Misearble in Marblehead

Every evening, the position of the boat to the wind and waves activated a side-to-side rocking motion in Marblehead Harbor. The first couple nights, it was bearable, but in the late afternoon on Sunday, it became more severe. Looking out the windows in the saloon, I could see only the water around us and then, a second or two later, the sky far above the buildings and trees on land, and incessant pattern. While Peter and Shalako remained chipper, the rocking, along with pale gray skies, choppy gray seas, dampness and chilliness made me a less-than-happy camper. The towels and outer gear and clothes that became soaked during our Safety-at-Sea training on Saturday were on the life lines most of the day Sunday, and there was some sunshine, but with humidity hovering between 80 and 90%, only the lightest weight items dried. In the late afternoon, Shalako and Peter brought the outerwear and towels down below and Peter said, "I think they're dry." I felt them and said, "I know they are not." So, Peter rigged up clothes lines using the hardware on the ceiling of our cabin designed for securing lee sheets, and our bedroom became a drying room. He turned on the main heat, opened the dorades for ventilation, put a space heater there and closed the door, but nothing had dried by the time we were ready for bed. So, the laundry all came down and we hung it all again this morning. Meanwhile, we were bundled up in heavy sweaters and keeping the hatchway closed, and the cook was on strike. 

Our cabin used as a laundry drying room

Peter still chipper despite the gloom

So, let's go back to the warmth and sunshine of Friday afternoon, when Shalako and I were exploring the town. After visiting Abbot Hall, we stopped in the Marblehead Museum's gallery, where, once again, we encountered Ashley and volunteers from the Rozalia Project who were setting up a display of memorabilia from Dodge Morgan's solo sail around the world. She showed us his logbooks, kept on steno pads, reading aloud from some entries. 

We then walked around the gallery admiring the exhibit entitled: Marblehead Snapshots: The World of Fred Litchman, which features 50 black-and-white photographs, mostly of family and friends in relaxed poses, taken by this local photographer from the 1890s to World War I. 

Our next stop was the Marblehead Arts Association housed in the King Hooper Mansion, built for Robert Hooper, merchant and ship owner known as "King" because of his wealth and his fair dealings and generosity to the town. The older part of the building was constructed c. 1728-30. The Georgian front rooms were added c. 1747-50 and were updated in the 1820s, with ornamentation and elegance in contrast to the older pine-paneled rooms. Over three floors of the mansion was the Marblehead Art Association's annual national exhibit, Variations 2025, which features the work of artists from across the country. There are pieces of art in a variety of media, including a full-size sculpture of a Harley Davidson motorcycle made of corrugated cardboard, painted dull tan with push-pins for the lights. 

The dining room of the Hooper Mansion, now used as gallery space

*************

A break in the narrative occurred while we went to the yacht club to take long, hot showers and then departed Marblehead Harbor. We are now in Gloucester Harbor.

*************

After the art exhibit, Shalako and I walked northeast through the old town to Fort Sewall at the northern entrance to Marblehead Harbor. A fort was first established here in 1644 of earthen barriers constructed by the British Crown against attacks from the sea by the French. The fort was improved 4 times over the next 225 years with the addition of more cannon, powder magazines and officers quarters; some of the underground chambers still exist as well as red brick entrances to the magazines.  We sat on a bench and enjoyed the view. We could see Peter on board Mantra, patching the dinghy on the foredeck. 

Mantra on a mooring ball with Peter on the foredeck

After a rest in the rare sunshine, we continued on our walking tour to Old Burial Hill. The burying ground was founded in 1638, at the same time as Marblehead's First Meeting House, also at this location. The cemetery has about 1000 gravestones, including many historic Puritan headstones featuring diverse stone carving from the seventeenth century. A memorial obelisk lists 65 men and boys lost at sea on September 19, 1846, when a hurricane passed near the 34 schooners with 238 men fishing on the southeast end of the North Atlantic Grand Banks. Eleven of the boats were also lost. The maritime tragedy left 43 widows the 155 fatherless children, and the fishing industry declined rapidly.

Old Burial Hill with the town and harbor beyond

Obelisk honoring the men and boys lost at sea in 1846

During the late 19th century, Marblehead had a short-term industrial boom from shoe-making factories. At the same time, the exceptional harbor attracted yachting by wealthy boat owners, and some yacht clubs established centers there. It would become home to the Boston Yacht Club, Corinthian Yacht Club, Eastern Yacht Club, Marblehead Yacht Club, Dolphin Yacht Club, and the oldest junior yacht club in America, the Pleon Yacht Club. All of these are quite ritzy. Even the college-aged launch drivers of the Eastern Yacht Club wear pressed white button-down shirt and ties along with khaki-colored pants. On the tennis courts, the dress code is all white. 

Women getting ready for the next game

From the Burial Ground, Shalako and I walked down the grassy slope punctuated with flowers on granite outcroppings to Redd's Pond, named for a local woman, Wilmot Redd, who was hanged on September 22, 1692, during the Salem Witch Trials. Formerly a water source for fire-fighting, it is now a lovely spot with ducks and boys fishing, and model sailboat races take place on Sundays.

Stonecrop flowers

Mallard mother and four ducklings

Redd's Pond

It was time to head back to Mantra, after a quick stop at the supermarket for a few items. Shalako enjoyed the ride on the launch.

Shalako enjoying a rare nice day in New England

Friday evening, we had dinner, prepared all the gear we needed to take to U.S. Sailing's Safety at Sea hands-on course the next day at the yacht club, and went to bed early.

Shortly after 6 a.m., we were up. After breakfast and final packing of all our gear, we hailed the launch and headed to the club in the gloomy weather. The course was held both inside and outside and was jammed-packed with information and experiential activities on everything from radio protocol to safety gear, crew overboard drills, emergency communication, search and rescue operations, health issues, cold exposure, signaling (with practice with flares), weather, fire (including practice with a fire extinguisher on an alcohol fire), heavy weather, storm sails, damage control and repair, and life rafts (with practice with flotations devices and life rafts in the warm pool). Most of the time we were outside, it was either sprinkling or raining hard. I was never warm after the pool session, even when we were inside. The three of us learned an amazing amount of skills and took in a lot of knowledge. At the end, we felt much better prepared--and exhausted!

Peter in one of our exposure suits after training in the pool

We took long, hot showers in the club locker rooms and then returned to Mantra. After a dinner of grilled cheese sandwiches and carrots, we fell into bed, sleep overtaking us almost immediately.

On Sunday, despite my expressed desire to move to Gloucester Harbor to escape the rolling, we stayed in Marblehead. We spent a few hours in the early afternoon attending Marblehead's small waterfront fair celebrating World Oceans Week 2025, said farewell to Ashley and her crew, had lunch, and got provisions. 

Now it is Monday, and we finally departed Marblehead Harbor just after noon. Out of the harbor, the waves were coming from both the east and the south, creating slightly uncomfortable seas, with 8 knots of wind from the ENE. We motorsailed northeast, into the wind, avoiding crab and lobster pot buoys, to Gloucester Harbor, where we were guided by Rick Miles, another Sundeer owner with whom Peter has corresponded, to a mooring ball owned by one of his friends, which we are using for free. He came aboard and chatted for about an hour, and then he returned later with his wife Deb, showing up with a charcuterie board with an assortment of cheese, crackers, condiments and nuts, left over from a charter cruise they ran yesterday. Their business is chartering Artemis. For a couple hours, we enjoyed their company and chatted about sailing and boat details.

Peter enjoying the summer weather in northeast Massachusetts 

It is now 9 p.m. and raining (and still chilly), but the harbor is calm.

I am still waiting for summer.