DESTINATION New England

By Land Or By Sea Explore “The Bean’s” 34 islands and peninsulas

weekend spent exploring Boston Harbor barely transients a great location and amenities. Mere minutes later A scratches the surface when it comes to uncovering the we pass within 100 yards of the marina’s namesake, the USS treasures the harbor and interspersed islands have to offer. From Constitution. America’s Ship of State in service since 1798, “Old the Charlestown Navy Yard down to Hingham Bay, there is a Iron Sides” rides tall and proud—a living museum and testament mountain of history associated with the active waterfront and to the days of “wooden ships and iron men.” islands that dot Boston Harbor. With friends aboard Dauntless, We head for President Roads, Boston Harbor’s main my old Albin 43-foot trawler, we depart Constitution Marina shipping channel and the “entrance” to the constellation of 34 located adjacent to the Charles Town Navy Yard. Located in STORY AND PHOTOS BY JIM RAYCROFT the heart of the Boston waterfront, Constitution Marina offers

56 U SOUTHERN BOATING U JUNE 2012 Spectacular 4th of July fireworks light up the entire Boston Harbor.

Island, we catch a view of Long Island Head Light. First established in 1819, the current light went operational in 1901, was automated in 1918, and then deactivated in 1985. Peeking out of the trees, the white and black lighthouse rises above a massive granite seawall. Leaving the islet of Nixes Mate to starboard, we turn south into the channel through The Narrows, which separates Gallops and Lovells islands. Off to port, Boston Light stands on Little Brewster Island, one of the “Brewsters” group of the outermost harbor islands. Built in 1716, Boston Light is the oldest manned light station in continuous use in the United States, its beacon radiating 27 miles out to sea. Nixes Mate marks the northern entrance to The Narrows. Originally named Nixes Island, it was 12 acres of rock that was quarried into oblivion. This rock pile is the final resting place for several pirates, among them William Fly who was captured and executed for his misadventures off Nantucket, then hung in chains on the rock on June 28, 1726. Nixes Mate is now a day marker and the island itself awash at high water. Lovells Island is a favorite for weekending with 11 camp sites and miles of walking trails. The west side is a great place to anchor, with plenty of water in the bay just north of the pier and easy access to the beach, but islands and peninsulas that make up the Boston be aware—the ferries and powerboats rip through the narrows, throwing Harbor Islands, all waiting to be explored from off big wakes in close proximity. We pull into Lovells mainly because a their beaches to their headlands. Out here, away good friend, Joel (aka “Cookie”)—the best non-professional chef I know— from the city noise and traffic, you can explore a had discovered a great grove of beach plums (prunus maritime) growing historical military fort or dance in the grass at a over one of the staircases at the ruins of Battery Burbeck Morris. We use music festival. The islands offer camping, fishing, his pirate-style treasure map to find the spot but me thinks he omitted kayaking, swimming, hiking, beach combing, a turn or two. Although plum-less, we enjoy a good walk and scramble lighthouse spotting, tidal pools and more. around the ruins of Fort Standish. Continuing down the channel past the tip of Long Back aboard Dauntless, we head for Peddocks Island. At the south end

JUNE 2012 U SOUTHERN BOATING U 57 If you’ve not yet visited the Boston Harbor Islands you are in for a pleasant surprise. Countless weekend cruising opportunities offer any number of activities. Few places offer the contemplative solitude right in the backyard of one of the country’s great metropolitan areas. During the summer season, all the islands are accessible daily from 9 AM to sunset. Spring and fall, they are only open on weekends. Mooring reservations are available throughout the Harbor Islands by calling 617-241-9640 or emailing them: moorings@ bosport.com.

of The Narrows lies Georges Island with Fort Warren as its main attraction. We continue south from Georges Island through Hull Gut, which separates the tip of Hull from the northeast headland of Peddocks Island and head down the east side of the island, rounding Prince Head at the southern tip of Peddocks. Easing into the little bay on the west side, we pick up a mooring in this typically near-empty anchorage. From the aft deck of Dauntless with cocktails in hand, our view of the Boston Skyline at sunset gives us a sense of isolation that this location offers. Early the next morning we run the dinghy to the beach, one seemingly untouched by other sea glass hunters. Prepared for the day with plenty of water and sandwiches, and good walking shoes for a trek along the rocky shoreline, we hit the well-marked trails. It’s evident that few people pass the south end of the coastline from its decidedly untouched look. I keep an eye out for other beach chochka that had found its way ashore including shells and a couple of For more information: colorful lobster buoys for the collection. ‡&RQVWLWXWLRQ0DULQDconstitutionmarina.com The North end of Peddocks Island rises up to an 80-foot elevation with ‡866&RQVWLWXWLRQhistory.navy.mil/ussconstitution/ the remains of Fort Andrews hidden in the trees and overgrowth. Built in history 1904 and serving until the end of WWII, most of the 26 Victorian red brick ‡%RVWRQ/LJKW%UHZVWHU,VODQG buildings fronting the tree-lined street remains complete enough to exhibit bostonharborislands.org/little-brewster their fine detail. A post, hospital, bakery and NCO quarters all stand silently abandoned. Decaying telephone poles are strewn all about, absent of their ‡0DSRI%RVWRQ+DUERU,VODQGVmass.gov/dcr/ blue glass insulators, which had no doubt found their way into coastal parks/metroboston/maps/bhi_map.gif antique shops long ago. It’s like walking onto an old movie set, a fact not ‡0DSRI3HGGRFNV,VODQGen.wikipedia.org/wiki/ lost on Film Director Martin Scorsese when he came here in 2008 to shoot File:PeddocksIsland.png scenes for his film “Shutter Island,” which stars Leonardo DiCaprio and ‡%RVWRQ+DUERU,VODQGVbostonharborislands. Mark Ruffalo. Upon arrival, the Army displaced most island residents but org/ OR, bostonharborislands.org/visit-island one group, a tiny community of Portuguese fishermen, still remains on the ‡&KDUWRI%RVWRQ+DUERUDQG,VODQGVpeople.seas. south end. Their leases are not being renewed, however, and their rustic harvard.edu/~leslie/Charts/13270_1.gif cottages are slowly disappearing. ‡+LQJKDP6KLS\DUG0DULQDV  Further east of Peddocks lies tiny Bumpkin Island in Hingham Bay hinghamshipyardmarinas.com/ where we had heard there was a music festival. We head south circling ‡+LQJKDP6KLS\DUGhinghamlaunch.com back around Prince Head, eastbound, and take the channel to the ‡$OPD1RYHalmanovehingham.com north of Sheep Island. Other than the channel on the west end, it is a

58 U SOUTHERN BOATING U JUNE 2012 Opposite page: Tugboats from Boston Towing and Transportation line the East Boston dock. Top left, clockwise: Al fresco dining on the terrace fire pit at Alma Nove Restaurant, owned by Mark Wahlberg’s brother, Chef Paul; Tall ship docked at the World Trade Center on the South Boston waterfront; Cat boat #1 from MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) fleet running down wind on the Charles River; The sailing schooner Liberty ghosting across Boston Harbor at sunset.

rocky approach surrounded by skinny water. Bumpkin marked channel all the way into Hewitts Cove and the is primarily a day anchorage with remains of military Hingham Shipyard Marina. Reservations for transient slips and other structures and a number of walking trails and are available from the dock master on VHF Ch. 9. wilderness. We miss the music festival (and happily, the The Hingham Shipyard is the poster child for urban crowd) and treat ourselves instead, to dinner ashore in the renewal: a new and vibrant community of homes, marinas, heart of Hingham Harbor, a short distance southwest of restaurants, shops, and cinema has risen from the ashes Bumpkin Island. To get there, we retrace our steps toward of a decrepit industrial waterfront. Our venue of choice is Peddocks Island and pick up the ship channel to the cut Chef Paul Wahlberg’s Alma Nove—a new restaurant in the south of Grape Island, then into the channel to Weymouth heart of the waterfront scene—perched on the shoreline Back River. I once watched a large sportfish get hauled overlooking the marina. Its terrace fire pit and mouth- out with a few thousands of dollars-worth of mangled watering menu beckon like a lighthouse on a foggy evening, props from that route so we pay close attention to the a fitting end to our island cruise.

JUNE 2012 U SOUTHERN BOATING U 59