Boating, Fishing, and Travel Information for Plum Island Sound, MA
Plum Island is a barrier island located off the northeast coast of Massachusetts, north of Cape Ann. It is approximately 11 miles in length. The island is named for the wild beach plum shrubs that grow on its dunes. It is located in parts of four municipalities in Essex County. From north to south they are the city of Newburyport, and the towns of Newbury, Rowley, and Ipswich.
The northern portion of the island is bordered by the mouth of the Merrimack River (in which stands Badgers Rock), the western portion by the Plum Island River in the north (which joins the mouth of the Merrimack to Plum Island Sound), Plum Island Sound in the south (into which empty the Parker, Rowley and Eagle Hill rivers) and the southern portion by the mouth of the Ipswich River (into which the sound empties). The Atlantic Ocean lies to the east. The sound is a tidal estuary.
Developed areas of the island constitute the village of Plum Island, Massachusetts with public beaches, businesses and private residences. The village surrounds a body of water known as “the Basin,” and lies wholly within Newburyport and Newbury, the Newbury portion forming one of three legal precincts of the town. The island’s pristine largest section is managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service as the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge. On the mainland opposite, the Massachusetts Audubon Society operates the Joppa Flats Education Center and Wildlife Sanctuary.
In 1985, The Trust for Public Land added an additional 12 acres to the refuge. Besides providing habitat for birds and wildlife, this pristine coastal habitat is also enjoyed by visitors who come to swim, hike, surf, fish, and birdwatch.
Plum Island is accessed by one road running from Newburyport to the north of the island on a causeway and drawbridge over the Plum Island River. Plum Island Drive runs along the inland side of the island. In the north it is lined with homes. In the refuge it is paved for about half its distance and is a dusty dirt road for the remainder. Along it are numbered parking lots with boardwalks leading to the beach, overlooks and trails, and facilities for the maintenance of the refuge.
Toward the south is the former site of Camp Sea Haven, a therapeutic camp for those stricken with polio. Visitors are restricted from the levelled site. At the southern end of the road, the tip of the island, is Sandy Point State Reservation, a state park. It is for day use only. At the northern end of the road, the northern tip of the island, is the Plum Island Lighthouse, the only lighthouse remaining on the island. It marks the narrow entrance to the mouth of the Merrimack River. The swift tidal currents through the outlet and through the channel between Ipswich Bay and Ipswich Harbor on the southern end make boating and swimming hazardous.
Plum Island has historically been a popular vacation destination. There are numerous lodging options for tourists, including bed and breakfasts, inns, and rental cottages. In addition, there is a population of year-round residents.
From Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend, the city of Newburyport offers a Friday-Sunday shuttle bus from Plum Island Point to downtown Newburyport and the Newburyport commuter rail station with a connection to Boston.
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Navigation:
Plum Island Sound, the approach to several small rivers, is frequented by many small craft. The bar channel at the entrance to the sound is subject to continual changes. The entrance is marked by a seasonal lighted buoy. The buoys on the bar are not charted because they are frequently shifted in position. The buoys marking the channels across the bar and through the sound and rivers inside are seasonal.
In 1979, local boatmen reported that with local knowledge 6 feet could be taken over the bar and through the entrance into Plum Island Sound, except in heavy easterly weather.
Bass Rock, a stone ledge southward of Plum Island, is marked by a daybeacon. Shoaling extends from Plum Island to a point 200 yards southward of the daybeacon on Bass Rock, constricting the entrance channel at this point to a width of less than 100 yards. Rocks covered 4 feet are reported to extend 250 yards southwest of the daybeacon; caution is advised.
A number of the buoys in Plum Island Sound are reported to tow under during the strength of tide, and too great reliance should not be placed on them as marking the best water. Local knowledge is recommended for strangers attempting passage through the sound for the first time.
Ipswich River, emptying into the south end of Plum Island Sound from the westward, leads to the town of Ipswich about 2.5 miles above the entrance to the river at Little Neck. In 2015-2016, the river was very shallow and bare in several places between Little Neck and the town landing at Ipswich.
The launching ramp of the Ipswich Boat Club and two floats with 2 feet alongside are on the north bank at the town. The town of Ipswich is of great colonial antiquity and importance historically. It has railroad, bus and taxi services and markets.
Little Neck, a summer settlement on a prominent hill on Plum Island Sound on the north side of the entrance to Ipswich River, has a landing on the west end of the neck, with 2 feet reported alongside its float. There are no services at the float.
Great Neck is a distinctive headland on the west side of the south end of Plum Island Sound. It has two high hills, North Ridge and Plover Hill, that are very conspicuous. A tank on Plover Hill is very prominent.
The Ipswich Bay Yacht Club is on the east side of North Ridge on the neck. Gasoline and water are available at the float landing, which has 4 to 8 feet reported alongside. The club has a snack bar, ice and limited accommodations for visiting yachtsmen. Sewage pumpout, ice, provisions and marine supplies can be obtained from Ipswich.
During the summer many yachts moor off the landing in 10 to 15 feet, sand and mud bottom. The club maintains moorings.
Rowley River, which empties into Plum Island Sound at Hog Island Point, about 1 mile north of Great Neck, dries in many places and is marked, during the summer, by stakes that are topped with red or black cans. Several landings are on the river. A town landing and a yacht club are about 250 yards above the Boston and Maine trestle bridge; clearance at the bridge is 11 feet. Little water is reported alongside the town landing and yacht club, and no services are available. The railroad station is only a short distance from the town landing. The town of Rowley is about 0.5 mile from the station.
Parker River, emptying into the north end of Plum Island Sound from westward, has a depth of about 4 feet in a very narrow channel to State Route 1A highway bridge at Newbury Old Town, 1.6 miles above the entrance. The bridge has a fixed span with a clearance of 12 feet. The town is principally a summer settlement.
The channel in Parker River is difficult to follow. In 1979, local boatmen reported that 4 feet could be taken to Newbury Old Town with local knowledge.
Numerous pleasure craft of all sizes frequent the river.
There are two marinas on the south bank at the bridge. In 2002, the marina on the east side had a reported approach and alongside depth of 3 feet, and provides a one-ton lift and dry winter storage. It maintains guest moorings and has a snack bar nearby.
The large marina on the west side of the bridge has guest moorings and berthage for 50 boats; overnight berthing is permitted. Electricity, gasoline, water, marine supplies, sewage pump-out and a small-craft launching ramp are available. A 14-ton mobile hoist is available and craft up to 45 feet in length can be hauled out for dry open or covered winter storage or hull or engine repair. The yard also builds craft up to 24 feet in length.
A town wharf and a float landing with 2 feet reported alongside are on the north bank just eastward of the bridge. The Old Town Yacht and Country Club is on the south bank about 0.3 mile below the bridge. The depth alongside the club float is 5 feet.
Above Newbury Old Town, the river is reported to be navigable for several miles but is seldom used. This section of the river is crossed by three bridges. A railroad bridge 2.6 miles above the entrance has a 41-foot fixed span with a clearance of 7 feet. The U.S. Route 1 bridge 4.3 miles above the entrance has two fixed openings; the southern opening has a 37-foot span with a clearance of 7 feet. The Middle Street Bridge about 5 miles above the entrance has a 41-foot fixed span with a clearance of 3 feet.
The Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, a Marine Protected Area (MPA), includes the waters of Plum Island Sound, Plum Island River and Parker River.
Ipswich Bay is the bight between the northern point of Cape Ann and the south end of Plum Island. Between these points it is about 6 miles wide and makes in about 3 miles. The bay is the approach to Plum Island Sound and to the Essex and Annisquam Rivers. It has depths of 20 to 70 feet, except in its southern and southwestern sides where the shore should be given a berth of a little over 1 mile to avoid the shoals off the river entrances. Several rocks covered 2 to 5 feet and one that uncovers 4 feet are in the southern part of the bay about 0.9 mile westward of Annisquam Harbor Light and about 0.3 to 0.5 mile offshore.
Ipswich Light (42°41’07″N., 70°45’58″W.), 30 feet above the water, shown from a white skeleton tower with a red and white diamond-shaped daymark, is on Castle Neck at the south side of the entrance to Plum Island Sound. A seasonal lighted bell buoy 1.6 miles eastward of the light marks the approach to Ipswich River and Plum Island Sound.
The Crane mansion known asThe Castle, onCastle Hill, is the most prominent landmark on this stretch of coast and can be seen for a great distance. The north side of Steep Hill, about 0.5 mile northwest of Ipswich Light, is a conspicuous bare rocky face.
Plum Island River forms a thoroughfare for small craft between Merrimack River, just inside its entrance, and Plum Island Sound. It is bare in places at low water and is said to have a depth of 7 feet at high water, but the deepest draft that is taken through at high water with local knowledge is reported to be about 6 feet. The unmarked channel is narrow and does not always lead in midchannel. Local knowledge is necessary for its navigation. It is crossed by a highway bridge that has a 40-foot bascule span with a clearance of 13 feet. An overhead power cable with a reported clearance of 60 feet is just northward of the bridge.
The approach to the north end of the thoroughfare is between the east side of Woodbridge Island and the west end of the breakwater, which uncovers about 3 feet.
From Merrimack River entrance the seacoast, formed by Plum Island, is sand dunes and trends southward for about 7.5 miles to the entrance of Plum Island Sound and Ipswich River. There are many cottages in the town of Plum Island on the north end of the island at Merrimack River entrance and scattered cottages southward along the beach for about 0.5 mile. The remainder of the island southward to Ipswich Bay is a federal wildlife sanctuary for the most part.
Newburyport Harbor Light (42°48’55″N., 70°49’08″W.), 50 feet above the water, is shown from a white conical tower near the western end of Plum Island Point, the southern point of the entrance. The light is obscured in several sectors by shore structures.
Dangers:
Endangered North Atlantic right whales have been reported swimming in shallow waters off of Plum Island and Ipswich, MA.
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