The Ghost of the Black Widow - On George's Island

Recently I bought a book dealing with the Boston Harbor Islands. The book described the history of this small group of islands over the last 200 years. It caught my eye since I did some exploring out on the islands as a young boy. The title of the book is “The Boston Harbor Islands” by David Kales. You can see it at Amazon.com at the link …. http://www.amazon.com/Boston-Harbor-Islands-History-Wilderness/dp/1596292903/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1237309384&sr=1-3

In the 1800s there were hotels and mansions built on some of the islands for the wealthier Bostonians. Later public parks were established with beaches available by ferry boat. During the civil war, forts were built to protect Boston from enemy ships. Civil War prisoners were also kept on the island. It was more of a summer retreat than a prison where prisoners would walk the island shores and even meet their wives and family during Sunday visits.

Early in the 1900s gambling establishments were built with alcohol and opium dens available. Illegal boxing and prize fights were also a big attraction. Local baseball teams would have Sunday games out on the islands, since the Massachusetts Blue Laws prohibited baseball on Sunday. During World War I and II, war prisoners were kept as well as sick and quarantined immigrants.

When I was in high school in the 1960s, my Uncle Joe would pick me up along with my friend Joey on most Saturday mornings during the summer, for a day exploring the Boston Harbor Islands. Uncle Joe had old green and beige Desoto Sedan with push button drive. On those hot summer days we would drive from where I lived in Chelsea to Hull, MA and meet one of Uncle Joe’s friends Dan who lived in a house on the point near Hull High school. Dan had a small row boat beached near his house and we would row out to his bigger 45 ft. workboat moored off shore.

Dan was a caretaker for the Harbor Islands and worked for the MDC (Metropolitan District Commission). In the 1960’s, the MDC had responsibility to patrol the islands before they were developed and made a State Park. Dan would patrol around most of the islands in his boat and make sure there were no trespassers or vandals. One time we found a few young kids in a power boat trying to take some copper wire from Little Brewster Island.

After making our morning rounds, we would stop at Georges Island and Fort Warren where they had just finished a new dock. The dock was built to allow access to the island after it was declared a State Park. Ferries and small boats would be able to tie up at the dock and visitors could explore the island for a picnic or swimming off the rocky shores. Since we were Dan’s guests, we had free excess to the island and explored the old Fort Warren and all its rooms, halls and dungeons without seeing another person. That was before Uncle Joe told us the story about the Ghost of the Black Widow. After hearing the story, we were sure that the sounds of the wind or the waves were really the whispers of all the ghosts that still haunted the island and protected its secrets.
As I recall the Black Widow story, a civil war solder was imprisoned on the island in the 1800’s. His wife would visit periodically by public boat. Wanting to free her husband, she rowed over at night and met her husband on the beach but was caught by a guard. Accidently, she drew her pistol and aimed at the guard but accidently shot her husband. She was tried and convicted to be hanged on the island. Her last wish was to have a robe and hood made from the black drapes in the fort dining hall. After her hanging, guards and prisoners have sworn that she haunts the island and especially the dungeon hallways where she is seen wearing the black robe.

There are many other stories that are told by park guides if you wish to visit the islands. You can also read many of the books written by Edward Rowe Snow. A list is found at Amazon.com at the link …..
http://www.amazon.com/Edward-Rowe-Snow/e/B001H9R6U0/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_T1_0
You can also take a ferry to the islands. See the link below to learn more …. http://www.bostonislands.com/

On one of our trips to Fort Warren in the 1960’s, Dan wondered if a water pipe in one of the dungeon rooms emptied out at the shore line. He asked Joey and I to go down into the lowest dungeon and yell loud to see if Uncle Joe and he could hear us at the shoreline drainage pipe. Joey said that he could even make a louder sound with an old civil war pistol that he brought to show Dan.

We loaded the pistol with gun powder only, without the bullets, and walked down several flights of stairs to a tunnel that led to the dungeon at the end. The floor was flooded with 6 inches of water and had a wood plank to walk on. I carried a flash light while Joey carried the pistol. When we got to the end of a long tunnel, we saw the hole and pipe.

Joey aimed the pistol into the hole and pressed the trigger. It made the loudest sound I ever heard which bounced and vibrated off the walls. We started to run along the wood plank and get out as fast as possible. Unfortunately, my foot slipped off the wood and I dropped the flash light which went out and was lost in the muddy water. It was now pitch dark and we had to feel our way out along the slimy walls and the long tunnel.

All I could think about was the ghost of the Black Widow chasing me from behind who would grab my ankles any second. Luckily, we reached the opening and ran out and down to the shore to tell Uncle Joe and Dan what happened. Uncle Joe said, “you look like you just saw a ghost” and laughed. He also said that he didn’t hear any sound. Well that was a waste of time but certainly got my heart pumping and a great story to remember.

We had a lot of other great days on the islands but that one was the most memorable. Now that my grand children are old enough, I think a trip to Fort Warren might be our next adventure.

Comments are always welcome. Send email to: markryan82@comcast.net

Sailing the Ocean Blue

Recently I saw a book at the public library on how to tell different ships apart from their silhouette. The book is titled “What Ship Is That? - A Field Guide to Boats and Ships” by Bobby Basnight. The book also shows the different colored flags flown by ships to let other ships know about their cargo, origin or other information. You can see some of the ship silhouettes and flags at the link …… http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/Ships31009
Can you decipher the flag message above?

I also saw an announcement for the Tall Ships coming back to Boston on July 8, 2009. You can see the info at the link ….. http://www.sailboston.com/home.html

Reading the book and seeing the Tall Ships notice, reminded me of my sailing days as a boy and the unforgettable ocean voyage I experienced. You can read the story below.

Sailing the Ocean Blue
A few years after high school, my friend Jack bought a used sail boat that had been damaged in a storm. He was sure that he could repair most of the damage with a little help from his friends. It was a twenty one foot sloop with one mast that went through a small enclosed cabin space and an open cockpit with a stick tiller and a permanent keel. The repair job took the three of us (Jack, Joe and Me) about a year to fix the giant hole in the hull, get a new mast, rigging, sails and other needed accessories.

Whenever we had the time and a few extra dollars, we would buy needed supplies and make the trip from the inner city to the north shore. We lived in Chelsea, MA in the early 1960’s and kept the boat at Graves Boat Yard, in Marblehead, MA. It was about an hour drive, one way, after work or on weekends.

We finally got the boat in the water by the spring of 1964. We moored it out in Marblehead harbor and used the water taxi to get to the mooring. Although we would take the boat out for short trips to Gloucester or Manchester, we would mostly sail around just outside the harbor or remained at the mooring doing some light chores, cleaning, painting or fixing the rigging.

On sailing days, we shared the duties of raising the sails, manning the tiller or hanging over the gunwales in a hard tack to the wind. As Jack sailed on a long tack with no foresail and just the mainsail, I enjoyed sitting on the fore deck with my back pressed firmly against the mast as the wind and the waves splashed against the bow. Sometimes we would raise the spinnaker and watch it billow out into a giant pillow. The wind blowing against your face was so exhilarating.

Although our short day trips were just great, we decided to take a longer trip to a more distant harbor. Since both Jack and I had attended Maine Maritime Academy, we decided to take a trip to Castine, Maine. The distance by car is about 235 miles and a five hour drive. The distance by boat is also about 200 miles and could take about 20-30 hours with a good 10 mph tail wind.

We made plans for our week long ocean voyage, bought food and provisions and a few changes of clothes. Using current sea charts, we plotted our course along the coast and tried to stay less than 10 miles from land and free of any rocks or sand bars or shipping lanes. We also had a binacle compass mounted near the tiller so we could track our course and bearing.

Although we did not have a communications radio, I used a portable radio with a bar antenna to help with navigation. By rotating the radio, you could null out the radio signal and find its compass direction to the radio station. Using triangulation, I could plot my location on the charts from two or three AM- radio stations that were along the coast from Marblehead to Castine. Sounds crude but it did work

We stored some food in a cooler with ice and the rest in some boxes. We bought frozen TV dinners for a week and planned to cook them in a collapsible oven mounted on a propane stove. The stove was fastened to the mast inside the galley cabin so it was protected from the wind. The enclosed galley had small windows on both sides and only about four foot head room. It also had about six feet of floor space for two people to sleep in sleeping bags while the third could sleep out in the open cockpit.

On the morning of our departure, we checked the weather report which forecasted light winds and some morning fog. We left the harbor in the fog and hoped that it would clear shortly. Although the visibility was only about 5 miles in fog, we made good time out of the harbor and tracked a course slightly NNE. However, the wind died after about 5 hours sailing and we pulled down the sails and switched to an outboard motor that pushed us along slowly at about 5 mph. That was fine for a few hours until we came upon a large area of floating sargasso seaweed. This went on for miles and kept getting caught in the outboard propeller. Luckily the wind picked up again, so we raised the sails and pulled out the outboard motor.

It was now time to cook some dinner so I popped a few TV dinners into the oven inside the cabin and lit the propane burner. While dinner was cooking in the cabin, I went out into the cockpit to enjoy the view with the other two. After a few minutes, there was a giant explosion and a ball of fire wooshed out of the cabin at the three of us sitting at the stern of the open cockpit. Joe quickly grabbed the fire extinguisher and pointed it inside the cabin and was able to put out the fire in just a few seconds.

Luckily, the only thing that burned was the propane gas that had filled the cabin. There must have been a leak in the stove which allowed the propane gas to fill the cabin. The fire ball and the force of the explosion just went directly out the open cabin door without causing any permanent damage. We all looked at each other in astonishment and counted our blessing that nothing else burned and we were still alive. With the excitement over, we had bologna sandwiches and water for dinner and continued sailing. No turning back now.

The wind picked up again and we sailed through night. Since we could only see a few miles ahead, we used the compass to stay on course. The helmsman would scan the red lighted compass, keep the sails full and maintain the tiller. We took four hour shifts, two out in the cockpit sailing and keeping watch for floating debris while the third slept inside the cabin.

The next morning the fog rolled in again and cut the visibility to only a few miles. Although we were maintaining a good compass course, we had no idea how much we were drifting sideways since we couldn’t see any land to orient ourselves. However, a ship appeared way off to the port side about 5 miles away. It looked like a fishing trawler, so we decided to hail it and get directions by lighting a distress flare and honking a load air horn. As the boat got closer, we realize it was hundred foot oil tanker rather than a small fishing boat. Too late now.

The tanker finally stopped about two miles off to our starboard and we headed for it. As we approached, a crewman on the tanker was rapidly taking pictures. He probably thought that we had sailed across the ocean in our small boat.

As we got closer, the ten foot swells caused our small sail boat to bounce up and down along side the tanker so we tossed over some bumpers to protect the boat sides. Seeing our outboard, the oil tanker crew man asked if we needed gas. We said yes but also needed directions and that we were on our way to Castine, Maine. He invited us up to the bridge to help us with the navigation. Since the swells were still tossing the boat around, I stayed onboard to keep it away from scrapping the tanker sides.

However, Joe and Jack went on board and up to the tanker bridge. The captain used his Loran Navigation equipment to fix our present location and plotted a course for us to Boothbay Harbor which was only about 10 miles to our west. He said that the fog was still very thick and it would be safer for us to wait it out in Boothbay. You can see our original and secondary course on the map link ….. http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/CastineMap31009

Using our compass and the charted course given us, we sailed through the fog to the first harbor buoy and then directly to Boothbay Yacht Club. Evidently, the tanker called ahead and some yacht club members were waiting for us and let us tie up right at their dock. They also let us use the club facilities where we showered and shaved. We also called home to let our families know we were Ok.

After getting cleaned up, we walked around the harbor area and found a small pizza shop and had something to eat. We also arranged with the pizza shop owner to use his oven to cook the rest of our fifteen TV dinners so we could eat for a few days. Since the fog was predicted to continue for a few more days, we decide to sail back to Marblehead and try again with better weather conditions. We left early the next morning and sailed back to Marblehead in about ten hours. Although we didn’t reach our planned destination, we certainly had a sea story to tell our future children.

Comments are welcome. Send email to markryan82@comcast.net