Simply Sevens

On July 7th, we boarded the 7 Seas WhaleWatch boat (the Privateer 1V) for a sunset cruise supporting the Thacher Island Association viewing the seven lighthouses of Cape Ann.

Gloucester's Inner Harbor

Tarr & Wonson Paint Factory

Ten Pound Island Light

Dog Bar Breakwater and Eastern Point Lighthouse

Thacher Island Twin Lights

Straitsmouth Island Lighthouse

Straitsmouth Island Lighthouse with the Twin Lights

Lanes Cove Breakwater

Annisquam Lighthouse

Sunset on the 7th

Simply Sevens
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Simply A Cruise (Part 3)

The Thacher Island Lighthouse Cruise continues down the backside of Rockport
into Ipswich Bay.

The sun is just beginning to set.

The plan is to be back off Thacher Island for the sunset.

Click on any image to enlarge it.

All evening, we had an escort jumping the waves behind the Hurricane II.
I suspect that it's a nightly activity.

The next lighthouse on the tour is Annisquam Light.

Back up the coast towards Rockport.

Just outside Lanes Cove.

Simply A Cruise (to be continued)!

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Simply A Light!

Here are a few of the lighthouses seen on boating trips over the summer around Cape Ann.

Annisquam Lighthouse

The Light-Keeper
written by Robert Louis Stevenson

The brilliant kernel of the night,
The flaming lightroom circles me:
I sit within a blaze of light

Held high above the dusky sea.
Far off the surf doth break and roar
Along bleak miles of moonlit shore,

Where through the tides the tumbling wave
Falls in an avalanche of foam
And drives its churned waters home
Up many an undercliff and cave.



Eastern Point Lighthouse

My Lighthouse
written by Diane Blue
Sometimes my life is dark, empty, and foreboding
Like a ship in the night out at sea
But you are there for me
You are the tower of strength that I rely on.

Sometimes I'm sad and alone
Like the captain at the wheel, wanting to be home
But you are there for me
You shine your bright light for me to reach out to

Sometimes I'm confused, not sure what to do
Like the seaman who looses his way in the fog
But you are there for me
Your voice tells me the right direction.

Sometimes life is as rough as the uncaring sea
It causes panic, frustration, and despair
But you are there for me
A quiet entity on the edge of a rugged cliff.

You are my beacon, my lighthouse.



Ten Pound Island Lighthouse

Lighthouse Keeper’s Tribute
written by Michael Bauchan

Stubbornness is often said
To be a trait we all should dread.
Sometimes though it’s plain to see
It watches over you and me.

Look at the beauty a lighthouse gives
Brightening shores where ‘ere you live.
We take for granted that pretty sight
When seen by day, but what by night?

Storms roll in to blast the shore
And seem the worst when people snore.
When most people go to bed
There still is a lot to be said.

Lighthouse keepers look up to skies of gray.
Storm clouds make the moon go away.
Sea’s roll in, smashing water high
As if raining upward into the sky.

Temperatures fall, making water ice.
All burrow in, even the mice.
Ice coats sidewalks, catwalks, rails,
Windows and foghorn, stopping the mails.

When pea soup fog came rolling in
Engines were cut amid foghorns’ din.
Flu season be damned, they went about
Assuring their horn’s mighty shout.

Summer, winter, spring and fall
Regardless of weather, through it all
Lighthouse keepers tended lights and horn.
From all dangers, strangers were warned.

Anonymous lighthouse keepers kept the watch
Whether healthy or well, battening the hatch.
Lesser men couldn’t take what they got
But lighthouse keepers were a stubborn lot.

More men would have died, and women too,
If lighthouse keepers relied on brew.
Instead they faithfully kept light and horn
Through the night and into the morn.

Their faith in God and service to man
Stand many times taller than
The tallest lighthouse tower you see
As a tower of power for you and me.

So while you pass a lighthouse tower
Think of behind the scene power
Of a stubborn man braving nature’s fury
Protecting strangers, no favor to curry.

Loneliness broken by wife and kids,
To some it would be hitting the skids.
Lighthouse keepers stayed firm on the rock,
Sometimes with a boat on the dock.

Lighthouse keepers were saving souls
By light, horn, and boat, what ‘ere nature doles.
Thanks were anonymous as sailors passed by
But better that, than for sailors to die.

The Lighthouse Service filled a great need.
Motivated by service, never by greed.
Though they reached the end of their time
It would positively be a crime.

If we didn’t take the time to say
“Thank you for being there night and day.
As you retire and take your rest
Know your example was of man’s best.”

We kids who lived in lights with you
Could see firsthand all you do,
Your coping with every kind of strife
Taught we kids how to deal with life.


Simply A Light!

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Simply Day's End

What a perfect week for taking the boat out in the early evening. You get a little bit of cooling while on the water, the "crazy boaters" have left for the day, and most people you see are into relaxation mode.

A familiar water landmark --- Frog Rock.

All of these boats are tied up for the night.

A small red boat steaming down the Annisquam.

A tandem kayak zipping by. I saw them too late to focus better.

Relaxing on the porch. A perfect end to the day.

It's getting close. The sun is starting to set.

Annisquam Light just before sunset.

Simply Day's End

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Simply One More Boat Ride

A late summer boat ride down the Annisquam is a perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon. It can also make one a little melancholy as you realize how quickly the boating season is coming to an end.

You can find some people just out sitting in their boats, possibly thinking about all the great sails they had this year.

Some boaters are rafting up, just one more time.

Some people are enjoying possibly the last swim of the year.

Look at all the empty docks. The shrink-wrappers must be busy.

Sure is pretty out here. The leaves will be turning colors soon.

Daydreaming off the bow. One last look.

It's okay! We're having a great time!

And the dog is happy too!

Just a few pictures of Annisquam Light.

We call this the "Would Be Nice" house. Every time we pass it, someone on the boat will say "It would be nice to live there".

One more rooster tail.

A picture for Joey at Good Morning Gloucester. It's a Homie Convention!

Simply one more boat ride. (Well, maybe one more.....)

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