The Isle of Shoals

One Thursday, June 30^th, we sailed to the Isle of Shoals. This isle chain consists of 9 islands, 4 of them are in New Hampshire and 5 of them are in Maine. The islands’ long history is full of tales of buried treasure and bloody Indian attacks. Blackbeard the Pirate once landed on Smuttynose Island with his new bride (she happened to be his 15^th bride). The British fleet soon discovered his location, and he fled the island, leaving his bride behind. The ghost of Blackbeard’s wife, they say, still roams the shores crying, “He will come back.” Spooky!

The island we anchored next to is called Star Island, which hosts a huge retreat center. It used to be a famous hotel during the late 1800’s, which was frequented by Nathanial Hawthorne and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. This island also has a scary history. Early in the old colonial times, the Indians from the mainland made a descent upon the islands and killed all the inhabitants except for a Mrs. Moody, who hid herself and her two small children underneath the rocks. As the Indians combed the island, she was unable to keep her children quiet, and eventually killed them with a knife. No dogs are allowed on Star Island….I wonder if this is because they can sense the ghosts!

Smutty Island is now home to over 3,000 pairs of seagulls, which make a lot of noise. Morgan had a great time trying to chase all of them!

Here are some more pictures of the harbor during sunset: