Beyond Boston

Discovery Magic's Blog
John & Caroline Charnley
Sun 18 Jul 2010 14:20

 

Our journeying since leaving Boston has been determined by meeting various people who have expressed an interest in finding out more about the  Catamaran, and a friend joining us for a few days. Thus we have spent the last ten days alternating between Marblehead and Gloucester: both just a few miles north of Boston, but very different places.

 

The people, however, are the same.  I know I’ve been going on about it, but the optimism and cheeriness of the locals just gives me a thrill.  One morning we woke to find a fisherman doing pirouettes around us trying to retrieve his lobster pot that we had managed to lay our anchor over the night before.  I thought he’d be really annoyed and said we would move.  His reaction? – “Don’t worry about it, we’ll work around it.  You have a nice day!”  Similarly, when returning from a cycling expedition.  I couldn’t raise John on VHF to get picked up and was contemplating what lurgies I might pick up if I swam across Gloucester fishing port to our anchorage.  Recognising a damsel in distress the Harbourmaster magnanimously put my bike and me in his launch and took me back to our boat.

 

The Americans seem to prefer the freedom of personal moorings rather than keeping a boat in a marina and Marblehead is no exception.  The protected bay is filled with some 2000 moorings, with no room left to anchor.  Boston Yacht Club generously allowed us to use their facilities, the Club being a good introduction to the traditions and sophistication of the town.  Flying a Blue Ensign we are very aware of flag etiquette and that not only should you dip your ensign to naval vessels, but that it should be lowered at sunset and raised again at sunrise.  I got used to a canon shot signifying ‘colours’ in Newport and understood it ringing round the bay at Marblehead as there are six yacht clubs, but I wasn’t expecting everyone in the dining room to instantly stop talking and to stand in silence as the American flag was lowered.  Once again, that strong allegiance to the flag.

 

Marblehead has benefitted from the strident efforts of the Historical Society to protect the heritage of the area.  The old town was founded on fishing and is an intriguing place to meander. The streets are lined by well-preserved or restored timber-clad buildings, (in a great assortment of colours) some dating back as early as early 1700s. Remarkably, in the early 1600s English fisherman would come to fish the plentiful fish stocks in the summer months, returning home with their salt fish in the winter. We were given a personal tour around the Jeremiah Lee Mansion, which is one of the most opulent homes of the mid-1700s, and enjoyed seeing the picture ‘Spirit of 76’ – a painting portraying the battle for Independence.

 

Gloucester, also a town based on fishing, is very different but no less appealing.  One guidebook describes it as ‘gritty and authentic’ and we loved the vibrant, working port with it’s diversity of people.  Italian and Portuguese culture built the fabric of the town. Gloucester (homeport setting for “The Perfect Storm”) has a huge harbour. The old sailing schooners (of which there are some still around) returned here from Georges Bank and the Grand Banks off Newfoundland. Gloucester was apparently the second biggest fishing port in the Western Hemisphere.  There is a huge amount of wharfage, much of it now in disrepair, which although it now only hints at its formal glory still provides the framework for an active fishing industry and related businesses.  (‘The Coolest Guys Around’ – Cape Pond Ice Company produce 350 tons of ice a day.)  

 

Now the town also thrives on whaling watching trips, art galleries, some very good restaurants and an assortment shops selling an eclectic mix of goods:  I managed to get the gears fixed on my bicycle in a shop that sells underwear and should you want them you could buy some very lewd cards in a shop promoting spiritualism and Buddhism. 

 

The Unitarian Universalist Church (1806) is well worth a visit, not only because of the building, but also for its historical fight as a church society: early abolition of slavery, women’s rights and separation of church and state.  I was intrigued by a crippled man in his seventies sat on the church steps, painting placards demanding the end of the Afghan war.  He has vowed not to have a drink of alcohol until the slaughter has ended – quite something when you could see how much he had enjoyed a drink over the years.  I share his sentiment and wish him well.

 

Despite the heat, I spent one afternoon cycling out to Dogtown Common.  The area was largely abandoned after the early 1800s but abandoned houses were for a few decades occupied by itinerants and vagabonds, some of the last occupants being suspected of practicing witchcraft. In the Great Depression Roger Babson commissioned unemployed stonecutters to carve inspirational inscriptions.  Suddenly, as you are navigating your way along narrow, wooded trails you come across a boulder emblazoned with ‘Spiritual Power, ‘Truth’, ‘Loyalty’, or ‘Courage’  the last of which I might have needed had I read the pamphlet beforehand: “Don’t go alone; Be aware of hunting seasons and wear bright clothes; Carry a map and a compass; Danger of Lyme disease,”  A very different cycle ride was along Route 127 to Rockport – right out on the Cape Ann peninsula.  I found the gift shops, art galleries and candy shops leaving an impression of a pretty, but sugary place, particularly when compared with Gloucester.

 

Having been in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, we are now briefly in the State of New Hampshire visiting the naval town of Portsmouth.  Each state seems to have a motto:  Massachusetts’ is “By the Sword We Seek Peace, but Peace Only Under Liberty”.  The licence plates of the cars of New Hampshire carry the message “Live Free or Die”. Today we will be in the State of Maine, but I haven’t yet understood its motto: “I Direct”.

 

Pictures show the centre of Marblehead, the “Spirit of 76”, a storm brewing, Dogtown Common and shots of Gloucester and Portsmouth.

 

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