Scalloping In The Snow

Nice day today on the water scalloping in the snow. I grabbed a few shots.

Heading out-


Coming up on Brant Point Lighthouse-


Rounding the light-


Look Out!! Hy-Line fast ferry dead ahead!!


Bernie-


Bernie and Mac-


Cold dredges-


Smitty-


Captain Blount-


There's still tons of scallops out there this late in the season. I got my five bushel limit in record time today. The guys fishing up harbor and down harbor did very well also getting their limits. The price paid to the scallopers is $13 per pound. We are averaging 45 pounds for a five bushel limit.

Bird Watching At Jetties Beach

A great place to go bird watching is at Jetties Beach There are always several different species of birds to see there. I try to go there every afternoon to have a look. Here are a few shots I grabbed while I was there over the weekend.

A flock of adult and immature gulls-


A Herring Gull-


A Brant-


And a Mallard-

Esther's Island/Strange Fish

Looks as though Esther's Island will be connected to Nantucket very soon, possibly before spring.
I was out at Smith's Point a few week ago and shot these pictures of the cut-



The renovation and additions to the house on Esther's is coming along well. Here's what it looks like from my scallop boat-


As I was scalloping at Esther's, I caught a strange looking sea creature in one of my dredges. It looked like an eel but it was smaller (about 10 inches) and a lot fatter than any eel I have ever caught. It was orangish tan colored and had black spots as well. Does anyone know what this creature from the deep is?

Shipwreck On The North Shore??

I'm back after a couple weeks off. Thanks for your patience while I was gone.

Bill Mentes, an avid reader of my blog, alerted me to a large section of bulkhead and what looks to be a shipwreck on the north shore of the Island. I went out there yesterday and investigated.

I found a large section of what appeared to be a bulkhead. Not sure if it came from here or floated over from the mainland. In any event, I can't imagine hitting that with a boat. It would surely do some severe damage to your running gear. Here's a picture of the section of bulkhead-


When I was there, I also noticed what looked to me to be a part of a very old shipwreck. The wood looked quite old and there were cross pieces of rusty metal as well. Could it be the ribs of an old ship? Can anyone confirm?



Here's what the pieces looked like from atop the bluff-


And finally, here's a good-sized erosion control project located on the north shore that is not working. Several sections of the plastic fence have failed. I spotted sections of the fence several hundred yards down the beach in a pile. Hopefully the litterbugs that built the failed project will go out there and dismantle it and clean up their mess on the beach while they are there.

One-Eyed Seal Pup

I was walking along a south shore beach today and spotted a seal pup. Upon closer inspection, I noticed it had only one eye. It was a very small pup, perhaps 30 or 40 pounds if that. It seemed very healthy and active. And the wound did not look infected. This is the second seal I have seen within the past few weeks with only one eye. I have never seen this before and I wonder what is causing this. Does anyone know why this is?

Here are some pictures I took of the seal pup today-

Snowy And Stormy Sunday

We finally got some snow here this winter. Along with it came a lot of wind. Here's a video clip I shot from Straight Wharf this afternoon-



Here are a few pictures as well-

Calm/Coasties/Seals

Nice calm day today. I ventured out in my boat this afternoon to have a look around the waterfront. There's always something going on, even in the dead of winter.

Hardly a ripple-



The NB between the two church steeples-


The Coasties were out at the end of the east jetty repairing the fog horn and the green light-





I observed a lot of seals lounging on the rocks-





These little birds were on the deck of a sailboat moored in the mooring field-