bearing female lobster, he/she is required to cut a small triangular notch in its tail and return it to the water. If she’s caught again, the notched tail flags her as a breeder, and she again must be released. Smart way to protect the population. More here, including a photo of a notched tail for, those who are seriously interested.) We agreed that this must have been one smart lobster to have eluded capture for so many years, to have grown that big. The son was excited to share his video and both were impressed that we knew anything about lobstering. We chatted ashore a bit and got some restaurant recommendations.
Our first stop was the Crow’s Nest bar, made famous by Sebastian Junger’s book and film, “The Perfect Storm”. The bar is real and is a quintessential local watering hole even to this day. The walls are lined with photos not only of the folks on which the book/movie were based, but also of the actors who portrayed them. While the film crew apparently frequented the place during filming, the ceiling of the place were deemed too low by the camera crew, so a mock-up was constructed in Hollywood. We chatted with a few of the locals, one of whom told of her efforts to get on “Wicked Tuna“, a National Geographic reality TV series on the boats that fish out of Gloucester. Not having a TV aboard, we were unfamiliar with the show, but based on “licensed product” for sale around town, it’s apparently a pretty big deal. Stone’s Pub for dinner was quite yummy.
The following day we did some touristing. Walking along the north shore of Gloucester Harbor, it seemed appropriate that we had a bit of fog. The Gloucester Fisherman’s Memorial, sometimes referred to as “Man at the Wheel” was impressive and sobering. Artist Leonard F Craske completed the sculpture in 1925 for Gloucester’s 300th anniversary, and since then additions have been made to include the names of those lost at sea from 1716 – 2001, incl the captain and crew, 6 all told, of the Andrea Gail.
A bit further down and of more recent vintage is the Fishermen’s Wives Memorial, per their website “the memorial honors not only the faith, diligence, and fortitude of the wives of fishermen and mariners everywhere but also honors all women for their unselfish contribution to the well being of their families and their communities”.
At our furthest flung, we arrived at the sizable Stage Fort Park where Tablet Rock has a plaque commemorating the landing of the first settlers in 1623, the 2nd permanent settlement of the early Puritans in the New World, though there is some question as to the truth of this claim. Causeway Restaurant , recommended by the lobsterman we’d met the previous day, made for a filling lunch, which was followed by a walk back into town and a stretch at the lovely public library. I managed to squeeze in a long walk to the grocery and back to a launch pick-up, arriving back to the boat just ahead of what looked like a nasty storm that never amounted to much.
And of course there were lighthouses, from the water on both our way in and again at our departure, the twin Thatcher Island Lights, Eastern Point Light and a bit deeper into the harbor, Ten Pound Island Light.
Lori
Mike
We will meet you in Watkins Glen tomorrow……..oh wait……..