Cape Ann … the other Cape!

                        If any of you have traveled to the coast of Maine, then you have an idea of what Cape Ann in Massachusetts is like. But it’s hours closer to the northern New Jersey area so, unlike Maine where, “Ya can’t get theah from heah”, Cape Ann is easily reached via I-95, and it is just forty-five minutes north of Boston. This makes it an ideal Day Trip if you’re spending some time in that incredible city.

 Or get a VRBO and spend your time right on the Cape.

                                    I promise that you won’t be disappointed!

                        We get up here once a year to visit my son Donny and his family, Hilary, Augustus, Adelaide, and Eleanor, their dog Mali, and about eight chickens who all have names, but for obvious reasons, they will go unlisted. Please don’t tell them.

                        For those of you that have joined us just recently, I will give you a brief primer on Cape Ann and its environs, just as a matter of reference (and so you can see how cool this place is!)

                        Cape Ann consists of four main towns which all have their own ‘downtown port’ aspect to them. These will also remind you of any famous New England local port complete with commercial lobster boats and gorgeous pleasure boats, most of which are moored to buoys in the harbor as the tide swing here is between nine and eleven feet, making marinas difficult to have on a practical level. These towns are Essex, Rockport (out on the tip), Gloucester (where the ill-fated Andrea Gail of The Perfect Storm fame sailed from) and Manchester-by-the-Sea, our town of choice as that’s where Donny and fam reside. (BTW, the movie, which was filmed here, has nothing to do with the town itself!)

                        Cape Ann is strewn with great restaurants, very interesting local museums, and crazy popular beaches which boast crystal-clear waters that are cold (!) but folks dive in any way!

                        Yesterday was spent on the water, courtesy of a new acquisition of the family, namely a sailboat. Eleanor, Adelaide, and Augustus have had summers full of sailing lessons ever since they arrived here. This will be their fourth summer here and yes; Sailing Lessons are on the itinerary. Even Donny and Hilary have been enrolled in adult classes, all with the idea of procuring their own sailboat, which will now come complete with an experienced crew!

                        The sailboat is a 32-foot Sabre (which is a tad larger than what may be considered a ‘beginner’ boat) but Donny had years of maritime experience as a kid at the Jersey shore where we always had a boat. So at least he knew the difference between Bow and Stern, and Port and Starboard! And his crew now has three years of sailing under their belts (or life vests!)

                        Getting one of those mooring Buoys in Manchester Harbor or Gloucester is rather difficult as there are a finite number allocated to those areas. That makes the Waiting List long.

Very long.

One of the ways to short-cut that list is to get on the shorter list of Magnolia Harbor. Magnolia is not as desirable for several reasons, it’s not as protected (Harbor is a misnomer here), there are no dedicated services that bring you out to and back from your mooring (you need to do that yourself) and the dock that you would go to to pick up your family and passengers is only available at high tide.

                                    But…. when you get on this list you get first pickings of moorings when one becomes available in Manchester. Even over someone who is on the Manchester list!

            So Don, why don’t people just get on that Magnolia list first?

            I’m glad you asked that Mr. Harbor Master!

Because…. if you are on the Magnolia list and procure a mooring there you must utilize it and put a boat there! You can’t just use it to fake your way into Manchester!

So off we went with the Zodiac inflatable lashed to the roof for the short drive to the Magnolia section of town where Donny put it in and rowed over to that dock to pick us up so we could get out to the boat.

                        Her name is Selkie, which is a mythical sea dwelling being with mainly Scottish and Irish origins. It has the ability to change from human to seal. The movie The Secret of Roan Inish is based on this legend. The movie is quite good.

                        Selkie proved to be an inviting companion for our several-hour foray along then rocky coast. The day was gorgeous, even the early foreboding clouds gave way to bright sunshine and gorgeous blue skies. This was only the family’s third (or so) outing on her, so lessons still needed to be learned, but the pupils were willing and at least experienced when knowing when a sail was properly trimmed, and the boat was being sailed correctly.

                        Paula and I wisely stayed out of the way.

            I did get a turn at the wheel. I’ve always wanted to pilot a sailboat with one of these large wheels (instead of a tiller) and a mainsail and genoa jib!

            I was not disappointed 😊

After our sail, we went to a nice place in Magnolia for lunch where the food was delicious and as you can see, the portions were sizeable!

An afternoon spent in the backyard relaxing eventually gave way to dinnertime and some neat ways to barbeque!

After that we wisely went back to our site at the Cape Ann Campsite as we were all tuckered out.

It’s a good thing that Paula was driving because I don’t think I even made it out of the driveway before I dozed off!