The force of a Nor’Easter: Enough to rip up a 2,000 lb buoy!

Posted on March 6, 2013 by BHB

2013 may be dubbed the year of the storm for coastal residents of Massachusetts. As I write this, another strong storm is on its way to inflict a lashing on our coastline! Here is a photo of something I found amazing: A 2,000 lb buoy which was ripped off its anchor and washed up on the Hanscom Air Force Base property on the shore of Scituate, MA during the “Nemo” storm:

storm

Photo courtesy of Hanscom Air Force Base, USAF. There is a link to the full story here. 

Hanscom Air Force Base, which is actually located on the Bedford/Concord line Northwest of here, operates a summer retreat for its staff on the North side of the Humarock spit, Scituate- right at the North River’s entrance. They were able to get this great photo when the buoy washed up on their beach! This location is the site of a WW-II era submarine lookout tower, which we have written about in the past.

As for the Buoy, this is the “NI” which was located about a mile offshore of the North River’s entrance. Not to be confused with a red, port side channel marker, this is a red and white buoy known as a “safety” or all clear buoy, signaling that it is safe to pass on either side. This type is similar to the “B” buoy which I have written about in the past. Here, highlighted in red, is the former location of “NI” before the storm got the best of it:

storm

NOAA Nautical Chart. See Noaa.gov for disclaimer.

 

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The Gloucester wind mills visible all the way from Scituate

Posted on March 3, 2013 by BHB

A great perspective of the expanse of Massachusetts Bay: Yesterday, the three new wind turbines recently put up in Gloucester were visible all the way from Scituate! Here is a photo of them, with Minot Light and Scituate Glades in foreground as proof:

gloucester

If you have read this website before, you know that I have a strange interest in the distances and spacial planes that we see when looking across bodies of water. I have noticed the turbines before from a nearby hill on the South Shore and previously took a couple photos of them that came out just OK after a little editing.

Yesterday, mother nature did the editing for me, as the slow moving cloud cover from the Southwest had covered the South Shore, but still allowed the sun to still reflect brightly up in Gloucester. As such, we had a great light contrast and great view. Aside from the zoom, these photos are completely unedited!

An unobstructed view of Gloucester from the South Shore, across 22 miles of Massachusetts Bay:

gloucester

A fully zoomed out view. These were taken from the sea wall at the Northern end of Glades Road in Scituate, close to Minot Light. You can still see the turbine if you look carefully.

gloucester

Interestingly, if you look at the first photo (the zoomed in one) you will notice that you can’t see a portion of the lower part of the wind turbines, as they are cut off by the curvature of the Earth!

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Martha’s Vineyard in the dead of winter

Posted on February 28, 2013 by admin

The Island of Martha’s Vineyard, like many seasonal destinations, becomes desolate as the winter months encroach. However, these seasons highlight not only the island’s natural beauty, but also the self sufficiency that is part of its heritage.

The lighthouse at Aquinnah:

Martha's Vineyard

Edgartown Lighthouse and harbor:

edgartown

On a late February weekend, the island is quiet and has been abandoned by the tourists who flock to its shopping and beach destinations in July and August. But there is still a great energy here through the dull, grayish-brown landscape. The Vineyard is full of farms and fishing villages that run year round. The raw beauty of the landscape-  grey, brown and brushy- becomes more apparent as it is seen against a vast cold solitude of the sea during a North Atlantic winter.

An isolated stretch of South Beach in Katama:

katama

The eroding cliffs of Aquinnah, on the Vineyard’s Easternmost point. From these heights,  there is an excellent unobstructed view across the Vineyard Sound to the Elizabeth Islands:

marthas vineyard

A close up shot of Aquinnah’s Lighthouse:

marthas vineyard

The small island called “Noman’s Land” which lies South of Aquinnah on the Western end of the Vineyard. Noman’s Land was used extensively by the military in WWII and still contains ordinance, so is closed to the public.

marthas vineyard

The harbor at Menemsha, on the West side of the island. It remains a busy fishing port throughout the winter:

Marthas Vineyard

A quiet day in Menemsha Harbor:

Marthas Vineyard

The pristine village of Edgartown attracts well healed tourists during the summer months, but is left nearly deserted in February. This gives it a more peaceful and laid back feel. Below is a view of the empty Edgartown Harbor on a winter day:

Martha's Vineyard

harbor

Below, Edgartown light sits behind defoliated brush on a cold, blustery winter day:

marthas vineyard

Edgartown Harbor in the winter:

marthas vineyard

The Old Whaling Church in Edgartown:

marthas vineyard

Edgartown Harbor and the illumination of Edgartown Lighthouse from the Harborview Hotel in Edgartown:

edgartown

The beautiful and elegant Harborview Hotel:

martha's vineyard

The Martha’s Vineyard Ferry- which runs year round- arrives in Edgartown on a February afternoon:

marthas vineyard

 

One Last shot of Aquinnah against the brown brush covering the cliffs and grey waters of the Vineyard Sound:

marthas vineyard

 

 

 

Posted in Boston Harbor Day Boat Trips, Boston Harbor in the Winter, Boston Harbor Navigation, Uncategorized, Weather | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Picture of the week: City at Dusk

Posted on February 25, 2013 by admin

A slight sense of seasonal change starts to fill the air over Boston as we enter the last stretch of the dead of winter. While the temperatures have yet to get rise,  the days do begin to get longer. Each afternoon, the cold bright blue skies give way to a pink haze as the sun goes down, and the shadows work their way up the dark, rolling, wooded hills.

Here is a shot of Boston Harbor and the city skyline on one of those nights from an undisclosed location, deep in the heart of those dark rolling hills!

boston city sunset winter

 

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Historical Place of the Week: Mordecai Lincoln Mill and Homestead

Posted on February 23, 2013 by BHB

Here is one appropriate for President’s day week! I would bet most Boston area residents don’t know that some of Abraham Lincoln’s decendents first settled on the South Shore- in both Hingham and Scituate.

The house below was built by Mordecai Lincoln, believed to be the great-great-great grandfather of Abraham Lincoln. President Lincoln had other ancestors by the name Mordecai, so the individual who built this homestead should not be confused with the president’s uncle.

Scituate

Located on the Boundary Brook, which was the initial boundary between Plymouth and Norfolk Counties, the homestead and mill was initially built in the 1690s. The present location is in the town of Scituate, near the Cohasset boarder and North Scituate commuter rail stop. The location on the brook enabled the operation of the mill, and was likely a good source of River Herring, which can still be found in the area today.

The home as viewed from the street:

Scituate

A description of the Mordecai Lincoln homestead and mill:

Scituate

The back of the mill and Boundary Brook:

Scituate

Scituate

I do not believe the house is open to the public at the present time, but one can check with the Scituate Historical Society and drive by- its location is on Mordecai Lincoln Road near the North Scituate commuter rail stop.

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Time to get a new boat, dude

Posted on February 16, 2013 by BHB

Having recently learned of a stranded boat on South Boston’s Carson Beach, I figured that I would have to check it out myself, which I did today. It appears that the vessel broke free from a mooring off the South Boston Yacht Club during Hurricane Sandy and has been marooned on Carson Beach ever since!

carson beach

Perhaps the vessel was not insured, as insurance will usually pay for a haul. But I am most surprised that the owner has not salvaged the boat given the fear of fines (a boat owner is viewed as a golden goose to the tax assessors, collectors, leviers and treasurers of our waterfront municipalities). Having spent many a hot summer saturday at Carson Beach, I know how crowded this beach can get, so I would hope the boat is removed by then. For now, here is my attempt at the nautical equivalent of an autopsy:

1) This boat was clearly distressed while still in the water for quite a long time, with the hull submerged to a point well above the blue bottom paint (the water line is clearly visible in the photo below- and is not a great testament to the purity of South Boston’s water!) I think this can be explained by water weight: An unattended boat without a cover to the area below deck can accumulate rain water as was the case here. Looking through the opening revealed that the boat was totally flooded below deck.

2) A mooring sticker for 2012 was attached indicating that someone who owned the boat did renew last year to get their mooring off the yacht club (these are necessary to obtain at the beginning of every season, as harbormasters and police will levy fines early and often against unpermitted boats).

sail boat

3) Often times, a boat will break free from its mooring during a storm due to simple physics. The tension a boat applies to its mooring is a function of drag (wind force, current, etc) and scope (the ratio between line length and water depth…i.e. the more line you let out at a given depth, the greater the scope). As we saw during hurricane Irene, the combination of a storm surge and high winds can be fatal to a boat on a mooring without enough scope. The storm surge increases the depth and therefore declines scope, while at the same time, the force increases due to wind speed.

Here was a picture I took at Carson Beach back in August 2011 after Hurricane Irene. Many moored sailboats fell victim to lacking scope that day:

Carson beach

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Guiding a tanker into the Fore River

Posted on February 16, 2013 by BHB

Tug boats guide a tanker through Hingham Bay and into the Fore River:

fore river

It is not very often that tankers come into the Fore River terminal, as they more usually head up into Chelsea or East Boston. I saw this one the other morning on the way to work.

This is a narrow passage, which involves navigating through the harbor and up into the river. Then, large tankers like this must fit under a lift bridge  (the Route 3a bridge between Weymouth and Quincy).

The tanker moves past Peddock’s Island. Nice view of the city in the background. Note the use of two tugs:

boston harbor

A tug boat holding the tanker’s stern against the backdrop of a blue sky Boston Harbor morning. It is interesting that with some of these heavier tankers, two tug boats must be used: one pulling the bow, one on the stern being dragged:

fore river

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Research vessel Tioga spotted in Hingham Harbor

Posted on February 15, 2013 by BHB

The Tioga is a marine research vessel which I saw this recently at its dock down in Woods Hole, Falmouth. Interestingly, I saw the same boat last week visiting Hingham Harbor. Perhaps it was studying something up in our neck of the woods….

Operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, and used primarily for marine research, this vessel is particularly useful due to its speed capabilities. It is typically used in Cape Cod Bay and Stellwagen Bank. The website describing this fascinating ocean craft can be found here– check it out!

The Tioga docked at its home port in Woods Hole:

marine research

The Tioga exiting Hingham Harbor the other morning. This is a pretty long haul from Woods Hole in Falmouth. Interestingly, the whoi.edu website does show the Tioga swinging through Hingham on February 4th 2013.

marine research

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Boston Harbor is for the Birds!

Posted on February 14, 2013 by BHB

Literally thousands of birds, mostly seagulls, were flocking over the fish pier in Boston tonight. It was like a scene from a movie! There must have been a couple of fishing boats in with fresh catches.

I didn’t know there were this many birds in Boston. See below and check out how many birds were here:

Seagulls

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Photos from the Blizzard of 2013

Posted on February 11, 2013 by BHB

The blizzard that hit New England on February 8th-10th was one of the most severe in years and was particularly hard on the coast. Reported wind gusts were >60mph and wave heights as reported by NOAA buoy 44013 (located 16NM East of Boston) were reported as high as 26 feet. Further North, Buoy 44098, located on Jeffery’s Ledge (about 30 miles East of Portsmouth, NH reported wave heights of over 31 feet. Here are a few photos of the storm’s aftermath taken from the South Shore:

Very large waves pound the ice-covered coastline in Cohasset on Saturday 2/9:

blizzard

Even 12 hours after the storm had passed, waves remained very high, spraying across the shoreline and covering vegetation with ice

blizzard

Icy rocks:

beach

An ice-covered Minot Light in the cloudy distance over a rough sea:

Blizzard

This storm left one big snow pile in downtown Cohasset:

blizzard

 A stop sign that was blown over by the high winds at black rock beach:

blizzard

Lots of rocks and downed power lines at Black Rock Beach:

blizzard

A nice sunset on Saturday evening (2/9) after the blizzard wrapped up:

cohasset

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