Sailing around Boston
Very few are the people in the Western world who don’t know of the Boston Tea Party, the event that signaled the start of the American Revolution and gave birth to this mighty nation. An historic event, to be sure, and reason enough to sail the very same waters there off of Griffin’s Warf (now Independence Warf) in Boston Harbor.
Historical sites abound. Nearly every spot of land in Boston has some significance. It's not the land, though, that made Boston important. Rather, it's the bay itself - Quincy Bay, a safeguarded marine refuge some ten miles wide and long, which is itself sheltered by Massachusetts Bay, and Cape Cod, to the southeast. Together, they afford hundreds of miles of relatively protected Atlantic waters to sail in, with countless points and ports to see and explore along the way.
Sailing out of Boston and into the enormous Boston Harbor, one finds islands, long cays, and the Boston Harbor Islands State Park, which is accessible only by boat, at the southern mouth of the Black Rock Channel. Or set your course south of Hull and explore the adjacent waters of Hingham and Quincy bays. Spinnaker Island has a marina just south of the causeway tying the island to the long land route back to the mainland. You'll find plenty of places to set anchor or rent a slip... and one could easily spend weeks just checking out everything west of Massachusetts Bay! (That's without ever leaving the deck of your vessel. Exploring the coastal highlights itself might very well take years!) It is this maritime tapestry that a sailor sets out upon when sailing around Boston.
The people of the area are justifiably proud of their heritage, but not at all stingy with it. Sailors are everywhere, and usually happy to share their knowledge or lend a hand. That comradeship, the sense of fraternity, is a charming trait of the Beantown maritime community.
Even when you're aware that you're out in historic waters, it's still a bit of a thrill and surprise to see the tall ships when they're coming in and out. You'll see the triple-masted Europa, the steel-hulled barkentine Mary Anne, and even the Liberty Clipper, a gaff-rigged topsail schooner! When you see more than four thousand feet of sail flying off of two poles it's nearly impossible not to stop and smile and stare! Then there's the Legacy, a 300 foot four-masted Barquentine with a beam of forty feet! Also making port in Boston is the Royal Clipper, the world's largest fully-rigged sailing vessel. With five masts towering over some 437 feet on deck and a beam of 54 feet, the Royal Clipper is truly a sight to behold! This is just some of the august company you'll be keeping when sailing out of Boston Harbor!
Words and pictures, even videos, they're helpful, but they still tell only a small part of the story. They're no substitute for the exhilaration you'll feel when the vessel beneath your feet lifts and pulls, drawn by the wind. They can't begin to describe the scents and fragrances that make up the smell of the ocean. They can't bath your senses the way that sailing can do. To truly know what it is to sail around Boston, you'll need to do so for yourself!
