Sep 17 - Sep 19, 2021 Portsmouth NH

Portsmouth to Plymouth - Sept 17-19, 2021

The Mayflower at Dock in Plymouth, Ma

Friday, September 17, 2021 – City of Gloucester Moorings

Newcastle to Gloucester, Ma from Marine Tracker

Another rough day on the water, and it was a motor-sailing day. Again, Kim held Levi the whole time, but he was being more courageous about standing on his own and weathering the seas, and about sticking his nose out into the wind.

We took a mooring in Gloucester. The last time we were there was when we were bringing the former Lillian Gray (39 ft) home for the first time from Hingham, Ma. RPF Environmental also had some work going at the same time back then for the dredging/dock construction, so we had met up with Karen Long for dinner then as she was working the job site for us.

We went ashore on the launch boat where we walked for awhile and found a place for apps and a beverage. The first outdoor restaurant we tried did not allow dogs, so we found another one called Topside Grille where Levi was treated to a gourmet bowl of water.

Levi wants to be held when its rocky rolly

Thatcher Island Lighthouses off Cape Ann

A view of Gloucester from the mooring

...and a view of the moorings from Gloucester

Roger on the phone...still working
But the real interest here is the sign about the right whales.
They are extremely in danger of extinction

Another neat little gift from Derek. A word wheel. You have to arrange each of the four wheels to make four letter words. Kim found two - do you see them? Both are fun words!

Saturday, September 18, 2021 – Safe Harbor Marina, Plymouth, Ma

Gloucester to Plymouth, Ma

We started out very early and had yet another rough day on the water. Levi was even more brave and actually ate his breakfast while we were underway. Never has he done that!

From the charts, Plymouth Bay appears a bit daunting as there are very narrow channels and lots of sand shoaling. In person, a bit less daunting but we still needed to be very careful navigating in. On the plus side: going aground in sand is a lot less of an issue than the ledges in Maine!

We pulled into Safe Harbor Marina around 3:30 in the afternoon and as soon as we got settled went for a long walk. Along the harbor we saw the Mayflower and Plymouth Rock.

The Mayflower was quite impressive and Plymouth Rock was surprisingly small. Kim: I guess I was expecting a craggy island or a massive boulder. But no. It was smaller than the big rock we had out front of our house in Strafford! The info board said it was originally three times bigger but had been cut back and moved several times before it landed in its current shrine.

Wildlife update: We saw a sunfish! And, we've been seeing a lot of v-shaped bird formations in the sky and hearing them honking.

On the shuttle taking Levi in for his morning ablutions before we head out

Levi getting braver every day in the choppy weather

Gurnett Light at the entrance to Plymouth Bay

Plymouth is steeped in history and there are so many interesting things to see.
We like to imagine how many people have stood and admired this same creek (brook?) over the centuries and millennia and imagine how it changed over that time.

Plymouth Rock. See? It's teeny. We were expecting a big boulder at least.

Kim: Don't get me wrong! I'm patriotic AND I know and understand the history (this time unlike at the Alamo) AND I am a descendent of the Mayflower travelers. But I am underwhelmed by this rock.

Sunday, September 19, 2021

Plymouth, Ma

We started the day with some chores such as organizing the boat, cleaning and laundry, and then more organizing the boat. We had lunch at the Surfside Smokehouse restaurant and Roger enjoyed a scallop roll, and every time he has one we send a picture to my Mom because they both had the best scallop roll together in Portland, ME at DiMillo's.

James (a.k.a. Jamie) is Roger’s long-time friend and bandmate going back to high school days. Jamie was the lead singer in the Nils Kaiser Band and is now an IT professional. We had a great dinner with him and his wife Carmen (at the Surfside Smokehouse); catching up, having fun, and reminiscing,