This trip was a last minute posting where I was hoping to get another nice day similar to the previous Sunday morning trip. There was a mid-day high tide this time, so launching at 7:00am was not necessary. The plan was to meet at 9:00am and launch at 9:30. I posted the trip at 3:15 Friday afternoon and had a response from Joe at 3:45. Skip replied later Friday night.
We met at the end of the Hull municipal parking lot and launched with the Hull High windmill in the background.
The traffic through Hull Gut was not too bad. We decided to hug the shore through the gut and then cross the channel
straight toward Georges Island.
The channel crossing was pretty easy and we pulled up on the beach at Georges near the visitors center but far enough
away that nobody was likely to mess around with our boats.
We stopped in at the visitors center and grabbed a couple maps. There are ranger led tours, but we just took a walk
around on our own. We stopped for a moment at an info booth outside the fort gate and Skip spoke with the ranger
while I looked back and noticed some nice Adirondack chairs with a view of Boston.
A boxy yellow island shuttle boat had just left with a load of people headed to one of the other harbor islands. I believe Georges and Spectacle Islands act as hubs for the smaller shuttles. Behind the shuttle is Gallops Island which is closed to visitors due to asbestos contamination and beyond that, the tower at Logan airport.
Skip learned from the info booth that there was a video at 40 minutes after the hour, every hour, in the visitors center. It wasn't even 10:00 yet, so we had time to take a quick walk around the fort on our own. We headed through the gates.
Inside the courtyard, we turned left to look for a stairway to get up onto the walls.
We found a stairway to get us up top where there is one Rodman cannon on display.
Looking back, there were more people coming up the stairway. In the background a brick lookout tower of World War 2 vintage.
We took a walk around the ramparts and looked out at the views of the harbor. Every boat seemed to be full today.
A view of Deer Island sewerage treatment plat from a different angle view than the last 2 trips I've done in the harbor.
Looking at the number of gun mounts in the forts of Boston Harbor, it's not too surprising that our enemies chose not to attack this area.
There are stairways everywhere, some better and safer than others.
Looking down at more gun emplacements and Lovells Island.
Looking out at the Brewsters and Calf Islands.
We made our way around to Battery Stevenson which was built in 1902 and contained the biggest guns in Fort Warren, 12 inch rifles on disappearing carriages. There is no fencing along the edges here, just yellow paint to warn you that you are near the edge.
Looking at the inside of the fort parade grounds.
A look out at Boston Light.
A look at Hull High School and the windmill from a different angle than we normally see it from.
We found a stairway down and went inside the fort's walls for a look around.
I looked at my watch and it was time to start heading back to see the video at the vistors center so we headed back
across the parade ground.
It looked like there were some guys setting up for a game of cricket on the parade grounds.
As we were heading out of the fort, there was a ranger leading a tour group in.
There is a nice playground beside the outdoor food court pavilion.
We were a little late for the movie, but were able to enter through a side door and catch most of it. After the video, we took a longer look around the visitors center at all the displays of the different generations of weapons and ordinance that were used here.
There is a display case with a working demonstration of the disappearing 12 inch rifles.
From the ceiling hangs a Nike Missile from the cold war era. There were Nike Missile sites on a few of the harbor islands.
The crossing over to Gallups or Lovells Island looked pretty tame.
We chose to go to Lovells Island. Skip was having a chafing issue with his shirt while paddling, so he went shirtless on this nice warm day.
We started off heading straight across the island with our lunches and passed this old lookout tower.
When we got to the beach, there was no shade or place to sit.
We doubled back and headed north up an old roadway/trail in search of a better lunch spot.
We passed through the old gun batteries.
The gun batteries were much more overgrown on this island than they were on Georges Island. The pits where the gun
mounts were located all had trees growing out of them.
There were railings at the tops of many of the high walls but some were falling down.
We continued past all of the batteries.
We took a right at the next intersection and headed back out to the beach.
Looking to our right, we found exactly what we were looking for, a picnic table under a shade tree with a view.
The view was the outer harbor Islands.
We were not the only people around. There were campers on this island and day visitors brought by shuttle boats.
Skip called me down to the beach to take a look at a piece of debris.
Joe enjoyed the shady picnic table a little longer.
Skip contemplated going for a swim.
We gave up our picnic spot to some women that arrived from one of the island shuttle boats and headed back inland. Following a narrower path, we came across smaller remains of gun batteries.
Then we came across one of the group camping sites that had a few families setting up for a night's stay.
On the way back to the beach, I took a picture of the small shelter used as a waiting spot for the shuttle boats. Within the shelter there are pamphlets and whiteboards with the island's rules and activity schedules.
The water is still pretty calm as we head back to the boats.
But there is plenty of boat traffic.
We discussed what route to take back to Hull and decided to go with the most direct route.
The route took us past Georges Island again.
Crossing the channel between Boston Light and Hull Gut, we came across a pair of lobster boats that didn't move for quite a few minutes. They sat directly in our best path and we made the mistake of getting too close to them. One started moving without bothering to look around first. Lesson learned - stay far, far away from lobster boats.
Once we got across the channel, we followed the shore and made our way through the gut very close to the beach where people park and watch the boat traffic. There were quite a few cars parked and people enjoying the scenery but nobody as well-prepared as these people who had towed a little trailer to the beach and set up a canopy and chairs to sit comfortably out of the sun. They offered us water as we paddled by. That was a first for me.
When we got back to the beach that we had launched from, the tide was high and the beach was full of sun-bathers. There was just enough room for the 3 of us to land our boats without bothering anyone.
It seemed like everyone was out on this beautiful Saturday. Every ferry boat we saw was loaded with people. The beach parking lots at Nantasket were full. And later, a friend told me they had their biggest day ever at their restaurant that day.
We didn't paddle a long distance. I think it was something under 5 miles, but we did a lot of walking and had a very nice day visiting 2 islands with a lot of history.
Thanks for joining me Joe and Skip, especially on such short notice.
Norm
Georges Island and Lovells Island - 7/16/11
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Re: Georges Island and Lovells Island - 7/16/11
Thanks for sharing, Norm. Looks like an intersting place to walk around. You boys were making the Wild Turkeys proud by giving up the picnic table to the ladies!
Bea
Proud foster mother of Athena (P&H Cetus LV turquoise-white)
Proud foster mother of Athena (P&H Cetus LV turquoise-white)
Re: Georges Island and Lovells Island - 7/16/11
I was wondering what the lady and the trailer was yelling lol
Joseph
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Re: Georges Island and Lovells Island - 7/16/11
Nice report Norm, I feel like I was with you guys. But you're still slacking on the the photos, couldn't you have taken a few more?
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