Wednesday, July 6th, Bea and I joined a group of AMC Southeastern Mass Chapter paddlers on a trip from Hull out to Spectacle Island. The trip was attended by 8 paddlers. The leader of the trip, George, had a rough drive up from his home on the Cape with a traffic jam in Sandwich that made his drive time 3 hours long. He arrived before the launch time, but I think we ended up leaving about 15 minutes late.
While waiting and wondering where George was, Gif Allen arrived at the put-in to say hello to everyone. Gif is climbing the walls waiting for the doctor's ok to resume paddling. He looked good, but said he is feeling very weak.
The trip started about an hour after low tide, so loading the boats took everyone multiple trips back and forth to the cars. We parked at the end of the municipal parking lot near the Coast Guard Station. This end of the lot had plenty of spaces and was very good for launching, especially since the other end of the lot and the area near the museum building were full from commuters parking.
Heading out amongst the boats near the Coast Guard Station.
Looking across to Georges Island from the end of Peddocks Island.
George answering Bea's question about one of the islands.
The whole group (except me).
Long Island with a bit of Rainsford Island in the foreground.
The gas tank in Boston under the Long Island Bridge.
Hope, George and Bea.
The Boston skyline framed by the bridge.
Hope and Bea with Spectacle Island in the background.
Thompson Island.
Moon Island with Boston Fire training facility and Boston Police shooting practice range.
George and Hope headed for Spectacle Island.
Waiting for ferry boat traffic to clear in front of the Spectacle Island pier so we can paddle by.
Look out Bea! Fishermen on the pier. Bea already got stuck in a fishing line once this year.
Beyond the pier there was a swimmers beach roped off, with lifeguards on duty.
Cormorants on the remnants of an old pier.
We landed on the rocky beach, beyond the swimming area and had our lunch.
George answering more questions.
A nice tall ship started sailing towards the channel but turned away before getting close.
The Spectacle Island Visitors Center with the swimming beach in the foreground.
The Visitors Center.
The public marina in front of the Visitors Center.
One end of the Visitors Center has a snack bar with indoor and outdoor service windows. But, they don't serve ice cream. So many people must ask for ice cream that they actually have a sign on their menu stating they don't have any.
The inside of the Visitors Center.
They have some very comfortable seating inside.
The snack bar indoor service window.
View from Visitors Center back to where we landed. They have about a half dozen blue loaner kayaks that the rangers let visitors use with supervision.
Tide coming in - time to go.
Heading out and around Spectacle Island.
Castle Island on the far side of the channel.
Fore River Bridge framed by the Long Island Bridge.
Hope, Haven and Barbara with the north side of Long Island in the background.
Hope and George with Hull back in view.
A commuter boat zipping through the channel.
Fort Andrew on Spectacle Island. From signs on the shore, it looks like Peddocks Island is off-limits again this year.
Gathering up for the last channel crossing.
The tide was high as we arrived at the take-out. It was a much easier task unloading the boats.
Topo map with GPS track of the area we paddled highlighted.
A few statistics from the trip:
Launch time: 10:45am
Lunch stop on Spectacle Island: 12:44pm Distance paddled to Spectacle Island: 4.7 miles
Left Spectacle Island: 1:43pm
Landed back in Hull: 3:36pm Total Distance Paddled: 11.1 miles
Thanks for an excellent trip everyone.
Norm
Hull to Spectacle Island with AMC - 7/6/11
Moderator: Chip
Hull to Spectacle Island with AMC - 7/6/11
Last edited by norm on Tue Jul 12, 2011 4:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Hull to Spectacle Island with AMC - 7/6/11
Great reporting, Norm. Always enjoy reading your trip report and looking at all your photos. I have added a couple of photos that might be of interest....???
Inside the Visitor Center there was a display of items found during the BIG DIG
These items were also used in artwork found on one of the inside walls
The artist used seaglass, fine china, silverware etc
Yurts- where the rangers on Spectacle Island live
And yes, Norm was there. I know he will say wrong boat and wrong back ground, but I kind of like this photo....so I am posting it anyway....
Inside the Visitor Center there was a display of items found during the BIG DIG
These items were also used in artwork found on one of the inside walls
The artist used seaglass, fine china, silverware etc
Yurts- where the rangers on Spectacle Island live
And yes, Norm was there. I know he will say wrong boat and wrong back ground, but I kind of like this photo....so I am posting it anyway....
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Bea
Proud foster mother of Athena (P&H Cetus LV turquoise-white)
Proud foster mother of Athena (P&H Cetus LV turquoise-white)
Re: Hull to Spectacle Island with AMC - 7/6/11
I found a notice on the DCR website that states that "Ferry services and camping resumed on Peddocks Island on July 8, 2011. The fort rehabilitation project is still active. Visitors are reminded to stay away from all marked construction areas."
We'll have to check that out next trip. It might not be worth a walking visit if Fort Andrews is completely off-limits, but next time we launch out of Hull we should be able to see ferries and more activity on the island.
We'll have to check that out next trip. It might not be worth a walking visit if Fort Andrews is completely off-limits, but next time we launch out of Hull we should be able to see ferries and more activity on the island.