Christopher Carroll Posted November 21, 2018 Share Posted November 21, 2018 The following info comes from the Nov ’18 issue of The Waterline, the monthly online publication of the Harbormaster in Manchester, MA. Bowditch Ledge Sometime over the last week the Bowditch Ledge stone marker just West of Baker’s Island collapsed. The USCG has been notified and a buoy will be placed to mark the hazard. Our boating season is over but repair or replacement is unlikely before the next boating season begins. The ledge was named after the father of Nathaniel Bowditch author of “The American Practical Navigator” after he wrecked his ship on the ledge. - (source: The Waterline, November 2018) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Berkovitz Posted November 26, 2018 Share Posted November 26, 2018 I paddled out with Bob Levine this morning from Marblehead to check out whatever might remain of the marker. We took down cross-bearings to the nearby buoys G "11" and R "12" so we could find it in case there was no visual (well, I had a GPS as a backup too...) Anyway, there was a visual, and here it is: The tower is no more! This was taken at about mid-tide (about 5'). Bob and I couldn't see any sign of it until we were about half a mile away, when we began to be able to spot swells breaking over the remains. Once we were there, I had to wait for a drain before a larger wave in order to get any rocks into the picture at all; most of the time all that was visible was foam piles from waves breaking over the feature, (Today was quite a nice rock and roll session in Salem Sound - the wind shifted from NE to SE and swells built to around 4' off of Peach's and Brown's, by the time we got off the water.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rylevine Posted November 27, 2018 Share Posted November 27, 2018 Joe, thanks for the picture. It was an interesting navigation exercise to stab the now-invisible awash "marker" from Eagle Island. We first saw R"12" and paddled towards it until G"11"came in view (always more difficult for me to see the green). When G"11" moved against the western protrusion of Great Misery Island, approximately indicated by a rocky coastline, we paddled on a straight line towards G"11" ( used it in a transit against the island) and basically tripped over the marker. Cross bearings to R"12" and G"11" verified the location. - Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prudenceb Posted November 27, 2018 Share Posted November 27, 2018 8 hours ago, rylevine said: Joe, thanks for the picture. It was an interesting navigation exercise to stab the now-invisible awash "marker" from Eagle Island. We first saw R"12" and paddled towards it until G"11"came in view (always more difficult for me to see the green). When G"11" moved against the western protrusion of Great Misery Island, approximately indicated by a rocky coastline, we paddled on a straight line towards G"11" ( used it in a transit against the island) and basically tripped over the marker. Cross bearings to R"12" and G"11" verified the location. - Bob I'd paddle with you two in dense fog...anytime! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rylevine Posted November 27, 2018 Share Posted November 27, 2018 (edited) ODE to BOWDITCH LEDGE: William the elder, sea captain, and Nathaniel the younger, mathematician and actuary Here elder Bowditch ditched his bow. Instead school children learn how younger Bowditch gilded his purse, inventing a uniquely human curse, where people bet against future fate, before it is too late! Now they are gone from Salem Sound, But ironies abound, victims of a climate changed, of a government deranged, but Bowditch-inspired rise above the mud, by selling insurance against the flood! But young Bowditch was also great for teaching mariners to navigate, using advanced math to calculate the path. Practical Navigator was his tome by which many returned home! If Elder had an out-look, or nav already in a book, the ledge of lore would be a forgotten door to a city known for hanging witches, rather than producing Bowditches! Edited December 2, 2018 by rylevine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gyork Posted November 28, 2018 Share Posted November 28, 2018 (edited) On 11/27/2018 at 12:14 AM, rylevine said: Joe, thanks for the picture. It was an interesting navigation exercise to stab the now-invisible awash "marker" from Eagle Island. We first saw R"12" and paddled towards it until G"11"came in view (always more difficult for me to see the green). When G"11" moved against the western protrusion of Great Misery Island, approximately indicated by a rocky coastline, we paddled on a straight line towards G"11" ( used it in a transit against the island) and basically tripped over the marker. Cross bearings to R"12" and G"11" verified the location. - Bob Just to add to Bob's narrative above: bowditch.pdf Edited November 28, 2018 by gyork added Eagle I. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Snyder Posted November 28, 2018 Share Posted November 28, 2018 I found this video of the collapsed marker at a lower tide: https://www.salemnews.com/news/local_news/boaters-beware-bowditch-ledge-tower-collapsed/article_d2cad924-82d3-5d0a-b8f7-c872d2340ca7.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattdrayer Posted December 1, 2018 Share Posted December 1, 2018 So disappointing -- Bowditch Ledge is one of the standard courses for our Tuesday night surfski races (Course #2). Just won't be the same this summer to paddle around a pile of rocks...hopefully it can be located at high tide... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inverseyourself Posted December 1, 2018 Share Posted December 1, 2018 I’m sure they’ll put a marker there. It’s quite the hazard now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rylevine Posted December 2, 2018 Share Posted December 2, 2018 14 hours ago, Inverseyourself said: I’m sure they’ll put a marker there. It’s quite the hazard now! They'll have to put a marker up but, as mentioned in the news article, hopefully more than an iron pole. The obelisk was wonderful. With sufficient visibility you could cross Salem Sound from Marblehead against wind and current by keeping it on transit in the Misery Gut. I guess in the age of GPS there is little need for a stone obelisk. The next to go will be Nixes Mate in Boston Harbor. However, according to Wikipedia, Nixes Mate was restored in the 2000s due to public pressure. Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Berkovitz Posted June 10, 2019 Share Posted June 10, 2019 The marker remains were exceptionally visible today at LT with the blocks from the collapsed tower very clearly revealed: There is also a new plastic navigation buoy in place that’s much larger than the old one (which is still there, so there is one buoy at each end of the ledge.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Berkovitz Posted September 4, 2019 Share Posted September 4, 2019 I just noticed that the NOAA chart 13276 has been recently updated to include the temporary floating markers that bracket Bowditch Ledge. See comparison below. Oddly, the chart still show "RW Bn" where (at least, last time I looked) there is nothing. I wonder if this is because there are plans to actually rebuild the daymarker? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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