Where we are right now: https://saillogger.com/svharmonie

Located on the scenic Cape Ann peninsula with the tall buildings of downtown Boston visible on the horizon, the fishing town of Gloucester has a fantastic harbor and a long connection with fishing. Unlike many seaport towns, this is still a serious working port with a large fleet of commercial vessels that run out of the harbor every day and return with fish that are processed locally.

Facing the sea in downtown Gloucester is the Fisherman’s Memorial. A collection of 9 large bronze plaques with more than 5000 names of those who sailed out of Gloucester to catch fish, and never returned over the last 310 years. The most recent names were added this year after the fishing vessel Lily-Jean and her crew of seven were lost in January. Notably, this included the very first woman to have her name added to the list, Jada Samitt was a fishery observer on the 72 foot vessel when it disappeared 25 miles off Cape Ann.

So the next time you have a fish dinner, remember that the people who delivered it to you are doing one of the most dangerous jobs around.

Gloucester also has a busy tourist business, being just a hour’s drive from downtown Boston. Anchored by whale watching on Stellwagon Bank, and a fleet of beautiful old schooners that take people out in the harbor.

We spent our time here wondering town, filling our freezer with local lobster bought from the dock where the local boats sell their catch, and enjoying the cool comfortable weather in the middle of August. Our only regret is getting here late enough in the year that we do not have the time to get further north.

There is a lot of room to anchor in the outer harbor, and inexpensive moorings in the inner harbor. At least three dinghy docks are around town. The town’s moorings come with a free launch service that will take you to a number of locations around the harbor, and there are showers, trash disposal, and easy access to downtown.

We left Gloucester headed for the Southern New England cost of Rhode Island and Connecticut. We have a bit of a schedule, since I have a client in southern Connecticut with an Amel 54 who needs a bit of help with an engine alignment issue.

We did have a bit of an adventure on the trip.

In calm conditions, we were motoring and approaching the entrance of the Cape Cod Canal at 3AM. We had a short window to catch the tide for our west bound tide through the canal. Just as I was relieving Karen from her watch, the engine temperature shot up as we lost cooling water flow. Having the engine working was not optional for the trip through the canal.

We anchored off the beach, and I dove down in to the engine room. A few minutes of fussing, and I found the issue: a sheared drive pin on the raw water pump. Fortunately, we had a spare, and got it up and running, but not before we missed our tide window. Since we had been sailing all night, the choice to stay anchored and sleep for the six hours until the tide change seemed the best one, except for one thing… The wind was picking up, and the waves were short, steep and lumpy. Our best efforts at sleeping were pretty well foiled and the boat rolled and jumped in the building waves. The next morning, we were underway again, with the engine running smooth and happy, and through the canal without incident.

Right now, we are anchored in Narragansett Bay, near Newport, Rhode Island. Tomorrow we will likely be running south toward southern Connecticut.