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Saturday, August 11, 2018

Walking Along Gloucester Harbor in Gloucester, Massachusetts





Welcome to Gloucester

Today we will walk 
along its harbor.





Eric parks our Jeep west of the harbor.  We will be walking along Stacey Boulevard Park into the city proper.





This long, narrow park has
flower beds & American
flags along its railing.






Forty years ago, this was an open green space.





The stairway down to the
western most end of the
beach.









Sand gives way to pebbles
with edges worn smooth
by the tides.






I am grateful for the long lens on my Sony Camera.





across the harbor from where
I am standing.









A Summer Day Care Class
is walking to a lunch time
spot in the park.










I spot a small cruise ship
in the eastern end of
the harbor.










This is my favorite garden 
shot of the harbor.









Eric & I stop at the

Commercial Fishing is one of the most dangerous occupations in the United States.  Gloucester has been sending men, to sea to earn a living since the early 1600s.  This memorial is for the women and children whose husbands and fathers did not return.





Large homes across
from Stacey Park






















The old factory houses the company's offices, a robotics lab, a green chemistry lab, a community center, and a marine mammal and ocean research library.  I am delighted to learn that this well known and much painted landmark has a new mission.




Blynman Bridge is opening
to allow traffic through the
Blynman Canal to
Ipswich Bay.
 




Boats leave the canal....






.... as boats in the harbor
wait to enter the canal.






The wake of this boat shows that
the pilot needs to accelerate
to move faster than the
outgoing tide. 




The bascule bridge closes.

The bridge is specially weighted
to allow for easy opening &
closing.





The fishing boats with sports fishermen left early in the morning for full and half day fishing trips.  Eric and I went out with Yankee Fleet many years ago....





A small, private boat with low
clearance maneuvers the chanel
 beneath the closed bridge.





Our walk along the
harbor continues.








Tour Boat glides by.






I realize that I am not seeing large fishing boats in the harbor.  The Commercial Fishing Industry in this region of the country has been in steep decline since fish stocks on the Georges Bank have declined throughout the later half of 20th century.  Increasing numbers of fishing boats and innovations in fishing technology all but stripped the fertile fishing ground of its harvest.  Recent newspaper articles confirm the hollowing out Commercial Fishing with reports of just 170,000 pounds of Cod caught in 2016.





Eric & I stayed at Harborview
Inn during several of our
visits to Gloucester.









erected in 1923 - 1925, is a
tribute to the 10,000 Gloucester
fisherman who lost their lives
at sea.













Eric looks out at the harbor as
the curve of the harbor extends
east toward Rocky Neck.








Homes give way to businesses
as we approach the end of
Stacey Park.









The last of the American flags
at the park fly above the beach





The Tavern on the Harbor is a mainstay of Gloucester's shoreline.  Opened in 2016, the Beauport Hotel replaces a large Birdseye Flash Freezing Warehouse that saw decreasing business as Commercial Fishing declined precipitously from the 1980s on.





A Schooner, with extended







Gloucester Harbor continues to be a favorite Cape Ann attraction for Eric and me.  Throughout the years, Stacey Park and the waterfront views have changed.  As the Commercial Fishing Industry declines, we see more privately owned pleasure boats, harbor tour boats and a small cruise ship exploring the harbor.  Large buildings that supported Gloucester's Commercial Fishing are disappearing as the Tourist Industry grows along this beautiful shoreline.

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