Massachusetts
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Massachusetts
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Massachusetts is often popularly thought of as the area where the US was first settled.
However, the 1620 Plymouth settlement, the 1623 Gloucester settlement, the 1628 Salem settlement and the 1630 Boston settlement were all preceded by earlier settlements of Spanish in Florida, English in Virginia, and French in Canada.
(In 1604 Champlain mapped most of what is now the coast of Maine to an accuracy still usable by cruising sailors. Basque fishermen were a century ahead of him, and Native American tribes had a 7,000 year head-start on all of them.)
Nevertheless, after that not-quite-first beginning, much of early American history was, indeed, determined by and in Massachusetts coastal towns that today exhibit much evidence of that history in tourist-friendly ports.
For cruising purposes, except for the Atlantic coast from Newburyport to Cape Ann, relatively sheltered bodies of water host these ports. They are Massachusetts Bay and Cape Cod Bay (North of Cape Cod); and Buzzards Bay and Nantucket Sound (South of Cape Cod). They are easily connected without venturing into the Atlantic waters outside Cape Cod by using the Cape Cod Canal. It connects Cape Cod Bay to Buzzards Bay, which in turn is connected to Nantucket Sound by "holes" through the Elizabeth Islands (such as Wood's Hole, home of the famous oceanographic institute).
Charts
Submit the chart details that are required for safe navigation.
- Chart No. 13278 (Portsmouth, NH to Cape Ann)
- Chart No. 13267 (Massachusetts Bay)
- Chart No. 13246 (Cape Cod Bay)
- Chart No. 13230 (Buzzards Bay)
- Chart No. 13237 (Nantucket Sound and Approaches)
- Chart Sources
- Paper NOAA "print-on-demand" charts (up-to-date within last 2 weeks) - about $20 each
- RNC Raster files of NOAA Navigation Charts (free - updated weekly)
Radio Nets
Also see World Cruiser's Nets
Local Weather
- Local weather conditions?
- Sources for Weather forecasts
- NOAA Coastal Waters Forecast (Merrimac River, MA to Watch Hill, RI)
- NOAA Point-forecasts by map-click from National Weather Service - Boston, MA
- Current Weather Conditions
- NDBC databuoys (realtime wind/wave data - offshore buoys in NE US waters)
Ports and Popular Stops - North(NH) to South(RI)
Offshore Islands and Groups
List Islands
Special Boating Bylaws and/or Regulations of the State
?
Coastal Passage Notes
Details?
Cruiser's Friends
Contact details of "Cruiser's Friends" that can be contacted for local information or assistance.
Forum Discussions
List links to discussion threads on the Cruiser Log Forum
External Links
Links to relevant websites.
References & Publications
Publications, Guides, etc.
- MapTech "Embassy" Crusing Guides If you can only afford one, this is it. (MapTech makes the NOAA digital charts)
- Waterway Guides Also good (especially for upscale marina-hopping), but fewer ports.
- Cruising Guide to the New Engand Coast excellent sailors' background supplement to either of the above.
- Guide to New England Marinas book + CDROM (excellent, but listed dockage rates are outdated and low)
Last Visited & Details Checked (and updated here)
Date of member's visit to this Port/Stop & this page's details validated:
Personal Notes
Personal experiences?
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