from Rhode Island to Salem, Massachusetts
- theblacksprayhood
- Jun 8
- 4 min read
"they may have been Great Whites, which are common here at this time of year..."
From Newport, Rhode Island, we sailed on a lovely beam reach to Cuttyhunk in the Elizabeth Islands. We had timed our short stay with benign weather and anchored in the outer harbour.
Cuttyhunk had been described to us as a must-see and in summer it must be a very bustling place. At this point in May though, there were no visitors and only a handful of residents around.
But this meant we could enjoy the scenery all to ourselves. We walked a trail up to Bunker Hill, from where we had a magnificent view of the whole shape of the island when the fog cleared.
We walked around the pond and all along the stony beach, where we paused to sit and watch the water. There we saw a seal turn its head to look in our direction, diving down and then reappearing, staring at us with its big black eyes. It repeated this routine several times, always reappearing in the same place.
From Cuttyhunk, we made our way to Phinney’s Harbor and waited there overnight in preparation for entering the Cape Cod Canal the following day. Due to the strong tides and low railway bridge, we had to ensure that we timed our entrance to arrive at the railway bridge near the entrance at slack water in case we had to wait for the bridge to be lifted. It was all clear when we passed through and the tide gathered speed, pushing us along and eventually out into Cape Cod Bay.
We anchored in Plymouth, arriving as a deep fog descended, giving it an eerie, mystical feeling as we passed by the lighthouse. All good preparation for our next stop - Salem, Massachusetts - known for its historic witch trials and more latterly as being the Halloween capital of the world.
As we pushed on to Salem we passed numerous sharks in Cape Cod Bay all swimming with their huge dorsal fins jutting from the water. We can’t be sure of the species, as there are many different types of shark in this area, but they may have been Great Whites, which are common here at this time of year.
We spent our first two days in Salem marooned on the boat due to rough weather with big waves rolling in through the open bay and so we stayed on board in case our anchor was to drag. Salem has a huge mooring buoy field and we were anchored quite far out on the edge of the bay.
But after two days of incessant rain, the weather suddenly turned beautifully sunny and we took the train to Boston.
Boston is a really beautiful city with exposed red brick on many buildings rather than the white or grey wooden cladding that you see on most East coast buildings. The black iron paintwork and green tinged copper mouldings on front of many buildings give it a distinctive and attractive look.
We walked around the city on the Boston Freedom trail, which takes you to many of the sites that made Boston so important in its successful rebellion against British colonial rule. You can visit where the Boston Tea Party was plotted and the site of the Boston massacre, where red clad British soldiers shed the red blood of many unarmed protesters outside the Customs House.
A huge banner as we emerged from the station told us that Boston’s local basketball team are the Celtics. Many Irish emigrated to Boston during the famines that occurred during the 1840s - also caused by British colonial policies. A million people died and a further million were forced to emigrate, many to America. There is a moving monument to victims of the famine in the city.
Before we got the train back to Salem we were lucky enough to catch up with an old student and a colleague of mine from London who are now living in Boston.
Back in Salem we had a riotous time exploring the monster museum, witch dungeon, witch house and witch museum! The infamous Salem witch trials were a period of mass hysteria sparked by a group of suppressed young girls in Puritan New England that resulted in the deaths of many people.
Many of those accused were women and the Puritan fears and expectations of women connected to their religious beliefs in this time period can also be seen in Salem’s most famous book The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, who worked in the customs office in Salem.
It is not hard to see how the daughters of a Puritan pastor who internalised the views of the susceptibility of women to the devil, were barely allowed out of the house and had little prospect of freedom or autonomy looked for an outlet and sparked the accusations of witchcraft which led to the trials.
Nowadays Salem has become known for being the home of Halloween and many Halloween films and series have been set here including Hocus Pocus and Bewitched. People walk around in spooky costumes, never mind that it is May and not October.
From a repressive and hostile place it has become a beacon of tolerance with LGBTQ+ flags flying from nearly every shop, café and church. According to locals this is not a specific reaction to Trump’s anti trans policies, but is a reflection of its open and tolerant culture in the modern era. It’s kind of like a goth Brighton and a lot of fun to boot.
Click the links below for the videos
Video1 EP 083 - Salem and Boston
You can find our PODCAST episodes at the links below
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