Open Water Rowing With the Hull Life Saving Museum

There’s much to be said for living in a seaside community where foot, bicycle, and boat traffic rival vehicular traffic. So, on a hunch, I headed down to the Hull Lifesaving Museum’s Windmill Point boathouse as a crew prepared to launch the pilot gig Kittery for an evening row on the outer Boston harbor.

I arrived at 6:50 PM, offering to help the crew move the Kittery down the beach on the log rollers. The coxswain replied, “Are you rowing with us?” to which I responded, “Only if you ask.” Ten minutes later, as darkness fell, we were underway. My lack of prior experience earned me a position in the bow, just aft of the “princess seat”. From that vantage point, I could time my stroke to match that of the port-side rower just ahead (aft?) of me.

The Kittery is a 32-foot pilot gig, with six rowing positions. There were nine of us, including the coxswain and eight crew who rotated among the six rowing positions.

Conditions were nearly ideal with flat seas, light wind, and temperature in the mid-sixties. The high cloud cover obstructed nighttime views of the sky with the exception of Jupiter and Logan air traffic. Along the horizon, we were treated to illuminated views of Boston and several North and South Shore coastal communities.

At approximately 28 strokes/minute, and an estimated speed of 4-5 knots, we glided through the Hull Gut, past the Hull Wind II turbine and headed north past Georges Island. Upon reaching Gallops Island, we turned SW toward Rainsford Island where we came alongside the Westward, a 125 ft. two-masted schooner, with 34 persons on board, including 22 tenth graders from the Proctor Academy in Andover, New Hampshire. This was their first night of a nine-week voyage from Boston that ends just prior to Thanksgiving in San Juan Puerto Rico. The semester-at-sea program is sponsored by the Ocean Classroom Foundation.

Finally, we headed south to Peddocks Island, past Fort Andrews, through the Hull Gut, returning to the beach at Pemberton by 8:45 PM.

This is a not-to-miss experience, available on a year-round basis through the Hull Life Saving museum. As the folks in the adult rowing program are prone to saying, “The best mental health activity in greater Boston can be found three times a week at Windmill Point, Hull.”

The Hull Life Saving museum is located at the site of the 1889 Point Allerton U.S. Lifesaving Station. For more information about the museum, its storied history, and its many adult and youth programs, visit http://www.lifesavingmuseum.org/ or call 781-925-5433.

To my crewmates: Thanks for the memories. I’ll be back for more.

Barry Hass