Gloucester’s beautiful Lobster Trap Tree and FV Ramblin’ Rose
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Tag Archives: Gloucester Harbor
Gloucester Firefighters Rigging the Star to the Lobster Trap Tree!
Many, many thanks to Gloucester’s awesome firefighters for each year braving the cold and wind to attach the Christmas star atop the Lobster Trap Tree.
Parade of Sail feat. the Beautiful Schooner American Eagle!
At about 2 minutes you can see the American Eagle crew hoisting her sails. The American Eagle was the last fishing schooner built in Gloucester. She launched on June 2nd, 1930 and was powered by both sail and engine. She now makes her home in Rockland, Maine, under the stewardship of Captain Tyler King, a Gloucester native.
From wiki – Andrew and Rosalie was built in 1930 by the United Sail Loft Company in Gloucester, for Patrick Murphy, a local fishing master, and was named for his children. The ship was used in fishing operations by his family until 1941, when it was sold to the Empire Fish Company, who renamed her American Eagle. They converted her for use as a trawler, a role she served, mainly under the ownership of the Piscitello brothers, until 1983.
She was purchased in 1984 by John Foss, who had recently restored the Lewis R. French (also a National Historic Landmark), and was restored at the North End Shipyard at Rockland, Maine. Foss rebuilt her for the cruise ship trade, and she now spends summers cruising Penobscot Bay in Maine on 3-7 day cruises, though she generally takes one longer cruise per year to places like Grand Manan Island in Canada. She is one of the few schooners in Maine that go on longer cruises, and one of the few that go offshore looking for whales. She also generally returns to Gloucester every year.
Parade of Sail from the Dogbar
Click the image to enlarge.
Sky Drama from the Deck of Schooner American Eagle
Liv, Charlotte and I went to see the schooners docked at I4-C2 this morning. We only explored the American Eagle briefly as we nearly go caught in the wildy rain, wind, and hail storm.
Great weather is predicted for the rest of Schooner Fest weekend. See the full event’s schedule here.
Wolf Moon Over Lobster Trap Tree
Gorgeous Moon set this morning! I almost missed it as I was planning to be back home at 7am sharp to make pancakes and my various lookout places were not aligned correctly. Luckily and just in the nick of time, I found a new spot 🙂 Tonight the full Wolf Moon Eats Mars and rises at 4:06pm. Happy Moon Viewing!
Beautiful Autumn
Autumn scenes from around Cape Ann
Supermoon Sequence Descending Over Maritime Gloucester
Perfect clear skies for Moon viewing this morning! Supermoon descending over Martime Gloucester.
Hunter’s Moon Gloucester October 17, 2024
Congratulations to Geoff and Mandy of Cape Ann’s Schooner Strombus – See Full Schooner Race Results
Thank you to all the Schooner Captains and Crews for providing a glorious 40th Annual Schooner Fest for us all to enjoy!
Schooner Strombus – Parade of Sail
Schooners Adventure and Strombus
Beautiful Parade of Schooners! – new short film
Gloucester’s magnificent 40th Annual Schooner Festival Parade of Sail
Canon in D major composed by Johann Pachelbel, performed by The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Music from the Internet Archive of Royalty Free Music – Creative Commons – with attributes – non-commercial.
Scooners Isabella and Adventure
Gloucester Schooner Challenge 2024
Schooner Adventure and the Schooner Isabella, built by Harold Burnham
Schooners Adventure and Strombus Wending Through Gloucester Harbor
Scene from last night’s Schooner Challenge –
Schooner Strombus, restored by local shipwright Geoff Deckebach, and the majestic Schooner Adventure
USCGC William Sparling in the Outer Harbor at Sunset
Love seeing the Coast Guard cutters from Niles Beach.
From wiki –
Design
Like her sister ships, William Sparling is designed to perform search and rescue missions, port security, and the interception of smugglers. She is armed with a remotely-controlled, gyro-stabilized 25 mm autocannon, four crew served M2 Browning machine guns, and light arms. She is equipped with a stern launching ramp, that allows her to launch or retrieve a water-jet propelled high-speed auxiliary boat, without first coming to a stop. Her high-speed boat has over-the-horizon capability, and is useful for inspecting other vessels, and deploying boarding parties.
The crew’s drinking water needs are met through a desalination unit. The crew mess is equipped with a television with satellite reception.
Operational career
On 15 August 2022, it was announced that William Sparling would be homeported in Boston, Massachusetts.
The vessel’s manufacturer, Bollinger Shipyards, of Lockport, Louisiana, delivered the ship to the Coast Guard, for her sea trials, in Key West, on July 20, 2023. She was commissioned at Station Portsmouth Harbor in New Castle, New Hampshire on October 19, 2023. Her sponsor was William “Bill” Sparling’s widow Caroline Sparling and her first commanding officer was Lt. Jacklyn “Jackie” Kokomoor.
From the Coast Guard’s website –
The Coast Guard accepted delivery of the 54th fast response cutter (FRC), William Sparling, July 20, 2023 in Key West, Florida. William Sparling will be the fifth FRC to be homeported in Boston.
William Sparling was one of the first Coast Guard enlisted members to be awarded the Silver Star Medal, one of the nation’s highest military awards for valor in combat. Sparling served as a landing craft coxswain during the Battle of Tulagi, a strategically important island in the Pacific theater, during World War II. The island was captured by enemy forces in May 1942, and Allied forces were concerned that the occupation of Tulagi would be used to threaten Allied units and supply routes in the region. Allied forces arrived at Tulagi on Aug. 7, 1942, to reestablish control of the island. The amphibious assault, supported by the landing craft piloted by Sparling and other coxswains, was the first U.S. offensive of World War II and was one of the first in a series of battles that defined the Guadalcanal campaign.
During the invasion, Sparling and other coxswains landed the first wave of U.S. Marines from USS McKean on the beaches of Tulagi. Over the next three days of fighting, Sparling and others made repeated trips between the Navy destroyer and Tulagi to deliver equipment, ammunition and other supplies to Marines as they engaged a determined occupying force of 800 troops. On Aug. 9, the remaining enemy forces surrendered, and the Allies successfully secured Tulagi.
The Coast Guard has ordered 65 FRCs to date. Fifty-two are in service: 13 in Florida; seven in Puerto Rico; six in Bahrain; four in California; three each in Alaska, Guam, Hawaii, Texas, New Jersey and Massachusetts; and two each in Mississippi and North Carolina. Future FRC homeports include Astoria, Oregon, and Kodiak and Seward, Alaska.
For more information: Fast Response Cutter Program page
Lobster Trap Tree Morning Snowfall
Pretty harbor scene –
WISHING YOU A PEACEFUL WINTER SOLSTICE
Keep cozy on this longest night of the year, and throughout the season <3
TREMENDOUS THANKS TO JIM KNOTT, DONOR OF THE 400 LOBSTER TRAPS
David Brooks and Jim Knott
Riverdale Mills CEO, Jim Knott, Jr., was in attendance at Saturday evening’s wondrous Lobster Trap Tree lighting. Mr. Knott generously donated the 400 traps used in creating the 2023 Lobster Trap Tree. The gift of 400 traps is permanent and will be used in the building of future trap trees. 400 trees were donated to symbolize Gloucester’s 400th anniversary.
Additionally, the labor for building the 400 traps was donated by Brooks Trap Mill in Thomaston, Maine, and contributions were made by Three Lantern Marine Fishing and Supply, Gloucester.
Jim Knott, as quoted in the Gloucester Daily Times, “We’re here for the lobstermen, and we’re trying to support both the current event and the future,” he said. “The reason for the donation is that we wanted to help the community out. The lobster fishing industry is a big part of our business and we have a long history in the lobster industry making wire mesh that was invented in Gloucester. My father has two patents that date back to the 1960s and that wire mesh supplanted wood almost completely (for lobster traps).”
The wire mesh, called Aquamesh, that you see inside modern lobster traps, was invented by Jim’s Dad, James Knott, Sr. He spent summers on Cape Ann with his family, fishing for lobsters during his teenage years. Mr. Knott knew there had to be a better lobster trap. Since the mid-1960s, he “had been tinkering with designs for wire lobster traps. The traditional wooden traps were buoyant and needed to be weighed down with bricks or rocks to sink. Once immersed, they became water logged and extremely heavy. They also wore out more quickly than metal cages.” James Knott converted an abandoned mill on the banks of the Blackstone River, in Northbridge, Massachusetts, which had been used to manufacture bayonets during the Civil War, and founded Riverdale Mills to manufacture coated wire and Aquamesh.
For more information read here:
The Wall Street Journal: James Knott Pioneered Modern Lobster Traps and fended off the EPA
Worcester Business Journal: The Backbone of Lobster Traps
Gloucester daily Times by Gail McCarthy: Gloucester’s Lobster Trap Tree Grows
10, 9, 8 … LOBSTER TRAP TREE LIGHTING!!!
World’s Best Lobster Trap Tree!
LOBSTER TRAP TREE KIDS BUOY PAINTING !
Lobster Trap Tree buoy painting is underway! Cape Ann kids are hand painting buoys to adorn the Lobster Trap tree with. So much beauty found in these proud, earnest little faces <3.
To sign up for buoy painting, please visit the Cape Ann Art haven website here: https://www.arthaven.org/
The Lobster Trap Tree is located at Solomon Jacobs Park, at Harbor Loop, in between the Coast Guard Station and Maritime Gloucester. The tree lighting takes place this coming Saturday, December 9th at 4:30pm, after the Middle Street Walk.
For a complete list of events for the Middle Street Walk, please click here.
To celebrate Gloucester’s 400th anniversary, 400 brand new lobster traps were donated by Riverdale Mills. Read more about the background of the Lobster Trap Tree and Three Lantern Marine Supply’s program, which will allow youth to obtain student lobstering permits, at the Gloucester Daily Times.
LOBSTER TRAP TREE “PURPLE SNOWFLAKES”
This morning’s gentle snowfall on the harbor.
“Purple Snowflakes” by Marvin Gaye
The Lobster Trap Tree is located at Solomon Jacobs Park, at Harbor Loop, in between the Coast Guard Station and Maritime Gloucester. Youth from around Cape Ann are painting buoys to decorate the tree with. The tree lighting takes place this coming Saturday, December 9th at 4:30pm, after the Middle Street Walk.
For a complete list of events for the Middle Street Walk, please click here.
To celebrate Gloucester’s 400th anniversary, 400 brand new lobster traps were donated by Riverdale Mills. Read more about the background of the Lobster Trap Tree and Three Lantern Marine Supply’s program that will allow youth to obtain student lobstering permits at the Gloucester Daily Times.
To sign-up for buoy painting, please go here: https://www.arthaven.org/
MORE SNAPSHOTS FROM THE LOBSTER TRAP TREE BUILD!
The photos from the Lobster Trap Tree build were taken late Friday afternoon, where you can see the footprint of the tree beginning to take shape, through Saturday, when most of the building took place, and into Sunday morning, when the crew was installing the lights.
Lots of friends and family stopped by to check on the tree’s progress. That’s David’s wife and their three kids and David’s sister with her kids looking up at the tree top, and also ‘helping’ Shawn.
Shout out again to David Brooks, Shawn Henry, and the wonderfully dedicated tree building crew – Shane O’Neill, Dave D’Angelis, Peter Asaro, Devin Carr, John Cooney, Andrew Nicastro, Steve Larkin, Dave Pratt, and Peter Cannavo.
The Lobster Trap Tree is located at Solomon Jacobs Park, at Harbor Loop, in between the Coast Guard Station and Maritime Gloucester. Youth from around Cape Ann are painting buoys to decorate the tree with. The tree lighting takes place after the Middle Street Walk on Saturday December 9th at 4:30pm.
For a complete list of events for the Middle Street Walk, please click here.
To sign-up for buoy painting, please go here: https://www.arthaven.org/
RACING TO FINISH THE LOBSTER TRAP TREE BUILD BEFORE THE SUNSET
The Lobster Trap Tree build in its new location at Solomon Jacobs Park was a resounding success. David Brooks and Shawn Henry led the team from early morning, until the last rays of light. We’re creating a longer video, but here is a brief window of the up and down and up and down climbing that it takes to get those traps up to the tippy top of the tree.
The tree’s new location at Solomon Jacobs Park at Harbor Loop has proven to be a win win for the tree builders. There is plenty of space to organize the traps and lay out the lights. This year’s tree is bigger by about 40 traps, with not two, but three, doorways leading in and out of the tree. Not only is the visitor’s view fabulously beautiful, folks that live and work on the harbor will have a spectacular view of the tree as well.
To celebrate Gloucester’s 400th anniversary, 400 brand new lobster traps were donated by Riverdale Mills. Read more about the background of the Lobster Trap Tree and Three Lantern Marine Supply’s program that will allow youth to obtain student lobstering permits to use the traps here at the Gloucester Daily Times
To sign-up for buoy painting, please go here: https://www.arthaven.org/
Gloucester’s Lobster Trap Tree Lighting takes place Saturday, December 9th, at 4:30pm
SHOUT OUT TO THE AMAZING LOBSTER TRAP TREE BUILDING CREW FOR THEIR TIRELESS DEDICATION IN BRINGING HOLIDAY JOY AND FUN TO CAPE ANN
If you see these big-hearted guys around town, please give them a huge thank you <3
Left to right: Shawn Henry, Dave D’Angelis, Peter Asaro, Devin Carr, David Brooks, John Cooney, Andrew Nicastro, Steve Larkin, and “Fancy” Dave Pratt. Not pictured, but just as dedicated and hard working, are Shane O’Neill and Peter Cannavo.
Please write if anyone’s name is missing and I will add it to the post. Thank you!
RESPLENDENT SMITH’S COVE SUNSET
We live here <3
TALL SHIP LYNX ROUNDING EASTERN POINT LIGHT!
The stunning Tall Ship Lynx rounded Eastern Point light just after sunset and headed in for its annual maintenance haul-out at the Marine Railways. Schooner Adventure greeted the vessel and they were firing off guns as they came into port.
The Tall Ship Lynx travels throughout New England in the warmer months and winters in the Golden Isles of Georgia at St. Simons Island.
For more information about the Lynx, visit www.TallShipLynx.org.
Tall Ship Lynx in Gloucester through the years
PARADE OF SAIL WITH SCHOONER STROMBUS AND THE EAST GLOUCESTER GANG!
I love trying to capture friend’s boats during the Parade of Sail. Here’s our neighbor’s Geoff and Mandy’s beautiful Schooner Strombus that they built and launched back in 2017, and the sweetest crew of East Gloucester friends!
The Schooner Strombus won the 2023 Betty Ramsey Award in the Marconi Rigged Class!
Strombus Schooner Launch Party, from July 2017-
A new schooner was added to Gloucester’s growing fleet. The schooner was launched today at 11am from the Rocky Neck Marine Railways. Strombus, built by Geoff Deckebach, with help from his wife Mandy, was twelve years in the making. They began gutting and restoring the boat all those many years ago when work and raising a family slowed progress. About a year ago, Geoff decided to turn his full attention to the restoration. The schooner is simply beautiful. More work will continue on the interior and it will be ready enough to motor along in this year’s upcoming Schooner Festival.