Askari Sailing: Gloucester, MA (Glostah)

We had a leisurely motor sail from Salem about twelve miles to Gloucester, passing Manchester by the Sea and lots of rocks in the bay. There was lobster pots everywhere so we had to keep a close eye out but otherwise it was a nice morning in overcast conditions.

Gloucester sits on Cape Ann in Massachusetts and is Americas original seaport; you may member it from 'The Perfect Storm' or from Wicked Tuna on National Geographic. It is also home to the oldest art colony in America. It remains home to one of the biggest fishing fleets on this coast and is a real working town - we had a fantastic time there, also visiting Rockport on the other side of the Cape. As we have moved up the coast the accents have changed alot and in these parts you say Glostah and Lobstah......

We followed two fishing boats into the inner harbour, passing by the building where cooper based antifouling was invented in 1863. This antifouling was provided for a step change in the fishing industry as fouling of the boats slowed them down considerably, however sadly it was the cause of significant pollution in oceans all around the world. The building is now home to Ocean Alliance which is an oceanographic research organisation looking into whales and ocean pollution.

Tarr & Wonson Copper Paint Factory where copper based anti-fouling was invented.

We took a mooring right off the fish processing plant, with a great view of the historic city and a little bit of fishy smells and fans from the buildings, however we liked it as it gave us a sense of where we were. The harbour master ran the moorings and the fee includes the launch service ashore. Our launch driver, Dave, told us all how he remembered the day of the Perfect Storm and knew a couple of the people who died. That night we decided to watch the movie again and spotted so many sights from Gloucester.

Our view of town

Gloucester Fishing Boats

Our first day in Gloucester and we did went for a long walk through town and all along the seafront. There we found the two fishing memorials - the Fishermans memorial and the Fishermens Family memorial. The fishermans memorial was completed in 1925 to honour 300 years of Gloucester loosing men to the sea over 5000!! It was amazing to see the step changes as the industry moved from sail to power and then more gradually and electronics and weather forecasting improved.

Fishermans Memorial

Scooners on Gloucester Harbour

We walked out to the headland to a stunning park and found a perfect cove for swimming.

Cove in Gloucester Outer Harbour

We decided to stay a bit longer in Gloucester so booked the mooring for two more days. To explore the heritage museum, visit Rockport and take the dinghy ride through the canal. We also learned from the lady at the visitors centre that the Tuna had just started running that week and one of the best restaurants in town had it straight on the menu - we had a fantastic meal at Tonno - highly recommended!

Lobster everywhere in this town

The Maritime Heritage Museum was right next to the harbour loop where we came ashore so we decided to pop in - the displays were informative and we learned alot about the fishing industry in particular. They also have kind of working spaces on the wharf around the museum to allows you to interact with those involved in research - we saw a really interesting experiment the marine biologists were doing with european green crabs to try and develop this invasive species for food. We also met 85 year old Paul Harling who maintains a Dive Locker on the site showing his amazing collection of dive gear, including his first dive mask he made from a Gas Mask when he was a teenager.

Paul and his collection of dive gear

I was super excited when we came across an Oyster Upweller on the wharf and met the builder and some of the interns working on the project. I have just read a great book called 'Shucked' following a year on a New England Oyster farm so recognised it immediately. They have just loaded 60,000 baby Oysters into this system as part of a project to restore the coastal environment in Massachusetts.

Oyster Upweller on the wharf

They let me hold the babies

One of the larger babies - a perfect mini Oyster - 1-3 years and he/she will be ready to eat

Did you know that a single oyster can filter up to 2 gallons of water in an hour?? Learn more at http://massoyster.org

Dory Workshop

When fishing took place from Scooner's Dories would be lowered into the ocean - often about 10 from a single mothership and only about 18 foot long - no wonder so many fishermen lost their lives.

We had some work to do on our own boat next day - not a very nice job either..... Our holding tank sensor had stuck and in the US we are using pump out facilities in harbour so it's really important to know how full our tanks are. I have put that one out of memory although it is always nice when we do a job on Askari and get to see some of the beautiful workmanship behind our paneling, all neatly labelled. After a yucky job we went off to explore the Blynman Canal that runs through Cape Ann in the dinghy. The Annisquam River was dredged to create this canal which is full of boats and house boats, plus a few marinas. On the Gloucester side the Wicked Tuna fleet are based and fishing boats cut through the 4 mile long canal to save going round Cape Ann.