Hangman's-Long-Spectacle Islands

Trip reports that don't have a page dedicated to them.

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Dave
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Joined: Wed Jun 22, 2005 12:25 pm
Location: Quincy

Hangman's-Long-Spectacle Islands

Post by Dave »

No one brought a camera!

We all arrived around 10:20, and after a quick supply run we were all on the water about 10:45. The first leg was extremely calm, we made Hangman’s in about 45 minutes. Our stop on Hangman’s was pretty brief, we walked about a quarter of the way across the island and returned to the yaks. After some discussion about the route, we decided to paddle straight across the shipping lane then turn into Long Island fairly close to the west end and the bridge, After a pit stop on Long Island, we headed back out and around the island to the bridge, crossing under the bridge just out past the second piling. The water was still very calm, and we had the wind at our backs for most of this leg of the trip. We crossed over to Spectacle from the bridge in about a half hour. When we came around the tip of Spectacle we came into some shallow flats and there were some breakers. Allison hugged the shoreline pretty close and got caught up in a couple of sets of nice little breakers, she was pretty soaked by the time we came into the beach by the visitor center.

Spectacle Island was a party. There was a Dorchester Neighborhood Association party on the island, complete with a visit by Mayor Menino later in the day. A live band was playing reggae music, and there was a barbecue at the visitor center. There was also a company doing tours on Segways. Apparently they will be setting up tours downtown some time in the future. Today they were doing tours of the Island, as well as quick lessons. We asked if we could try, and were told they were booked for the day. After some discussion with Nelson, the woman running the table was able to schedule a quick lesson for two people. We discussed it and decided that Bea and Nelson should try it, but Bea was unable to take the lesson because she didn't have her drivers license with her.

So Nelson and I ended up trying the Segways. It was a lot of fun! I thought they would be pretty cool if you could move faster, and as it turned out; the lesson was with a governor on, so you really could move pretty good on one of these things with some practice. The best way I could describe them is like skiing on the bunny slope, about the same feeling and speed.

After our ride and some hamburgers and hotdogs we walked to the top of the North drumlin before heading back. We paddled back across the shipping lane to Moon Island, then along the shore back out to the bridge. We were paddling into the wind now and the tide was going out in the opposite direction. We had some very nice bumps heading back. We managed to catch the wake of the fast ferry crossing the channel, but it was a real disappointment! For some reason the wake just didn’t seem very big inside the bridge. I’m not certain if the channel is deeper there, or if the boat goes faster once it clears the bridge, but it was a very flat wake. There was some nice wave action without the boat though.

Clearing the tip of Moon, just past the bridge was an especially nice stretch. From there we headed across Quincy Bay back to Wollaston and Tony’s. The wind picked up a bit on this stretch, we were paddling almost right into it. Nelson and Bea went on ahead and Allison and I made the crossing at slower pace. By the time we got back it was bit later than planned, so we decided to forego the usual PPR.
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Todd
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Post by Todd »

Were the victuals gratis?

Nice report Dave. Would the deeper channel actually mute the wake from the commuter boat?
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Chip
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Post by Chip »

Nice trip. Sounds like you guys had a MPR (mid paddle refreshment) on Spectacle Island.
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NorwayLady
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Post by NorwayLady »

OK. So I didn't have my license with me. However, Nelson did. So when the lady asked if we were married, Nelson screamed NO, and I said YES!

Well, the lady believed Nelson, and I lost my chance to try a Segway.

The moral of the story is..........

Bea
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Chip
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Post by Chip »

NorwayLady wrote:OK. So I didn't have my license with me. However, Nelson did. So when the lady asked if we were married, Nelson screamed NO, and I said YES!

Well, the lady believed Nelson, and I lost my chance to try a Segway.

The moral of the story is..........

Bea

Always say yes? :?
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Birdseye
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Post by Birdseye »

Chip wrote:
NorwayLady wrote:OK. So I didn't have my license with me. However, Nelson did. So when the lady asked if we were married, Nelson screamed NO, and I said YES!

Well, the lady believed Nelson, and I lost my chance to try a Segway.

The moral of the story is..........

Bea

Always say yes? :?


No it's "Be true to the ones that matter most! No matter what the cost"
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Melissa
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Location: Stoughton

Post by Melissa »

We did almost the same trip. Last saturday we got out around noon and paddled to long island and back. How far do you think it is from wollaston (near Tonys) to the west end of long Island? We didnt stop at hangmans because it just looked like a pile of rocks. Is there much to land on there? We only had 1 hour and a half to kill but we went a bit over and were late to our afternoon plans. Does the water get alot choppier after you pass under the bridge at long island? Just these past few weeks we have been exploring the harbor islands. Are there any inner harbor Islands that you think are a must see before the summer ends? So far we like grape the best.
Dave
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Joined: Wed Jun 22, 2005 12:25 pm
Location: Quincy

Inner Islands

Post by Dave »

Hey there,

Well, the other end of Long Island is a cool place to visit. There is an old naval gun emplacement and a light house out there. Hangman's might be worth a stop. It is a very small island, but it is interesting and there is a little rock garden on the far side that is kind of fun around slack tide. I also like Hangmans because it is a good place to stop consider your options. You can make the jump over to Peddocks, which is nice. You may want to do that one, you paddle past the West End, then down the long side of the island, past the summer cottages and Portugese Cove, and if you put in at the far end of the beach it is a quick walk up to the old church and the picnic area around Hull gut.

If you have already crossed the channel and made the jump to Long, you have been out on some fairly open water already. I am sure it is bumpier our past Long Island and on the other out around Rainsford, but if you go on a calm day, it sounds like you've experienced some of the chop. I haven't ventured out much past the far end of Peddocks and Rainsford myself, so I don't know about how the chop gets out further. You can get some bumps without going that far out though, another nice reason to stop at Hangman's, you can take a look at how the water looks out in some more open water and re-evaluate from there.

Might see you out there this weekend! Its a little windy though, so we may stick with the more sheltered water down in Hingham Harbor.

Have a great paddle.

(BTW, there are pics of a lot of these islands in the photo gallery section if you want to scout out your options.)
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