Tall
Ships Cross Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary As
They Depart Boston for Halifax
7/16/00
contact:
Anne Smrcina, 781-545-8026, ext. 204
When the
tall ships competing in the North Atlantic circumnavigation race depart
Boston for Halifax, Nova Scotia (Canada), they will be crossing an 842-square-mile
area of open water deemed to be of special national significance to
the United States.
The Gerry
E. Studds/Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary sits at the mouth
of Massachusetts Bay, 3 miles south of Cape Ann and 3 miles north of
Cape Cod (Provincetown). Designated in 1992, the sanctuary is the destination
for many of New England’s whalewatching vessels, and has served
as an important fishing ground for many generations of commercial and
recreational fishermen.
Stellwagen
Bank, an underwater plateau formed by the same glacial processes that
created Cape Cod, ranges from 65-120 feet along its upper edge. Depths
in the sanctuary drop off to some 300 feet in Stellwagen Basin to the
west of the Bank, and to 500-600 feet in holes northeast of the bank
in the Tillies Basin area.
The discovery
of Stellwagen Bank in 1854 was hailed by the US Coast Survey (a forerunner
to the Coast and Geodetic Survey of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration) as an important find for navigators. During the early
days of sail (and well into the 20th century), ship crews
determined their positions by dropping weighted (or lead) lines and
comparing then findings to depths recorded on nautical charts. Stellwagen
Bank (a 19-mile-long feature running north to south at the mouth of
Massachusetts Bay) was the first significant underwater feature that
marked the approach to Boston and the Massachusetts shore for ships
crossing the Gulf of Maine. Although mariners had known of relatively
shallow depths in this area, the full extent of the bank was not realized
until Henry Stellwagen had completed his survey in 1855. As recognition
for his discovery, the Coast Survey named the bank after its discoverer.
Today’s
modern navigation techniques make the lead line obsolete (and the depth
of the bank is inconsequential for shipping safety). But the sandy bank
with its wealth of sand lance (a small bait fish) is a target for whales
and larger fish. Tall ships traveling over Stellwagen Bank and through
the sanctuary may be treated to fine views of humpback and finback whales
and white-sided dolphins, as well as a variety of sea birds.
