Merrimac River Inlet Navigation Pointers

[omgirl]

I was doing some surfing on the web and found 2 references to the Merrimac River inlet in MA being the 2nd most dangerous inlet in the US. I know the area can be difficult to negotiate at times but does anyone have any pointers for sailboats for this inlet?

The only things I have read are for powerboats, which I realize I can benefit from as well, but things are just different with a sailboat.

Thanks.

 

[Tom Greaves]

I go in and out of the Merrimack several times each year as I keep my boat at Overland Marine. I give the Coast Guard a call to see if the warning light on the jetty is switched on if there's any doubt about the conditions. Obviously you want to avoid conditions where the current and the wind are fighting each other; that kicks up some nasty waves at the mouth. Entering the Merrimack against the ebb is all my U-12 can do; I was down to 1/2 a knot over the ground at full throttle last October.

Some of the powerboats seem to race in and out of the jetty area at very high speeds. If you ever drive the patch of I-495 between Lowell and Haverhill on a Friday afternoon, you have some idea about what to expect. Mix hot sun, alcohol, 200HP plus, striper envy or regret and an audience and it gets butt ugly. That's one of the reasons I keep my boat in Salem, MA.

In the spring you also have to keep an eye out for flotsam and jetsam. The flooding this year seemed to jar loose some nasty specimens.

Tom Greaves
s/v Tranquility E-28+

 

[Dave Hussey]

As a youth growing up back east, many of my off season weekends were spent either stripping, caulking or painting and varnishing my dad's 41 foot Novi (a 'lobster boat' made in Nova Scotia...deep keel, broad beam) which was kept at the Sea Horse marina in Amsebury, or later, at the Miramar further down the river.... We used to go out in the SIRIUS and cruise around off the coast a ways, fishing for the hell-of-it, (mostly drowning bait), and except for the ground swell off Salisbury, I don't recall any conditions at the river mouth that were a concern, (except we ran aground (twice) on the various rocks there...) As a matter of fact, I later joined the Coast Guard basically because of my 'brand recognition'.... of seeing their prominant station south of the mouth
Dave Hussey

 

[NateHanson]

I wouldn't worry about it too much omgirl. As with any river inlet you need to make sure strong current isn't opposing strong offshore winds on a falling tide. Stay in the center of the cut, watch the eddies on either side of the channel in the basin between plum island and newburyport harbor. Otherwise you'll be all set.

It's not as bad as Kennebunk harbor, where they have all the same problems as the Merrimack, with the addition of a 6 foot controlling draft. So if you go through steep chop at the entrance on anything less than half-tide, you're likely to land very hard at the bottom of the trough. Fortunately I've never done it myself, but seen it more than once)