Pride of Maui

Posted on February 18, 2017February 18, 2017 by Dusty Roads | 2 Comments

The Pride of Maui was my afternoon whale watch. I was surprised to find that I was really tired even before we headed out. This fun in the sun can really knock the wind out of your sails!

The morning whale watch had returned around 11 am so I had plenty of time to get a snack. I didn’t want to eat too much because this trip included lunch and a snorkel stop.

Maalaea Harbor

The way I felt as I waited for the Pride of Maui to return from their morning excursion I was seriously doubting I was going to go snorkeling. Still I had my bathing suit on so I figured I could make that decision when the time came.

The “Pride” was another catamaran but much larger than the one we were on for the morning trip. Reef safe sunscreen was being passed around. It was really thick and everyone was coated in white. It reminded me of the zinc oxide ointment the life guards used to put on their noses when I was a kid.

Finally the ship was in, the morning tour unloaded and we began to move up the gangway.

Although this was billed as a whale watch, and we certainly saw whales, it felt as if the emphasis was on the snorkeling part of the trip.

We stopped at a place along the shore that the crew referred to Coral Gardens. It wasn’t that far south of the lookout. I spotted the tunnel on Rt 30. We were given our gear and instructions. There was 1 hour set aside for the snorkel part of the trip. While everyone was in the water the crew fired up grills and began cooking hot dogs, hamburgers and grilled chicken. Quite a feast considering it was all done on the boat.

I did decide to go snorkeling. I thought the cold water might perk me up. I’m glad I did too. I saw a tiny little, yellow pipefish and while I was watching it a brown blob that I thought was a stone started to move. It was a tiny little octopus! It was really fun watching that little guy and I followed him for a good portion of my snorkel time. The parrot fish and yellow butterfly fish that we always saw around were everywhere but that octopus was the high point for me.

Back on board we were just casting off after the nice lunch when we were surrounded by a pod of spinner dolphins. What a great way to wrap up our day.

By the way, this was a 3 hour tour. Remember Gilligan’s Island? They went on a 3 hour tour too but we came back!

Graves Light

Posted on January 27, 2017January 27, 2017 by Dusty Roads

Yesterday I mentioned Graves Light that marks the North Channel into Boston Harbor. It isn’t as “pretty” as Boston light but its history is just as colorful.

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The lighthouse gets it’s ghoulish names from the tiny island it’s situated upon. “The Graves” is the outermost island of the Boston Harbor Islands National recreation Area, 9 miles off shore of downtown Boston.

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The lighthouse is the tallest lighthouse in the approach to the Port of Boston and until 1975 it was the most powerful lighthouse in New England. It is currently lit with a modern , solar-powered lamp that doesn’t compete with the original giant Fresnel Lens.

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The Lighthouse was built in 1905 and equipped with a first-order Fresnel lens that shown with a 350,000 candlepower beam across the harbor. That lens was removed in 1975. Although not on display at this time it remains in the possession of the Smithsonian Institution. Any classic film buffs may remember that this light was the setting for the climatic storm in the 1948 movie “Portrait if Jennie”.

In recent years many lighthouses have gone up for public auction and Graves Light was no exception. In June of 2013 the lighthouse was put on the auction block. The starting bid was $26,000 but by the time the gavel dropped it had reached a record $933,888, the highest bid ever paid for a U.S. Lighthouse.

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In 2014 the new owners began a major restoration project that has been features on the s television show, This Old house.

Graves Light is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The lighthouse is still being used for navigational purposes and will remain so under the terms of the sale.

The lighthouse includes 2 bedrooms, a kitchen and a study but landing is difficult and entering the building requires crossing a 40 –foot ladder shown in this archival photo.

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Still who wouldn’t want to own a real lighthouse?

Boston Light

Posted on January 26, 2017January 26, 2017 by Dusty Roads

Boston Light is a lighthouse located on Little Brewster Island in the outer Boston Harbor.

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The original lighthouse was built on this site in 1716 making it the first lighthouse to be built in what became the United States.

This first light house was held by the British during the American Revolution and subsequently burned down by the American forces, not once but twice. When the British withdrew in 1776 they blew up the tower completely destroying it.

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In 1783 the new lighthouse was constructed with a 75 foot tower, the same as the original. In 1856 the tower was raised to its present height of 98 Ft. A new lantern room was added along with a 12 sided second order Fresnel Lens.

In 1998 Boston Light was automated but is still staffed by a resident Coast Guard Keeper. The current keeper is Sally Snowman who, along with volunteers from the Coast Guard Auxiliary act as interpretive tour guides for visitors.

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The current light still uses the 2^nd order Fresnel lens, one of only four left in use and the only one in Massachusetts. It flashes white every 10 seconds and is visible for 27 nautical miles.

To reach the safety of Boston Harbor, ships had to navigate the dangerous channel through numerous rocks, shoals and islands so Boston Light was an important navigational aid.

In more recent times the channel has been dredged and larger vessels have shifted to the North Channel marked by Graves Light.

Boston Light is designated a National Historic Landmark and is the second oldest working lighthouse in the US today.

Into The Harbor on a Wildlife Cruise

Posted on January 25, 2017January 25, 2017 by Dusty Roads

The cruise was a “sell out”. Many of the people I spoke with had been on the cruise in previous years. They only run it one day a year and they go out rain or shine or snow. There were National Park Rangers, Aquarium naturalists, DCR (Department of Conservation and Recreation) employees and volunteers to answer questions. The boat was well stocked with food and beverages in the snack bar. two decks were heated if the outdoor space got too cold. They really went all out to make it a special day.

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At 10:35 the loading began and by 11 am we were all ready to head out to the harbor.

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Our first destination was Logan Airport. Logan Airport is home to some migratory snowy owls. Because of the damage they can do to a jet, the Audubon Society has a trap and release program. Snowys are trapped at Logan and released elsewhere, often at Duxbury beach.

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I was on the 2nd deck when the cry went up that a snowy owl had been spotted. Unfortunately it was too far away. I couldn’t see it with my 300 mm lens. A photographer standing next to me with a gigantic lens on his camera said he couldn’t see it either. It looked like a snow pile or a white plastic jug, just a spot against the dark gravel.

That pretty much set the tone for the trip. It would have been more accurate to call it a bird watching cruise. We saw lots of birds but they were mostly fast and small. I soon got tired of trying to photograph them and settled for just watching them.

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The only “wildlife” we saw were some seals hauled out on the rocks. Since it was low tide they were a good distance away from us and the sun was at the wrong angle to see much. It was more the silhouette of their “banana pose” that gave them away.

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It had warmed up a great deal and the sun going in and out behind the clouds. The harbor was amazingly calm for a winter day. We cruised past Boston Light into the outer harbor.

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One of the volunteers explained that they almost never get to go into the outer harbor in winter. It’s just too rough but we made it all the way out to Graves Light and even there the waves were only gentle, rolling swells.

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Graves was the end of the trip. We did our turn around right in front of the light house. The return trip was leisurely as we passed the various harbor Islands, Georges Island with it’s fort, Peddocks Island with it’s 4 headlands to name only 2.

Georges Island, Boston Harbor

Peddocks Island

It turned out to be a beautiful day for a boat ride. I may not have seen much Wildlife but I had fun all the same. I’ll watch for this next year. I wouldn’t mind a repeat.

Lighthouses, Eagles and a Seal , Oh My!

Posted on July 31, 2016July 31, 2016 by Dusty Roads

As we headed out of the harbor into the Bay of Fundy we passed the first lighthouse.

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The 2nd one would be on Machias Seal Island. Both Canada and the United States claim sovereignty. The Canadian Coast Guard continues to staff a lighthouse on the island.

Machias Seal Island

The whole Island is considered a bird sanctuary so boardwalks have been constructed for the humans to walk on to avoid stepping on nests or baby birds.

On the way out of the harbor we spotted a pair of bald eagles.

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It gives me a thrill to see so many of these magnificent birds. It was hard to get a picture as the Barbara Frost was starting to pitch a bit as she picked up speed.

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We didn’t see any whales.

It was about an hour trip and it felt like it. It was cold even when we huddled near the cabin. Hard to believe that it was 90 + in Boston!

Our first indication that we were nearing the island was a raft of small black and white birds.

A raft of Razorbills

They are called Razorbills and also nest on the island with the Puffins. Right after the razorbills came in sight a puffin flew across our stern. These bird make me think of bumblebees. They have such round little bodies and stubby wings. Its hard to believe they can fly at all!

Bumblebee of the Bird World

Right after that we spotted the lighthouse.

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We were surprised to see some gannets mixed in with the razorbills on the rocks but the biggest surprise of our approach was the stranded seal!

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I mentioned the huge tides in a previous post. Well apparently this guy hauled out at high tide and forgot to leave when the tide receded.

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Now we watched in fascination and horror as he slowly (and painfully) worked his way down the rocks. He landed face first more than once. I mean, that’s got to hurt!

Still Going

Determination

Almost there

He was almost to the bottom when we got the go ahead to land from the coast guard and had to miss his big splash. It was time for us to start part 2 of our big Puffin Adventure.