Northshore Magazine

July 2012

Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.

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merchant sea captains to furniture to summer colony. People come today for the quality lifestyle. —matt casparius, director of the town's parks and recreation department Manchester has gone through a transformation of a simple fishing village to beach goers, but they also they coordinate a huge town-wide food drive. One week they leave the Town Report in a yellow grocery bag, and the next week they return and pick up food donations. This year they collected 5,700 pounds of food, which yielded an equal donation to the pantry from a match- ing grant. Another example is Standley's Garage, just across from Crosby's (formerly Brown's) grocery store. Shops are fun and eclectic, full of items you won't find in the mall and located within an easy walking distance. At Zak's, you can provision an entire children's party, while newly opened White Lilac sells distinctive gifts. Cargo Unlimited lets you flop into the overstuffed couches and ogle antique fur- niture; Mimi's sponsors shopping parties. Manchester has no fewer than three jewelry stores, all geared to mark memorable family milestones. Mahri's does unique pieces; Nancy Larson does excellent, careful work, be it new or reworking your old piece; and the latest store is Gladstone's. Restaurants range from Dunkin Donuts at the train station to The Landing (Sunday feature Good Harbor Manchester's hot spots for enjoying the open water. manchester harbor's graceful wedge of protected water leads to the rock island-studded sweep of Salem Sound. On a summer afternoon, 30-foot boats fill the horizon, slicing the water at a clip. Salem Sound's main attraction is deep water and the dozen offshore rocky islands, where opportunities abound for getting out on the water. At Tuck's Point, the Manchester Yacht Club is housed in a modest Greek-style tem- ple. Sailors here have access to one of the most coveted harbors on the North Shore. The Manchester Sailing Association (MSA, manchestersailing.org) offers a sailing program from the yacht club docks and owns a fleet of Dyer Dhows, Optimist Dinghies, 420s, and Rhodes 19s for classes and open Saturday sailing. New harbormaster Bion Pike is trying to "organize" the harbor by sorting out its 700 or so moorings. (Some sailors have been waiting 15 years for a buoy.) As one Harbor Advi- sory Committee member says, The Boating Life: Bernard Romanowski launches from Manchester Harbor, inset, and paddles to the Misery Islands. night Celtic music nights are popular). The newest arrival is Foreign Affairs Market at 26 Central St., in the former Al's Café. Next door is Safari SUP (Stand Up Paddling) Surf Shop, which is run by Christian Del Rosario, a Manchester native who moved back here from Nan- tucket. His lovely wife, Nicole, also paddles standing up, the newest craze. It will take some doing for the yachties to get used to the SUPs in the harbor, but no worries. Everyone relaxes during a sum- mer in Manchester-by-the-Sea. The Peabody Institute Library. History Books "It's very important that dead people no longer have moorings." That's how mud- dled the system became. The "roof rack yacht club" has no such challenges; simply take your kayak or stand- up paddle board off the rack of your car and launch. From the public launch behind the police station and Town Hall, it's about a two-mile paddle to Great Misery, out of the inner harbor, under the railroad bridge, through the harbor, past the Tuck's Point gazebo, Manchester Yacht Club, and out into the bay, where Gales Point and Ram and House Islands are all landmarks. Owned by the Trustees of Reservations (trustees.org), the Misery Islands once housed a summer resort and nine-hole golf course. Several trails on Great Misery lead past the resort ruins and provide fine views of Salem Sound and Manchester Harbor. Most visitors hang out in their boats just offshore, so you have the island to yourself. Beyond is Bakers Island, a summer colony. Little Misery has a nice little beach to land on, and the water is clear, so bring your snorkle. Use of the islands for picnicking and exploring is free to Trustees members, with a fee for nonmembers. Returning to the harbor late afternoon, several cocktail parties will have sprouted on the decks of moored yachts, happy summer sailors all. July 2012 nshoremag.com 45

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