Coast Guard Training at the Mouth of the Merrimac River in High Seas

September 21, 2017 - I had gone out to see the rough seas kicked up by one this fall's hurricanes moved offshore. I was near the jetty and spotted one of the Coast Guard boats heading towards the mouth of the Merrimac on what turned out to a training exercise.Here are a couple of still shots taken from the video I did. Video is at the bottom.

 

 

 

 

Plum Island Lighthouse

The Friends of Newburyport Lighthouse open the lighthouse up for tours on a number of Sunday afternoons during the summer. (Check the local newspaper for open house announcements). The tours are free. There is free parking. Donations are welcomed. It offers some nice views of the mouth of the Merrimack River, Plum Island, and Newburyport Harbor.

The current 45 foot tall round lighthouse was built in 1898. The first pair of lighthouses on northern end of Island were built 1787. A detailed history can be found at Newburyport Harbor (Plum Island) Lighthouse.

Looking down the circular staircase inside the lighthouse

Detailed look at the lighthouse's wall construction. note how the boards are set an angle. It provides additional strength to the structure to withstand the ocean's gales.

 

North Jetty and Salisbury Beach State Reservation with many beach goers on this warm day.

Some fishermen on the North Jetty

 

Busy boat traffic in the river

 

View of the South Jetty

 

Ominous storm clouds gather along the river

 

 

 Storm clouds reflected in glass windows of the lighthouse

Gray Seal Pup on Beach

The stormy weather the first week of June forced a fourth month old gray seal pup to come ashore on the beach to wait out the rough seas. The day after the storm the seal was still on the beach. Strong rip currents made it too difficult to return to the open ocean waters. A wildlife monitor was on hand to answer questions and keep people a safe distance from the seal. While I was there the seal spent most of its time sleeping.

 

 

 

Track left by the seal crawling up the beach

 

Waiting out the rough seas

 

Taking a snooze

Schooners Alabama & Adventure

The Custom House Maritime Museum arranged to have two New England based schooners dock at Newburyport for the Memorial Day weekend.They were scheduled to arrive the Wednesday before the weekend on the morning hightide which was around 11am. I arrived around 10:20am at the north end of Plum Island to find the Alabama passing between the jetties. I got a few a few photos before it headed into the harbor. I wasn't the only one confused over the schedule. A number of other spectator arrived at the mouth of the Merrimack River anticipating a 11am arrival. (In the future, event organizers might want to distinguish between arrival time at the mouth and arrival at the dock). The Alabama was followed about 10 minutes later by the Adventure.

Video showing the two schooners traveling up the Merrimack River past local landmarks like Butler's Toothpick, the jetties, Salisbury Beach State Reservation, to downtown Newburyport.


The Alabama hails from Vineyard Haven (Martha's vineyard). She was original built 1926 as a pilot boat to be used in mobile, Alabama. today she is used for day sail programs and a sailing school. For more information: theblackdogtallships.com

The Alabama passing by Salisbury Beach State Reservation.

Alabama heading up the Merrimack River towards Newburyport

The Adventure is a 122 foot long schooner built in Essex, MA in 1926. She was originally built for the New England fishing industry. Currently based out of Gloucester, MA she is used for education purposes. For further information schooner-adventure.org/ 

The Adventure on the ocean side of the south jetty on Plum Island.

Entering the channel between the jetties.

Passing by the North Jetty.

 Arriving at the docks in downtown Newburyport.

Winter Storm Damage

Low tide afforded us the opportunity to inspect the damage the winter storms did to the jetty. The damage was most evident on the small spur jetty. Quite a few blocks of stone were tumbled off the top towards the beach side. It gives you an idea of the power of the ocean. These photos were taken April 9, 2017

The red lines indicated the damaged top section of spur jetty.

 

The stone knocked off the top tumbled down to the beach side.

Plum Island Shipwreck

We were walking the beach on the Parker River Wildlife Refuge on Plum Island on Sunday March 26. About 2/3 of mile south of parking lot #3 beach access, at low tide, we saw the remnants of a shipwreck poking up through the sand. [Note: The refuge beach closes April 1st for the Piping Plovers]

Victor Mastrone, Massachusetts Board of Underwater Archaeological Resources,
 identified it as likely the wreck of  the Schooner Ingomar. The schooner built in 1904 went aground in 1936. (Shipwrecks are protected archaeological sites. Please do not dig or remove any artifacts).

According to an article in the Boston Herald (February 19, 1936):

“The Ingomar crashed ashore on Plum Island during the night. Her hull was split and it was believed she would break up within a week. When Capt. John Atwood saw the vessel’s plight, he order the men to take to the dories, and night got off safely. Henry White and John Whalen were unable to lower a boat and took to the rigging. They were taken off after a weary vigil by a crew from Knobbs Beach coast guard station on Plum Island.”

 

 Boston Herald February 19, 1936 

Boston Herald March 1, 1936

 Evening Star (Washington, D.C.) February 23, 1936

Sunset over the North Jetty

Low tide in the late afternoon gave us this opportunity to photograph the sun setting over the north jetty.

Winter Storm Stella - Before & After

Day Before the Storm - March 13, 2017

The ocean was remarkably calm the day before. There was barely any wave action especially the farther away form the jetty you got. In and around the jetty, wave heights could be measured in inches. The picture below shows just how clam things were.

 

Barely a ripple 

 

"Ice Necklace" - These are small pieces of ice that washed ashore.

Day After the Storm - March 15, 2017

The storm was offshore and still kicking up some good wave action.

A wall of water over the top

It also liberated some stairs ...

One small step to ...?

Wind blown sand will make beach access a bit challenging this summer.

1:40 minute video of the day before & day after

South Jetty Damage (as of Februayr 28, 2017)

The repairs to the South Jetty have had unintended consequences. The repairs have disrupted the natural flow of currents causing extensive erosion on both the ocean side and Merrimack River side. These photos were taken on February 28, 2017. They show the Merrimack River shoreline just before it meets the south jetty and the ocean. A major nor'easter is forecasted for March 14 which may cause major additional erosion.

The south jetty is just visible in upper left. Water is Merrimack River.

A wooden pole from the former Coast Guard station has tumbled down the embankment. The tall white post at the top was setup to monitor the erosion problem, The short, dark, rusted post in the foreground is an old iron fence post.

 

This photo gives you some sense for the height of the embankment being eroded.

Seals at Bass Rocks

A popular photo opportunity is the seals resting on the rocks at low tide near Butler's Toothpick at Salisbury Beach State Reservation.It looks very relaxing.

Ice on the Jetty?

Recently while walking the beach I glanced up and saw what looked like ice covering the top of the north jetty. The photo below shows what I initially saw.

I zoomed in with the camera to get a close up photo of what I thought was ice and got a bit of surprise. The "Ice" was moving and flying up into the air. The gulls had decided to congregate on the tip of the jetty.

 

Another Major Snow Storm (February 12-13, 2017)

February 13, 2017

I was intrigued by the "coastal flood warning" posted for parts of eastern Massachusetts at the end of the latest major snow storm. It hinted at the possibility of strong wave action at the jetties. I arrived for high tide the best tide for dramatic waves. I wasn't disappointed. Immediately along the beach the winds were blowing fiercely, the snow at moments was making everything white, and the waves were crashing over the jetty. I was careful to keep a safe and respectable distance. This is where a long zoom lens comes in handy.

These two photos were taken only about a minute apart from each other. It shows how quickly conditions can change. The second photo has a white hue to it due to wind blown snow. When photographing in these conditions it critical to have your camera on a tripod to buffet against the winds.

With a bit of luck you can catch a wave crashing and shooting spray high into the air.

Here is video of the waves crashing over the North Jetty. 

The best part about visiting in the winter is there are plenty of empty seats to view the show.

The wind blown snow reduced visibility at moments.

While the storm raging on the ocean side, things were remarkable calm on the opposite side of the dunes. Along the road horned larks and snow buntings searched for seeds among the exposed stalks of grass.

Horned Lark

Snow Bunting

February 14, 2017 (Day After)

At the end of storm on February 13 we had a northwest breeze which was keeping the waves from getting as high as they could. The day after the storm, the winds shifted to the northeast and improved the wave action. Some of the waves were as much as ten feet higher than the jetty itself.

And a few fun photos ...