Jack is a USCG 100-ton master and the island manager at Star Island at the Isles of Shoals, where his boat, Aloft, lives most of the summer. His column covers stories and observations from the Isles of Shoals and beyond. Some six miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Piscataqua River, this amazing and historic place is host to a variety of interesting vessels, wildlife and people – a rest stop on the East Coast maritime highway. He is the owner of Seacoast Maritime Charters. 
Fall 2023 By Jack Farrell I bought my first sailboat in 1982. That 17-foot O’Day Day Sailer was the perfect platform for learning how to sail, allowing me to quickly gain experience from my many mistakes with minimal consequence. Every weekend that first summer was spent sailing around Pepperrell CoveRead More
September 2023 By Jack Farrell A midsummer southeaster was lashing our coast with six-foot waves, 30-knot gusts and sideways rain measured in inches falling per hour. The tourist boats had all been canceled for the day, leaving the Shining Star, our 46-foot Mussel Ridge lobster boat, the only link fromRead More
August 2023 By Jack Farrell “Security call, security call, security call. The motor vessel Shining Star is outbound from Portsmouth Harbor to the Isles of Shoals, passing Fort Point Light. We’re standing by on channels 13 and 16 for concerned traffic. Shining Star.” Such was the regular refrain during aRead More
July 2023 By Jack Farrell Early June, and all eyes are on the weather forecast this morning as a cold front the previous night swept away the early summer heat wave, leaving behind a cool stretch of days with northeast winds gusting over 30 knots and seas from six toRead More
June 2023 By Jack Farrell The last days of April and the first days of May sent a progression of cold windy rainstorms up the Piscataqua River driven by strong winds from the northeast. Seas built up to 16 feet and rainfall was over three inches. The river ran theRead More
May 2023 By Jack Farrell After some early misadventures in our newly-purchased O’Day Day Sailer in the summer of 1982, we soon began to venture out from the harbor at Kittery Point, Maine. A round trip to the Isles of Shoals would take a whole day in that little boat.Read More
Spring 2023 By Jack Farrell When my passion to become a respectable sailor was at its peak many years ago, I was a voracious consumer of the practical literature of the sea. While I spent my summer weekends at the self-directed school of hard nautical knocks, my winter evenings wereRead More
Winter 2023 By Jack Farrell For Points East The late December gale that blew through the Piscataqua Region with hurricane-force winds and historic storm surge caused surprisingly little damage at Star Island, the unofficial capital of the Isles of Shoals. During a caretaker supply mission one beautiful afternoon in mid-January,Read More
December 2022 By Jack Farrell With a long winter ahead of us, one of the best ways to keep in touch with a passion for the ocean is to read about it. Ever since I bought my first little sailboat over 45 years ago, I have supplemented the school ofRead More
And we get to know a native Seabrooker
