ISLES OF SHOALS

42° 58.70’N 070° 36.70’W

4th ed. Cruising Guide page 30

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Charts: 13283, 13278

Chart Kit: 56 (inset D), 14

Southern coast overview chart

IN 1614, when the venerable Captain John Smith dropped anchor among the Isles of Shoals, he was so captivated by them that he named them “Smith’s Isles” for himself. “Of all foure parts of the world that I have seene not inhabited,” he wrote, “could I have but the meanes to transport a Colonie, I would rather live here than any where.”
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Lying just six miles southeast of the entrance to Portsmouth Harbor, five of the nine islands are in Maine (Duck, Appledore, Smuttynose, Malaga, and Cedar) and four are in New Hampshire (Star, Lunging, White, and Seaveys). The islands are spectacularly scenic, and their long history is crammed with tales of buried treasure and bloody Indian attacks.
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Smith’s name didn’t stick. More impressive than his praise or his unmatched contributions to the exploration of New England were the schools, or shoals, of cod near the islands, in an abundance never before seen by European fishermen. By the eighteenth century, the Isles of Shoals were considered one of England’s most valuable colonies because of the astounding quantities of cod caught, dried, and shipped home.
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The early cod-fishing communities were based primarily on Smuttynose and Appledore Island, but when the Massachusetts Bay Colony started to levy onerous taxes on the islanders in 1680, they crossed over to New Hampshire’s Star Island, named their new town Gosport, and continued their thriving fishing industry for another century. During the Revolution, however, everyone was evacuated to the mainland. Those who returned to Star Island after the Revolution acquired a reputation for “laziness, drunkenness, lawlessness, and cohabitation,” and the community never returned to its former prominence.
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The islands had a modest revival in the nineteenth century, and a widely read poet, Celia Thaxter, grew up in the midst of it. Thaxter was the daughter of Thomas Laighton, the lighthouse keeper on White Island. Aware and sensitive at an early age, she referred to the area as “these precious isles set in a silver sea.”
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Enterprising Laighton built Appledore House around 1850 and publicized it as the first resort hotel between Nantucket and Eastport, Maine. At the peak of their combined popularity in the 1890s, both Appledore House and Celia Thaxter attracted such literary and artistic figures as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Sarah Orne Jewett, Childe Hassam, and John Greenleaf Whittier.
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The rival Oceanic House, built on Star Island in 1872, advertised itself as “an ideal summer resort of the highest class and full of historic associations. Preeminently the place for the tired worker. No noise, no dust, no trolleys.”
With the advent of the automobile, the Isles of Shoals resort business declined, and in 1915 Star Island was sold to an association of Unitarians and Congregationalists as a conference center for religion, natural history, and the arts.
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Approaches. From any direction the approach to the Isles of Shoals is easy. Coming from the south, aim for the 82-foot light on White Island, leaving it to port. Pass between nun “4” on Halfway Rocks and Lunging Island to find red-and-white bell “IS” at the mouth of Gosport Harbor.
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Coming from the north on a clear day, you may be able to see the Appledore tower and the cupola on the former lifesaving station from as far away as Boon Island. Stay well clear of low and featureless Duck Island, which tends to merge with Appledore. In particular, beware of long Southwest Ledge if you are running a course from the red groaner “24YL” to nun “2” off the northwest tip of Appledore. From nun “2” head for red-and-white bell “IS” at the harbor mouth.
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From the east, you can enter Gosport Harbor through the “back door” between Appledore and Smuttynose. Favor Smuttynose to avoid the ledge making out southward from Appledore. Round Malaga Island into the harbor.
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Anchorages, Moorings. The only harbor in the Isles of Shoals is Gosport Harbor, between Star, Cedar, and Smuttynose Island, so it is likely to be crowded. On warm weekends you will be competing with day-trippers from Portsmouth and Kittery as well as cruising boats. Even on weekdays there may be 10 or 20 boats here, so arrive early to choose a spot.
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Holding ground is very poor, in kelp and rock beds. In most harbors you can trust your anchor more than unknown moorings, but in Gosport Harbor it is better to pick up a mooring. There are a number of large, private moorings scattered around the harbor. Six of them are marked “PYC” and maintained by the Portsmouth Yacht Club for use by its members. The club generously welcomes visiting yachtsmen to use the moorings if they are unoccupied but asks that you vacate your mooring if a member needs it.
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If you are forced to anchor, try to set your hook in the mud up in the cove between Star and Cedar Island without fouling lobster buoys and moorings while leaving enough swinging room should the wind swing around to the west. Failing that, find a 21-foot spot farther out, avoiding the 48-foot areas. Use a good heavy anchor with a tripline.
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Gosport Harbor is totally exposed to a good northwest blow, in which case, get out of the harbor and head for Portsmouth or go to sea. With enough visibility, you can power around Smuttynose and reset the hook on the eastern side of the breakwater between Cedar and Smuttynose. Depth varies from 8 to 18 feet. The bottom has good holding in sand and boulders, but expect a swell.