Steadfast

Thar she blows...............

T

he fog's just lifting. Throw off your bow line, throw off your stern. You head out the South Channel, past Rocky Neck, Ten Pound Island. Past Niles Pond,  where I skated as a kid. Blow your airhorn and throw a wave to the lighthouse keeper's kid on Thatcher Island. The birds show up -- black backs, herring gulls, big dumb ducks. The sun hits ya, head North, open up to 12, steamin' now” 

            Anyone who has read or seen  ‘The Perfect Storm” may recall these words from Captain Billy Tyne, romantically describing the departure of his ship, the Andrea Gail on a fishing trip.

            When Sara and I found out that my daughter had gone on a whale watch recently,, we recalled our own whale watch in August.  The weather was perfect, the sea like (rippled) glass, and we were promised a 95% chance of seeing whales.

            More than the prospect of seeing whales, I found myself as Captain Billy, eyes squinting against the sun’s glare and gleam on the sea. Yes there was Rocky Neck reaching out from the land as though to grab us and the ship as we slipped by. Niles Pond a freshwater oasis upon the Eastern Point between the harbor and and the sea. Actually on the island of Cape Ann, separated from the mainland by the Annisquam River, Gloucester has a perfectly natural harbor for ships. Shipbuilding started here well before the War of Independence, and as the city grew, it developed manufacturing, food processing (the home of Gorton and Birds Eye). 

Our whale watching boat - the Privateer IV

Looking back, the town hall sits up from the harbor like a monarch on his throne. Other harbors have a lighthouse to guide them home.  Gloucester has its City Hall.                                                     

Unfortunately, when we were there, the building, up for renovation was encased in green plastic.