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Great Fawn Bar.... Ram Head Rock .... Devil's Back....Heading out of Boston Harbor, moving in a northeasterly direction, you will have to make a navigational decision as you pass Deer Island Light. Your choices are to go out the North Channel, the South Channel or split the two. Both channels are well marked with a series of large lighted buoys. The buoys mark wide deep fairways that are the principle channels for entering and leaving Boston Harbor. Ships and large vessels that need greater depth will normaly choose the North Channel. Most recreational boaters, however, do not have extremely deep drafts and are not limited by those kind of constraints. For us, the buoys of the North and South Channels are "Aids to Navigation" that help us, in conjunction with a chart, visually gauge our position. Most recreational vessels will not have any problem transiting the area between the channels. (ed.: During a normal low tide you will still have at least a minimum of eight feet of water at the shallowest charted spot) If you're unsure just stay in the channel. As you come around Deer Island Light and have to make your navigational choice there is a large pie shaped area of relatively safe water opening up in front of you. Don't be complacent, however, because boating outside of this pie shaped area bordered by the North and South channels can be dangerous. There are three major areas that you should be aware of: Great Fawn, Ram Head and Devil's Back. |
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| The following is a summary of each area and
the common problems that boaters face when approaching them. |
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Great Fawn Bar ............ Great Fawn Bar lies just outside the North Channel
on the Deer island side in the vicinity of North Channel R-6. It's
a notoriously shallow area behind Deer Island with one very shallow
finger-like rocky area that comes almost all the way out to the
channel. (see the
chart above) If you are outbound from Deer Island Light and
go to the west of the channel you run the risk of grounding out
in this very shallow area. It looks wide open ... but, as is often
the case in Boston Harbor, looks are deceiving. Years ago there
was a granite rock pile with a day marker on the tip of Great Fawn
where it is closest to the North Channel. This was regrettably washed
away in a long ago storm and replaced with a small red Nun, number
6A. Staying East of Great Fawn 6A keeps you in about 11 feet of
water going inside 6A puts you onto Great Fawn Bar. |
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Ram Head .............As you come by Deer Island Light outbound you can enter the South Channel at the "PR" buoy where the South and North channels intersect. To the South or right hand side of the channel is Ram Head Flats, an area of very shallow water that extends all the way into Lovell's Island. The flats are dominated by Ram Head Rock sitting on the tip of a shallow finger-like rock and gravel projection that comes quite a ways out from the island toward G-11. Once again looks are deceiving in Boston Harbor. By looking at the area it appears wide open, especially if you see other boats off in the distance toward Black Rock Channel or anchored off the beach on the backside of Lovell's Island. Don't be fooled. Stay in the channel, give the area a wide berth and stay away from Ram Head Rock and Ram Head flats. |
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Devil's Back ............ A little farther up the South Channel adjacent
to G-5 lies a really nasty rock called Devil's Back. Devil's Back,
like a lot of the islands in Boston Harbor, is a drumlin shaped
rock formed by long ago glacial ice drifts. Surrounded by water
depths in the 25 foot range it has a gently sloping side to the
southwest parallel to the channel that gradually shoals up to an
underwater peak just one foot below the surface at low tide. It
then rapidly drops off on the northwest side within a boatlength
to a 31 foot depth. Again, like a lot of the hazards in Boston Harbor,
it's right out in the middle of nowhere in what appears to be open
water between the South channel and Green Island. Proceeding up
the South Channel from the Deer Island Light area, the channel makes
a slight turn to port at G-9 and runs roughly parallel to Calf Island,
Little Calf Island and Green Island. By the time you get up to G-7
the view appears to open up into an expanse of open water. It's
at this point that the uninitiated have a tendency to veer out of
the channel and head towards Graves Light. Unfortunately, Devil's
Back is directly in the path and if it's any where near low tide
the skipper of that boat is steaming into danger. At least if your
watching your depth sounder or you have a depth alarm set, you'll
get some warning due to the gradual shoaling as you go outbound.
On an inbound course that goes over Devil's Back there is no warning.
You're cruising along in about 30 feet of water and then within
a boat length you are on a rock just below the surface of the water.
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Summary....Boston Harbor is very well marked body of water with hundreds of aids to navigation marking numerous channels and hazards. Many experienced boaters, through years of being on the water, have committed the location of major aids to memory. Does that mean that they don't need a chart? Not on your life! As a matter of fact the more experienced the boater the more likely that he will not only have a chart but his chart will be updated with the latest changes published by the Coast Guard on a weekly basis. If you're interested and have a computer you can get an up-to-date "Local Notice to Mariners" by visiting the Coast Guard web site at www.navcen.uscg.mil (Or call 1-800-848-3942 ext. 8335 for a printed version.) A chart and the knowledge of how to use it are essential tools for the boater. Take the time to review these areas prior to your trip and enjoy your days on the water. |
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