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This group got a trip to the New England Aquarium and Imax Theater on Monday due to the torrential downpours. It was good to see the new exhibits - especially the ray and shark petting tank. The rest of the week was spent fishing, visiting Thacher Island, Rockport, hauling lobster traps, more fishing and swimming.
We had a couple of unusual events occur while fishing and both involved seals. While fishing for bass and bluefish in the mouth of the Merrimack River, twice while kids were reeling in bluefish a seal bit onto the bluefish. The seal was not hooked, but it was not going to let go of the bluefish. The seals shook the bluefish and then let it go. We pulled in 9 or 10 bluefish that day and lost about the same number.
While deep-sea fishing and whale watching out on Jefferies Ledge - about 18 miles off the coast - a young seal hung around the boat for quite awhile. It seemed just as curious about us as we were of it. We opened the back door on the boat and the seal popped right up in the water to look in. Bob thinks if we had a ramp, it would have come right into the boat!
Crewmember Hanna took some great shots of the kids out on Thacher Island - they are posted here, but here are some facts about this very special island:
-The island encompasses about 50 acres.
- It is the site of the only operating twin lighthouses in America.
- It is the eleventh and last lighthouse built under British rule in 1771.
- It is the first lighthouse to mark a "dangerous spot" along the coast. All previous lights were built to
only mark harbor entrances.
- The granite towers stand 112 1/2 feet to the focal plane of the light - 124' tall and 160' above mean tide.
- Each tower has 156 steps to the lantern room.
- The original light could be seen 22 miles at sea.
- We have no idea how many children and crewmembers have hiked into the North tower, but we are sure everyone remembers the climb and the amazing view.
