Jack Farrell

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.
An aerial image of the restored Wood Island Lifesaving Station. Shining Star is tied up at the dock.Photo by Dave Seavey

New life for an iconic station

September 25, 2023 at 12:00 am

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

Photo by Jack FarrellSunset at Seal Bay on a cruise with good friends.

Of buccaneers and forgotten cell phones

August 21, 2023 at 12:00 am

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

Peter Gallant’s 56-foot sloop Polly. Photo by Jack Farrell

The golden summer of 1970

July 24, 2023 at 12:00 am

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

Photo courtesy Jack FarrellWhat constitutes a happy life? It's different for everyone, of course, but for the author seeing a humpback whale, or being part of a scene like the one above, brings him great joy and satisfaction.

Happiness, and the case of the missing Croc

June 19, 2023 at 12:00 am

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

I think of these stories from time to time as I make the crossing to the islands, especially in winter. The warmth and security felt in the cabin of a big, strong boat can hide the fact that less than an inch of fiberglass separates us from the deep cold water.

Small boats on cold water

May 22, 2023 at 12:00 am

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

Photo by Jack FarrellThe mythical beauty of Maine hides some very hard truths.

Falling for the myth of Maine

April 24, 2023 at 12:00 am

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

Photo by Jack FarrellThis granite breakwater creates a critical harbor of refuge for Gosport Harbor on Star Island in the Isles of Shoals.

Points of refuge

March 20, 2023 at 12:00 am

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

Photo by Jack FarrellThe Haley House stands near the site of the Red House on Smuttynose Island where itinerant fisherman Louis Wagner murdered two women in 1873.

Smuttynose Island – rich in history

January 30, 2023 at 12:00 am

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

Photo by Jack FarrellOne of the mysterious iron eyebolts found embedded in the bedrock of Star Island. They were possibly used as moorings by the original inhabitants of the Isles of Shoals. They certainly would provide a solid hold on the island.

Replacing hope with certainty

November 21, 2022 at 12:00 am

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

Photo by Jack FarrellWe enter ancient Gosport Harbor late in the afternoon to be treated to the sight of a magnificent Alden schooner yacht riding at anchor.

In search of a little salvation

September 26, 2022 at 12:00 am

And we get to know a native Seabrooker