Rather than fight traffic all the way into Boston, I chose a launch spot of George Lane beach in North Weymouth where it is possible to land at low tide without any mud problems. We chose a target launch time of 10:00am, giving us a full 8 hours to paddle. High tide was at about noon, so we'd be getting back at about low if we used the full 8 hours. I used Google Earth to map out a trip of about 18.5 miles with spots to trim off a few miles if needed. Part of my goal was to show Briggsy most of the area we call home in one big circular trip. We also wanted to check out the campsites on Lovells Island because we're planning to do a mid-week camping trip out there some time this summer.
When we arrived and got out of our cars, it was a little windier than we were expecting, but it would be in our favor to start the trip. We stuck to the first part of the plan and headed for Grape and Slate Islands.
As we passed through the outer part of Hingham Bay, we pointed out a little bit of where we paddle on Thursday nights. From the gap between Grape and Slate, we headed pretty directly out to Hull Gut rather than swinging over toward Bumpkin as planned. The wind died down as we reached the gut, to the point that Sue was taking a sip of water right in the channel at Windmill Point
The great thing about paddling this time of year is that there is very little boat traffic to worry about. We were able to head straight across to the West side of Georges Island with no other boats in sight.
One boat did come up behind us, right in that blind spot where you can't turn your head far enough to see what it is. It slowed down nicely and gave us no wake as it went by. It was a small Coast Guard boat.
We landed at Lovells Island at 11:56.
We grabbed our lunches and headed to the far side of the island to get a view of the outer harbor islands as we ate lunch.
Sue stopped to take a look at the map information sign board.
There's an old WW2 tower as you cross from the landing piers to the eastern beach.
As you climb over the mound of rocky beach, the outer islands come into view.
The spot we chose to sit and eat lunch.
I didn't bother trying to take any pictures of the outer islands due to the haziness and the lousy job a small pocket camera does for long distance shots.
After lunch, we took a walk to check out the campsites. Everything seems different with no greenery on the bushes or trees. On the left is the platform where the ranger's yurt will be set up.
The artillery batteries were left for exploration next time.
The campsites were the mission for today. These two are on the higher pathway.
The view from these upper campsites. When I was here last summer, I saw these campsites, but the ones below and the outhouse were not visible through the bushes and trees.
There was a very steep path from the upper campsites to the lower sites and outhouse.
The path was also very tight and thorny.
There seemed to be 3 sites in this area, one with a tent platform.
There was a boardwalk over to the water that we did not explore.
At the northern end of the island, there seemed to be more campsites but they are not shown on the ReserveAmerica website.
There was a lot of flotsam washed up on the beach. Sue found an intact chair and tried it out.
Briggsy checked out an old piece of machinery that was now in the water.
This end of the island is suffering some serious erosion.
That's some pretty thick concrete. I wonder what it was. Wish I had visited this island years ago.
On the beaches of all these islands you find bricks and chunks of former buildings as well as the normal chunks of old piers.
I wonder if that manhole is an entrance to the secret tunnels that connect the harbor islands.
I also wonder if they still use this area for campsites or if its only used for picnics now.
On the lower pathway, on our way back to the boats, there was a grassy campsite that is probably very private when there are leaves on the trees and bushes.
Back to the boats after an hour and a half on Lovells.
We discussed our route, whether to stay inside Long Island or go around the northern end where it can be rough. It was hard to tell what the wind might be like over there, so we decided to take a look and turn inside if necessary. When we got to Nixes Mate, it was obvious there was no wind to worry about. The tide was still high enough to pass close to the marker.
The sea wall at the northern end of Long Island is still in good shape.
A tall, boxy ship came out of the inner harbor and we paused to watch it go by. We figure it was a car carrier. It's hard to appreciate the size of it till you look at the lobster boat going by in the opposite direction.
The lighthouse on the northwest side of Long Island is easier to see through the bare trees.
Briggsy or Sue noticed a kayaker heading toward us from near the Camp Harbor View pier.
The guy came by to say hello. He was in a 9 foot recreational kayak, just wearing a t-shirt with his life jacket unbuckled. None of us bothered to nag him about not being dressed for the cold water or having his life vest undone. He looked old enough to know better.
Spectacle Island looked neat and clean. It's so rounded, everything must just blow off of it.
Sue was watching the time and had to do her Bea imitation, making a cell phone call from her boat.
The view of Boston was a little hazy on this warm day. The air temperature was over 80 degrees.
The visitor's center on Spectacle was deserted.
There didn't seem to be enough time to stop for a hike on Spectacle, so we continued around and under the Long Island bridge into Quincy Bay. The distance back to the take-out was about 4 miles, so I suggested we take another quick break on Rainsford before the last leg against the current in West Gut.
There always seems to be a nice seascape picture in the dark rocks around Rainsford.
Looking back at the Long Island Bridge.
After a 25 minute rest, we headed for the western end of Peddocks Island and the passage across the channel through West Gut. The afternoon commuter boats were running all over the place and we had to pause near Peddocks to let a couple pass before crossing the channel towards Nut Island.
Arriving back at George Lane beach, the tide was pretty low and some rocks were starting to show so we went in slowly.
There was another type of moving obstacle to avoid also, kids playing in the water. Hard to believe its 5:15pm on March 22nd and its still warm enough for kids to be playing at the waters edge in bathing suits.
Good thing Briggsy led the way in his plastic boat as he managed to find some rocks just below the surface. Notice the teenagers in the water in the background. I bet they were sorry they dove into the 45 degree water!
Overall it was a perfect day for a paddle around the bays and harbors. Glad I took the day off from work. We pretty much stuck to the plan I had laid out using Google Earth to estimate distances. We just straightened out a few curves to trim off a little mileage and time. Here's the picture of the planned route:
And here is a topo map of the area with our actual track highlighted.
A few specs from the trip:
Launch time: 10:00am
Stop on Lovells: 11:53am Distance: 5.96 miles
Left Lovells: 1:26pm
Stop on Rainsford: 3:22pm Distance: 11.94 miles
Left Rainsford: 3:48pm
Take-out time: 5:42pm
Total Distance Paddled: 16.18 miles
Thanks for suggesting the trip Sue and thanks for coming up from the Cape Briggsy. I'm afraid we might not have another day with air temperatures like that for months. I'm so glad we were able to take advantage of it!
Norm
