Today’s trip turned out to be much drier than yesterday’s – no rain but we started with fog in Kittery. We disembarked at 8:15am to ensure we had a low current in the marina and then headed south down the Piscataqua river. The river was quiet, but after sighting a harbor seal, the fog set in as can be seen beneath.
Our radar system did a good job of helping us navigate around local fishing boats, and a sailboat that was heading upstream. We could see just outside of the harbor/river was a large radar reflection that turned out to be a tanker. This was on our intended path but the radar allowed us to divert.
After another 30 minutes the fog cleared but winds were low so we motored over to the Annisquam river. This is always a great place to come through. However, if you are doing it for the first time make certain that you do it with several feet of water above low tide and preferably on a rising tide. We just happened to hit at high tide, so it was a breeze.
Here is the northern, Ipswich Bay side of the Annisquam
We call this waterside property
Though the charts make the trip seem simple, it is east to get disoriented and think that the next buoy that you see is the next buoy on the chart. Be cautious and read their numbers to make certain that this is the case. One time coming under the fixed bridge from north to south we nearly made this mistake since the chart suggested that the next buoys are straight ahead. However, the ones that we saw were the subsequent buoys, however, with a quick check we realized we were missing a pair that were hidden to our port just beyond the bridge amongst moored vessels.
The next major issue – that’s an over statement – is that you may need to ask for the railroad bridge to be lifted (VHF channel 13). Time of day is important as if its train rush hour it may take a while. However, we have not had this problem in our transits through the river. At the bridge the river makes a 90 degree turn so it’s not possible to see if anybody is coming in the opposite direction. Listen to chatter on channel 13 to get guidance and post a bow look out.
After passing the railroad bridge you next meet the Cape Ann marina, then there is a 90 degree turn to port and the Blynman bridge. Again channel 13 communicates with the operator.
After having safely navigated the Annisquam river we headed south out of Gloucester harbor turned SW and the wind picked up at about 2pm. We had a glorious sail into Salem harbor and picked up a Salem Water Taxi (Channel 68) mooring ball (5:15pm). Sailing in the Beverly, Salem Marblehead area is really fun. There are generally good winds and lots of boats, islands and shallow spots to navigate. When this is taken together with tacking against the wind it can be an exhilarating time. I have iNavX on my iphone which allows me to help with navigation if Yolande is at the helm. We were able to sail right up to Red Daymarker #2 to meet the launch service that showed us to the buoy.
We went into town to a local Indian restaurant “Passage to India”. It was a great meal and then we picked up a few cool ones to bring back to the boat. Sunset was beautiful and then the winds picked up. They have been pumping all night and it’s a small craft advisory for the day. Winds from the NE so we should have a great sail back to Boston.
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