Picton Castle...Day & Night !

I headed to Capt. Joe & Sons with my grand nephew Mike to show him where the lobsters come from after they are caught. As we entered, the schooner "American Eagle" glided by. Then it was off to Cruiseport Gloucester to see the tall ship "Picton Castle". The evening before I headed down there to get some night time shots.

Spectacular Welcome !

WOW !!!! That's the first thing to come to mind when I saw the welcome the tall ship "Picton Castle" received entering Gloucester Harbor! The LNG supply boat "Gateway Endeavour" supplied the WOW with her two powerful water guns. The schooner "Thomas E. Lannon" provided escort of this magnificent display. The funny thing is I had no clue she was coming in this morning. I rounded Rocky Neck and saw two huge jets of water towering behind Ten Pound Island. I pushed the throttle forward in my excitement to rush out there to get these shots.

Schooners at Night !

A few of the tall ships arrived in port and I figured I'd give a try at night time photography again. The "Spirit of Massachusetts" with the "Harvey Gamage" outboard,
they are here for the first ever "Sail Gloucester' celebration July 4-7.

Fiesta Leftovers !

I had more Fiesta photos, so here they are in random order.

US Navy Band!

Greasy Pole Hat!

Fiesta hat!

Fishing vessel "Theresa & Allyson" and Gloucester police boat!

Flats boat speeds by!

Throttle open and speeding by!

Victorious rower!

Contestants gather!

Greasy Pole shuttle!

Kayaks gather under the pole!

Warming up!

Saggy hooters and Spiderman!

Equipment adjustment!

Eyes are closed!

Flying like Superman!

A foot full of grease!

Grease and walker goes flying!

Hanging around!

High step!

Going under the pole!

Very close but no cigar!

My boat back in it's berth as the sun goes down on the 2009 St. Peter's Fiesta!

Greasy Pole Controversy and Other Sights!

St. Peter's Fiesta 2009 is now a memory but what a memory it was! Controversy surrounded Saturday's Greasey Pole when all time Greasy Pole champ Salvi Bensen's crew from his boat "Salvage Star" ripped down the flag! You see Salvi maintains the pole adding the grease. He usually anchors just off the beach but with high tide and a large beach crowd many couldn't see the pole. The police moved in to tell him to move and things got heated. He did pull up anchor but as he was leaving his crew ripped down the flag in the process! This caused about a 30 minute delay while a new replacement flag was located. The first replacement flag was too short so another was found.
The rest is a collection of Greasy Pole activity that I had yet to post.


St. Peter in HDR !

Salvage Star !

Police boat moves in!

1st replacement flag!

2nd replacement flag!

Environmental Police fixing 2nd replacement flag!

The sun did show it's self on Saturday!

Sunday....Singing the National Anthem!

A girl and her dog!

Girl flies kite from boat!

"E" police tangled in lobster gear!

Spiderman & saggy "hooters"!

Walkers get a ride!

It's not easy.....

Buona!

Greasy Pole Shuttle!

Could be Irish/Italian?

The walkers on the platform!

No caption....just figure it out!

Pink booties!

Half way down!

Hang in there!

A penquin goes swimming!

Wig hit the water first!

Wonderwoman gets wet!

Spiderman still standing!

Film maker Emile Doucette goes swimming while filming!

Emile treading water while the champ goes under!

Showering off the makeup & grease!

Greasy Pole 2009 Slideshow Collection!

This is a collection of Friday,Saturday and Sunday's Greasy Pole contests that I slapped together.

Championship Day at the Greasy Pole & Seine Boats !

For Sunday's festivities I headed down to the beach. High tide and a big crowd resulted in wet feet and bumping into people I hadn't seen in years. With many more photos to go here's today's fun!

Greasy Pole ...Saturday !

What a day,the harbor was packed with boats as the crowds filled the beach. I headed out around 3:15 and couldn't find a place to anchor ! Myself along with talented photographer Mark Teiwes "rafted up" to a string of boats just outside the pole. We had to jump from boat to boat to get a better view and I'm telling you my knees and back is killing me! My biggest regret is that I was moving to get a better view when the flag was taken. I got the shot but it was too blury. Anyway I took so many photos I'll post the rest along with a controversy later on.

Greasy Pole...Friday !

Alot more boats surrounding the Greasy Pole than I expected and a haze that challenged me hung in the air. But the event was entertaining as it always is.

Fiesta ! A Soggy Night !

The drizzle didn't stop the crowd from having fun at the St. Peter's Fiesta. Large crowds swarmed the rides and games while other enjoyed the music from the altar.

St. Peter's Fiesta Prep !

St. Peter's Fiesta "09" is taking shape,workers assemble the carnival rides and games before Wednesday nights opening. Christa Tumbiolo cleans in front of her Fort Sq. Cafe while her husband Matt is inside trying to figure how much food to order.

A Harbor Collection !

This is a collection of photos from the past five days. I tried a few night time shots just to get the feel and a few when I was on the boat during Saturday's Dory Races. I also posted a small gull,but since I'm not a "birder"....I don't know what type. And a colorful painting on the side of a carnival truck getting ready to set up at the Fiesta.