GL: Annisquam River (Gloucester MA) bridges & transit

[Jim & Jan Rich]

We have a sailboat and we go thru the Annisquam every year, on our way to
Maine. The Byman Canal bridge (on the Gloucester end) opens on demand. Call
the Bridgetender on 13. It is one way traffic, with the current.

The Amtrak Railroad Bridge (about a mile or so after the Blyman Bridge,
northbound) is normally open. Call the Bridgetender on 13 to verify however
he may NOT tell you if you are clear to go. It is a HARD port turn right
after the bridge (northbound) - relatively blind - only one boat width wide.
We have done this 30 times or more and never had a problem.

We drew 5' 7" in our old boat and only touched bottom once, at dead low
tide. Remember, there are 9-10 foot tides there, so plan accordingly. It is
a beautiful passage but convoluted. Watch your charts carefully and you'll
be fine. We also suggest NOT going on a weekend - at least for the first
time. It is very busy on weekends.

Any more questions, contact us directly.

Jim and Jan
Aboard ~~~~~_/) ~~~~~  "Summer Slopes"


n Mon, Jun 29, 2009 at 6:37 AM, Pete Balkus <pete at balkus.com> wrote:

> Hello...
>
> We are wondering if anyone on the list may be able to share some local
> knowledge regarding the Annisquam river transit (near Gloucester MA)
> regarding bridge operation and depths.
>
> We heard there were bridge troubles a while back and since we require 18ft
> of vertical clearance along with a 4ft draft we wanted to check in with
> someone with local knowledge or who may have gone through recently.
>
> We are wondering if the bridges are currently operating and if so what
> there
> opening schedules are?
>
> Also anything else we should be aware of?
>
> We would greatly appreciate any info or insights that you might be able to
> share.
>
> Thanks...
>
> Pete
>
> Braveheart
> AT-34
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-- 
Jim and Jan
Aboard ~~~~~_/) ~~~~~~~Summer Slopes