Gloucester, Massachusetts; A Real Working Waterfront

Mr Mac anchored in Gloucester Harbor

Yum!

 During August we spent a couple of days in Gloucester, on the south side of Cape Ann, MA.  A very cruiser-friendly town.  We had anchored way out in the harbor, and called the harbormaster’s office to see if they had a dinghy dock.  Well, they told us about their free anchorage in the inner harbor (without pressuring us to rent a mooring), directed us to the free dinghy dock, and came to the boat with a Welcome package that included maps of town, lists of things to do in town, and locations for those oh-so-important places to cruisers, such as the market, laundry, marine stores and restaurants.  There was also a terrific used-bookstore in town, a small movie theater that you can walk or dinghy to, shops for browsing, and a local microbrewery with tasty beers.  The pretty waterfront south of the docks is the location of the familiar Fishermen’s Memorial, as well as the less-familiar (but just as important) Fishermen’s Wive’s Memorial.  The fishing industry is still very much alive in Gloucester, and the inner harbor was always bustling with fishing boats.  Next to the harbormaster’s office was the Gloucester Maritime Heritage Center, which chronicles the development of the fishing industry here, covering everything from the sailing vessels that used to fish these waters, to merchandizing fish products (see the picture of the great advertising for Gorton’s Strained Codfish for Babies – appetizing, no?), to the geology and ecology of the nearby Georges and Stellwagan Banks, and more.  On the shore across from our anchorage was the old building pictured below – the first manufactory (that’s how it’s written on the building) in the U.S. to make copper paint for boat bottoms, a subject near and dear to cruisers.

Fishermen's Memorial

Fishermen's Wive's Memorial

Old copper-paint factory  Gloucester Harbor