Skinny Water

The last few weekends have offered up at least one passable boating day each. And, as I’ve taken advantage of them, I have become acutely aware of the skinny water in close proximity to the navigation buoys. Whether you’re entering Manchester harbor or cruising up the Annisquam River, at low tide, the water depths can be less than 3’ just outside the buoy. Now, typically very small outboard boats can traverse these depths with little adverse effect, but sailboats and larger powerboats with inboard/outboards and straight inboards can be in for a rude surprise, especially when estimating where the channel is, between buoys. So, to your maintenance and repair bills to a minimum, I suggest you give the channel buoys around Cape Ann a wide berth.