Sat. 8/6/2022: Rockport Granite Pier

[Joseph Berkovitz]

People: Fred Goodman, Stephanie Golmon, Ricardo Caivano, Barbara Ryan , Jody Harris, Vladimir Gersht , Sue Henry Morin, Sherry V. Smith, Chris Carroll
Co-organizers: Joe Berkovitz, Mike Habich
Route (8+ nm):

(Link to explore the area further)

We took off around 9:30 am from Granite Pier on a calm and sultry day that was growing hotter by the minute. Once on the water it was mercifully cool and calm. A misty marine layer hung over us softening the view and the sunlight. The water was almost glassy with a barely defined horizon. Swell was almost nonexistent. Our plan was to begin with a visit to the Rockport Breakwater, and then continue out to the Dry Salvages, after which we could lunch at Straitsmouth Island or, as a plan B, Loblolly Cove.

We could just barely make out the dim line of the breakwater, confirming its direction with some quick viewing of charts on the water.  A little under half an hour later we arrived. The journey through the quiet haze was peaceful and we quietly paddled around the breakwater taking in the sights, sounds and sometimes smells of the water and birds. Some gray seals hung around the north end of the breakwater. The history of the never-completed breakwater is interesting: thanks to Ricardo for finding this overview and also a much older, more detailed article that was written during the construction. Although it doesn't do much for the maritime economy, it is an atmospheric place and very much worth a visit.

On the far side of the breakwater the glassy conditions became tiny wind ripples in a slight onshore breeze. The Dry Salvages were clearly visible and we felt good about heading out there. A magical garden of exposed ledges with cushiony seaweed awaited us. Normally this is a very rough place with breaking waves coming from multiple directions, but today it was a place of quiet repose:

The above was the Little Salvages — we went on to explore the larger Dry Salvages right next door, which has similar ledges clustered around a rocky pinnacle. Making our way around we suddenly encountered many gray seals giving us (as Mike put it) the "seal of disapproval":

We know how to take a hint, so we set off for Straitsmouth. It was around 11:30 and lunch felt like a good idea. However low tide was around noon, and Straitsmouth was not a good place to land 11 boats. The end of the nice new boat ramp there is close to 2 feet above low water, and the other options were pretty injury-prone at this tide level. So Loblolly Cove it was.

The beach at Loblolly while inaccessible to nonresidents by car is a nice place to land and we got a friendly greeting from people there. Some of us (including Jody and Barb) set ourselves up on rocks above the beach for lunch. While up there, a couple of snorkelers emerged from the water in wetsuits and started talking to the club members who opted to eat lower down on the beach. After a some conversation we heard a yell come up: "Jody, is that you?" "Barb, is that you?" It turned out that the snorkeling party included Jody's son and daughter-in-law and a friend who—completely unknown to Jody—had decided to snorkel that day at Loblolly Point! Family snapshot:

Finally it was time to return to the heat of the mainland. We made our way back to Granite Pier, occasionally stopping to play in what bits of swell we could find—and there was a little.

A superb day on the water with friends. Thanks everyone! Please post additional pix to this thread if you have them and would like to share.

J

[Jody Harris]

Super fun day playing around rocks and in waves. Seeing my kids was a nice surprise!! Thanks to everyone for a great day. 

[Ricardo Caivano]

It was a great day!  Thank you

 

[Pintail]

Joe, I must congratulate you -- you appear to have paddled (bored?) right <through> the seawall out there, near the Salvages!  Your kayak must be mega-tough!

Nice piccies!  I look forward to paddling with you one of these days; but I work odd hours...