Headin' Back Out

All the sea scallopers that came in yesterday headed right back out late this afternoon as soon as the wind laid down. Above is the Vila Nova do Corvo about to round Brant Point Lighthouse on her way out. And here is a shot of her steaming down the main channel-

And finally as she was passing the green light at the end of the east jetty-


I got a chance to talk with the captain of the sea scalloper, Beachcomber before they left this afternoon-


He told me that they were heading down to the vicinity of south channel to fish tonite. The south channel is about a six hour steam south east from here. He said there are plenty of scallops down there but they are on the small side. On March 15th a closed area off New Jersey called the Elephant Trunk is scheduled to open. The captain said he's going to leave the area he's been working lately and head down there. When a closed area is opened up, several boats fish it and do really well. This always drives the price paid to the fisherman way down.

I have noticed more and more Old Squaws (ducks) in and around the Boat Basin the past few weeks. Today I counted 7. I have never seen these ducks so close to land before. There were also the usual Eider Ducks, Mergansers, Black Ducks, Buffleheads and Loons to be seen in the Basin as well.

Today's High & Low Temps.
High 36.7 (unconfirmed)
Low 16.9

Finally Some Boats!

A few boats came in last night and this morning to finally break a long streak where there has been none here for a long time. The usual suspects, all three Vila Nova do Corvos and the little western rigged, Madi J. were here. But there was one boat I have never seen here before. Her name is Beachcomber-

At first I thought she was a Coast Guard boat with her orange markings. As I got a closer look, I found out she is a sea scalloper. Her home port is Key West, Florida! I wonder if she was originally a shrimp boat.

It was good to see these boats back here. It was getting rather quiet down around the docks lately although the Vila Nova do Corvo and the Rainmaker were in here for a brief stay this past Tuesday.

Here's a picture of the western rigged dragger, Rainmaker that blog reader, Barb shot this past Tuesday morning. Thanks for the great picture, Barb! Notice that her wheelhouse is encased in ice with the exception of the radar antenna-


Work on the new Children's Beach boat ramp is going along nicely. I was down at the site on Wednesday and noticed they were building the base and the sides of the new ramp. Next step should be the pouring of the concrete slabs. Here's a picture of the work thus far-

I'm thinking that the rate they are going on this project that they will have no problem meeting their deadline.

If you haven't been down around Grey Lady Marine lately, save yourself a trip. It is a mess. I compare it to a war zone. Work has almost come to a complete stop. Not sure what the hold up is.

Today's High & Low Temps.
High 36.7
Low 29.7

Nice Day To be On The Water

I took the above clip this morning from my scallop boat. It was a nice day to be out on the water. Warm and glassy calm. And there was a lot of scallops to be had.

Here's a shot of Brant Point Lighthouse in the early morning-


And here is a view of Town from the harbor-


This is the guy from the above video clip. Notice the gull on his bow waiting for fish and crabs that were caught in the dredges to be thrown to him-


This is the gull who rode along on my boat all morning. He was well fed-


Any pictures posted on this blog can be enlarged by clicking on them.

10 of us were out there today scalloping. I was able to get 4 bushels. Not bad for the end of February. I know a few guys got their full 5 bushel limit a few times this week. I noticed a fair amount of seed scallops out there today. The price paid to the fishermen is still holding at $17 per pound.

Liveaboards Around The Waterfront

Barb, a reader of the blog, asked me a while ago If I could do a little piece about the liveaboards around the waterfront.

Most folks don't know that there are several people living on boats year-round here on Nantucket. Today I took a walk around the docks and took pictures of the boats I know people are living on this Winter. Here are the boats-

Bob and Roz Rank live on this sailboat. I've known Bob and Roz for a long long time. Nice people. Bob is a master carpenter and scalloper. He also goes commercial striped bass fishing during the Summer. His wife, Roz, is a nurse. They have a little dog named Fisher. Bob has been living on boats here for as long as I can remember. Roz and Bob were married this Summer on their boat.

Next is the Mud Onion-

Several people have lived on this interesting houseboat. I know Lowell Whitford and his wife lived on it years ago. Now a couple and their three or four dogs live on it. Not sure who they are. They are newcomers to the liveaboard world.

Next to the Mud Onion is this boat-

A guy named Mike lives on the boat. He runs his own carpentry business.

And just around the corner we have-

A guy also named Mike lives on this boat. We all call him Wiskey Mike. Mike has lived on boats for almost as long as Bob Rank has. Mike is a carpenter. Years ago he used to bay scallop out of a 19' wooden Bristol Boat. Mike is a very talented guy. He can fix and build anything. He used to live on an old Chris Craft boat. One day several years ago when I was visiting Mike in his boat, he was in the process of rebuilding the engines. It was funny to see the engines torn apart in his living room!

Here are four more liveaboard boats-

From left to right: Freddy Singleton lives in the little black Seaway boat. It's only 24 feet! Fred has lived on small boats in the past. His last boat was a small sailboat which he sold last Summer. Fred is a painter and a handyman. He is also a very meticulous person. He keeps his little boat in top notch shape. Nothing is out of order. Next to fred is a 36' Albin Trawler. I can't remember the guys name who owns it. He lives on the boat mainly during the Summer months but comes down a few weekends during the Winter and stays on it. Next is a 49' Grand Banks Trawler. Rick Porteus owns her. Her name is Shelia G. Rick is a teacher for the school system here. He lives on the boat during the week and goes to the Cape on the weekends where he owns a house. Next to Rick is another Grand Banks. This one is a 42 footer. Chuck and Melissa Colley own the boat. They live on it only during the Summer. Chuck teaches wood shop at the school and his wife, Melissa, is a bartender for the Atlantic Cafe.

I also lived on a boat several years ago for a very short time. I bought a 38' Marine Trader Trawler down in Florida and had a couple guys run it up here for me. I never caught on to the liveaboard lifestyle and ended up selling her. I thought I would enjoy living on a boat but I couldn't get used to it. It's not for everyone. Anyway, here's a picture of the boat I once owned-


That was just a small sampling of the liveaboard community here. There are several more people who live on boats during the Summer.

[EDIT] I left out one liveaboard. His name is Joe Dooley. He keeps his boat at the Town Pier during the Winter. Joe lives on this boat, year-round, with his five, yes, FIVE dogs. He is a bay scalloper and also crews with Matt Herr on his conch boat during the Summer. Thanks for the heads up on that, Blair.
Here's Joe's home-

Riding Out The Storm

Only two boats were here during the storm today. The western rigged dragger, Humbak and the western rigged sea scalloper, Elizabeth & Jasmine. I have never seen the Elizabeth & Jasmine in here before. She looks like a southern boat which has been converted to fish up north. I'm starting to notice more and more of these boats having a second wheelhouse. Notice the wheelhouse in this picture that overlooks the work deck-

I'm almost positive that this second wheelhouse is where the captain, the mate or a deck hand runs the winches from. It must be nice to do all this in a climate controlled enclosure. Most other boats you run the winches out in the open elements on the main deck.

Here is a picture of her bow. Does anyone know what the W stands for?


Hardly any work was done on the projects going on around the waterfront due to the storm today. The Robert B. Our Company worked for a couple of hours in the morning but then took the rest of the day off from their Children's Beach boat ramp work. The AGM guys never showed up today at their White Elephant dock project. That is very rare for those guys. I've known them to work in any kind of weather. I guess the wind and rain was too much for everyone.

Most of the ice has melted in the harbor.

No bay scallopers went out today. Ice was blocking the entrance to the Boat Basin all day.

The Brant point Coast Guard moved it's fleet of rescue vessels into the Boat Basin from Brant Point.
They do that every time the wind is strong out of the ESE. Their dock at Brant Point is not very protected when the wind is out of that direction.

The F/V Ruthie B looks to be laid up at the Town Pier for the Winter. She hasn't made a trip in over a month now.

Today's High & Low Temps.
High 45.5
Low 20.5

Seeking Safe Harbor

The above boat is the only one that came in here today. Her name is Humbak. She's been here several times before. I thought there would be a steady line of boats filing in today in advance of the upcoming storm. Perhaps they are still out fishing and will wait till the last minute to head in.

Good news on the Children's Beach boat ramp project. The cofferdam was pumped out today. Here is a series of pictures I took down there late today- (Click on any picture to enlarge)



There is an electric pump inside of a pipe which is running full time pumping the water that seeps up through the bottom of the dam. This project is moving along nicely now. We need some warmer weather so they can start pouring the concrete slabs for the ramp.

Today's High & Low Temps
High 30.4
Low 17.6

Idle Scallop Boats

Above is a picture I took today of the line of scallop boats at Straight Wharf. They have been sitting there idle and locked in the ice for a long time. The temperature made it well past 28 degrees today but none of the guys ventured out scalloping today. The harbor has a lot of ice in it now. Scalloping in the ice can be extremely dangerous. I have had a few very close calls fishing in the ice years ago. If you are fishing in the ice, you need to pay close attention to which way the tide is going and the direction of the wind. Sometimes when you find an open area of water to fish in, there are usually several large ice floes around you. When the tide shifts, these huge ice floes move around. If you're not paying attention, the ice floe will crawl up your dredge ropes and pull your boat down and sink it. I know a few of the guys who carry a sharp hatchet on their boat. If they are ever caught in an ice floe and are being dragged under, they will quickly chop all their dredge ropes off of their boat and motor away to safety. Dredge ropes float so you can go back later and recover the dredges. I learned my lesson fishing in the ice a long time ago and won't go out now until the harbor is completely clear of ice.

A tug came over today and started towing one of AGM Marine's barges that was laying at Straight Wharf back to the mainland. At 4:30 this afternoon, the tug and barge was located about a mile north of the fairway buoy. They were going very slow, barely making headway against the rough seas and strong wind.

The sunsets at the waterfront have been spectacular the past few days. Here's the sunset from today I took from Monomoy-


Looks like we are in for a little storm on Wednesday. The temperature is forecasted to be in the mid to high forties. That will help melt most of the ice in the harbor.

Today's High & Low Temps.
High 37.8
Low 23.9

Cliffside Sunset

Nothing new to report on the waterfront today so I thought I would post a photo of a sunset I captured today. I took the photo from Jetties Beach looking towards Cliffside Beach. I particularly like this picture because of the one big cloud outlined in the setting sun.

Click on the picture to enlarge.

Brant Pt. After Sunset

It's been very very quiet around the waterfront as of late. Almost too quiet. We need a good storm and some boats in here to shake things up. In the meantime, the fuel tanker, Great Gull, arrived here late this afternoon and tied up at the fuel dock in the Boat Basin. Last night a tug and barge landed at Steamboat Wharf with a pre-fabricated house. I received a call from someone on the Cliff this morning telling me that the tug and barge were having a VERY hard time going back home across the sound. He told me that he was very surprised that the captain of the tug attempted to cross the sound under the conditions we had this morning. I guess he made it back to wherever he came from. I would not want to be on a little tug in the middle of Nantucket Sound on a day like today!

Good news to report on the Children's Beach boat ramp. The cofferdam was completed yesterday. I spoke to someone from the Marine Department today and he told me that they are ready to pump out the water in the dam. After that they are going to pour the concrete slabs for the ramp up on the beach in sections and then transfer them from the beach to the dam. Should be interesting to see that operation.

AGM Marine is finished installing the sheathing in front of the White Elephant. They moved their cranes and barges over to the east face of Straight Wharf today.

No Bay scalloping today. The temp did not make it to 28 degrees. Even if it had risen to the legal temperature, the guys would not have much open water to fish in. The harbor is slowly becoming iced over. If we ever lose this wind, it will freeze over completely overnight.

The Hy-Line has cancelled all of the Grey Lady's trips through next Monday. Apparently the ice in Hyannis Harbor is too much for her. Her engine water intakes get clogged with ice causing an overheating issue.
[EDIT] I just spoke with an old salt and he told me that the Hy-Line is still running . They are only canceling the night trips. Sorry if this caused anyone any confusion.

Today's High & Low Temps.
High 29.3
Low 19.9

Midwinter At The Waterfront

The harbor is in the process of freezing over. The past few nights the temperature has been in the low teens. During the day, it hardly makes it to 25 degrees or so. The south side of the harbor is frozen almost half way to Coatue. The ice field on the north shore around the Cliffside Beach area has extended further north the last day or so. I think that in another day or two, the harbor will freeze over completely.

There was a scalloper in the Boat Basin where he docks his boat this afternoon breaking ice so he will be able to get out and resume fishing whenever the temp makes it to the legal temperature of 28 degrees. Here's a picture of him using his boat to clear a channel-

And here's another picture of the ice on the harbor-


If you have an interest in bird watching as I do, a good place to go is the Jetties Beach area. I go down there every morning to see what birds are there. I always see at least 10 different species of birds when I'm there. When I was there today, I spotted the usual gulls-

And there is always a flock of Brant-

Here's a group of Plovers hunkered down-

Is this a Ruddy Turnstone? I'm still learning to ID birds.


That is just a small sample of birds I saw at the Jetties today.

Today's High & Low Temps.
High 23.7
Low 17.4

Waterfront Slideshow

VERY quiet around the waterfront today. Here's a slideshow I assembled of pictures I took around the waterfront on this very cold day. Enjoy.

Deer At The Waterfront

While I was making my rounds of the waterfront this afternoon, I spotted the above deer in the area of Hulbert Ave. at the Craig property. They were not bothered as I took their picture only a few yards away from them. You can see that one of the deer was very thin and sickly looking while the other one looked fat and healthy. Here's another shot of the deer on Hulbert Ave.-


I see deer all the time when I'm down around the Brant Point/Hulbert Ave./Jetties/Cliffside area especially early in the morning. I have even seen a deer in the back yard of the Middle Brick on Main Street!!

This week is going to be very cold. I suspect the harbor will partially freeze later in the week. Here's a shot of the Cliffside Beach area I took this morning-

You can see that slushy ice was already forming there close to shore. The ice field will no doubt extend much further north tonight with the temperatures forecasted to be in the low teens.

Only one fishing boat came in this weekend. It was the steel, western rigged, sea scalloper, Vila Nova do Corvo 1. Apparently she had broken down over the weekend and had to be towed out of here by the eastern rigged, sea scalloper, Vila Nova do Corvo. Not sure what the problem was that required her to be towed.

No bay scallopers went out today. They probably won't be able to go out again until next week.

AGM Marine, Robert B. Our and Lawrence Lynch were all busy working on their projects at the waterfront today. The cofferdam at Children's beach is not complete.

Today's High & Low Temps.
High 23.4
Low 12.4

Takin' A Break

Folks, I'm taking a break from the blog for a couple of days. Check back in Monday evening for a new entry. Thanks for reading.

Quiet Waterfront

The above picture was taken yesterday after the snowfall.

It has been very quiet around the waterfront the past few days. There has been no sea scallopers or draggers in at the docks to report on for quite a long time. Hopefully a few will come in here this weekend during the blow we are anticipating.

When I was out in Madaket the other day, I took a picture of a guy who has been bay scalloping for about 50 years! His boat is one of only a few wooden boats used in the fleet. It used to be an inboard. He's 70 years old and still going strong. Here's the picture-


No work was done at the Children's Beach boat ramp today. Not sure why they took the day off. Here's another view of the cofferdam under construction-


Eight guys (and one girl) went bay scalloping today. The only girl in the fleet used to go on other boats as a culler. She finally broke out on her own and rigged up her own boat. She's been fishing for a couple of years now and is doing very well.

If any of you off-island readers (or anyone else for that matter) to the blog want a particular picture of the waterfront posted here, let me know what you would like to see and I'll do my best to get the picture and post it to the blog. Leave an idea for a picture in the comments section.

Looks like a very cold week ahead.

Today's High & Low Temps.
High 44.3
Low 33.8

Snowy Waterfront

It snowed for a short time this afternoon. Here are a few pictures I took of a snowy waterfront-






The usual suspects went out bay scalloping today. I counted around 10 or 11 out on the water. The fishermen are getting between two and three bushels of scallops a day. The price paid to them is still holding at $17 per pound which is a record high.

The Ruthie B. is still tied to the dock. I'm not sure why they are not fishing during these few windless days we've been having.

The Children's Beach boat ramp project is going much faster now. They were almost able to complete the cofferdam today. Here's a picture I took late this afternoon of the nearly completed dam-


It'll be interesting to see the area pumped out after the dam is completed.

Today's High & Low Temps.
High 39.7
Low 20.2