My View of Life on the Dock
Senior students are raising money by being able to take pictures with Santa at lunch yesterday and today. Taking a picture with Santa is a great way for the high school to get into Christmas spirit and to raise money for the senior class!
Santa as Mike Muniz and elf Bianca Giacalone
Chip off the ‘ol block I’d say.
In 24 hours, Saturday at 3:45PM the Freemantle Doctor will round up and head into Rockport Harbor. You can open this post (click the header) then refresh the photo to get the most up to date view of the goings on.
Sandy Bay Yacht Club has two Net Cams click here. But better to get down there in person to meet Santa, enjoy some hot chocolate complete with mini-marshmallows, enjoy the caroling in Dock Square and the lighting of the most awesome tree to ever grace Dock Square.
While you’re at the Sandy Bay Yacht Club web site go ahead and sign your kids up for sailing lessons next summer. Sailing season will be here before you know it.
One uncut sheet of paper each. The reindeer is folded from a design by Peter Engel, and the Santa is designed by Steven Casey. I folded them to be among the items raffled and sold at the Holy Family Parish Christmas Fair, to be held this Saturday, Nov. 17, 9am-2pm.
Here’s a closeup of some of the reindeer:
They took me about an hour each to fold.
Lowell Peabody submits-
Skip writes-
Hi Joey,
Santa came to Rockport late Saturday afternoon aboard the Freemantle Doctor and he was accompanied by the USCG and the Rockport Harbor Masters. Santa wanted to wish everyone on Cape Ann a very Merry Christmas and Peace on Earth. Thanks Santa!
Skip
Don’t forget to write your letter to Santa! You can conveniently drop your letter off at the Gloucester Post Office and it will be delivered straight to the North Pole.
I’m writing mine right away!
~Alicia
As an annual tradition dating back centuries, Santa Claus rides into Rockport Harbor on a fishing boat, and then makes his way to Dock Square to light the tree. This is no mall Santa but the real thing!!
The day we have all been waiting for!
Saturday, December 3rd. Santa arrives at 3:45PM and the tree lighting is at 4PM in Dock Square.
Last year’s tree:
Wait for it. Bam! That just happened! Check out all the people in the audience as I stuck the two photos together. Hopefully you are using a browser that allows moving gifs. Some people disappear. Magic Santa!
Plan your strategy for where to be by reading the coverage from the past two years:
Good Morning Gloucester coverage in 2010
Good Morning Gloucester coverage in 2009
Christmas in Rockport website for much more info on the whole run up to the big day.
Elfen wifi wireless reports that Santa will be arriving by boat in Rockport this Saturday December 3rd at 3:45PM. Santa disembarks at Bradley wharf then makes his way to Dock Square to flip the switch on the Christmas Tree at 4 PM.
The following is what it all looked like last year. This year we may be wearing shorts
Santa in Rockport 2010:
As if it was a tradition that went back centuries Santa Claus came to visit Rockport today. On the way to the harbor:
Time’s a wasting. Santa will be there at 3:45PM
The crowd packs the wharfs in the harbor as Santa’s arrival is just moments away:
Harbormasters Rosemary Lesch and Scott Story lead the way, the Freemantle Doctor with Santa, and the Coast Guard protecting the rear:
It’s SANTA!!! It’s SANTA!! It’s SANTA!!!
The crowd goes wild as Santa pulls into Bradley Wharf:
Santa thanks the skipper Mike Tupper of the Freemantle Doctor for the smooth ride while his mother-in-law Nancy McDowell looks on. (Nancy was the one who convinced us that Rockport was the best place on earth to live.) :
Low tide so Santa needs a bit of a goose up the ladder:
Carolers warm up the crowd as Santa makes his way down Bearskin Neck:
Dock Square is cheek to jowl of children all of which swore they had been nice and not naughty:
Santa’s ride is a vintage 1941 Fire Truck. Why buy new when used will do?
The countdown 3, 2, 1
A burst of light as the tree is lit.
Time to refill the hot toddy mug.
As an annual tradition dating back centuries Santa Claus rides into Rockport Harbor on a fishing boat and then makes his way to Dock Square to light the tree.
Get it on your calendar; Saturday, December 3PM. Santa arrives at 3:45PM and the tree lighting is at 4PM.
Last year’s tree:
For a neat and tidy start to the New Year I’ll just post a few leftovers for my last 2010 post. So it’s seems my deal with Santa is paying off in spades and the temp at noon tomorrow will break 50 and no wind. I needed to warm up for the plunge so today I went out and chainsawed up some trees that came down in the Blizzard of 2010.
I am ready for a balmy dip in the harbor. Last night checking out the new Cape Ann Brew space:
I did a, “I’ll have two of those” pointing to those bright beers and although I don’t know what I was drinking they were very tasty. Having a fish and chips with my beer on that deck in the spring will be something to look forward to. Meanwhile, backing up a day we did a hike up from the Keystone bridge to Steel Derrick. I must be blind or it was always leafy but I never noticed the ROUS on the top of this house right before you go under the bridge:
For non-Princess Bride speakers that is a Rodent of Unusual Size. Fred Boden who I ran into at the bar said this thing is made of steel. Homie can’t believe it. The hiking was easy as X-country skiers had packed the path up the big siphon tube to Steel Derrick and we made it around to see the dude in the rock:
Just a touch of open water next to him otherwise a sheen of ice. A camera malfunction will not allow the posting of me doing laps here in my birthday suit. Too much pink broke the sensor. That ends my year. Now to get ready for swimming lessons at noon tomorrow.
As if it was a tradition that went back centuries Santa Claus came to visit Rockport today.
On the way to the harbor:
Time’s a wasting. Santa will be there at 3:45PM
The crowd packs the wharfs in the harbor as Santa’s arrival is just moments away:
Harbormasters Rosemary Lesch and Scott Story lead the way, the Freemantle Doctor with Santa, and the Coast Guard protecting the rear:
It’s SANTA!!! It’s SANTA!! It’s SANTA!!!
The crowd goes wild as Santa pulls into Bradley Wharf:
Santa thanks the skipper Mike Tupper of the Freemantle Doctor for the smooth ride while his mother-in-law Nancy McDowell looks on. (Nancy was the one who convinced us that Rockport was the best place on earth to live.) :
Low tide so Santa needs a bit of a goose up the ladder:
Carolers warm up the crowd as Santa makes his way down Bearskin Neck:
Dock Square is cheek to jowl of children all of which swore they had been nice and not naughty:
Santa’s ride is a vintage 1941 Fire Truck. Why buy new when used will do?
The countdown 3, 2, 1
A burst of light as the tree is lit.
Time to refill the hot toddy mug.
This Saturday, December 4, looks to be a peach of a day for Santa’s arrival in Rockport. Last year it was blowing a gale and still hundreds of nice and not naughty children came to scream “IT’S SANTA!!” at the top of their lungs as Santa stepped off the lobster boat at 3:45 PM.
This is what the weatherman predicts. Partly cloudy in the forties with a bare hint of a wind.
Last year Santa hooked up with the Ocean Reporter:
The year before it was the Freemantle Doctor:
Who gets to drive the rotund red one into the harbor this year? (The competition has been fierce.) I’ll be there to report what boat and if there is enough whipped cream and marshmallows to cover all the gallons of hot chocolate that will be handed out in Dock Square when Santa lights the tree.
So get your grog on and don’t miss him. Spend the whole day on Bearskin Neck but at 3:45 PM be there or it’s coal in your stocking.
Santa arrives by lobster boat in Rockport Harbor on Saturday, December 4th this year. Jolly old Saint Nicholas has been very punctual the past few years keeping to his promise of rounding the jetty at 3:45 PM preceded by the harbormasters with sirens and flashers making way for the jolly large red suited dude.
I have been covering this story for GMG now for three years and if past movements of the rotund one follow past protocol he will land on Bradley Wharf (Motif #1), then make his way to the fire engine for a ride down Bearskin Neck before disembarking to light the Rockport Christmas Tree in Dock Square. Good viewing of the landing can be found around the harbor including the Tuna Wharf. Elves will be handing out hot chocolate and cookies in the square to children of all ages who have been nice and not naughty and Santa will lead the crowd in the singing of some Christmas tunes. Rumor has it that the Cape Ann Jazz Band will also be strolling about the downtown area. They may be able to score some hot chocolate too if they behave.
This past Saturday was not fit for man or beast to be out on T-Wharf in Rockport but plenty of small children and Santa himself braved the cold raw wind to light the Rockport Christmas tree in Dock Square.
With Capt. Bill Lee at the wheel, the Ocean Reporter sweeps past T Wharf. A large contingent of children (not shown, I was freezing and my camera as you can see was getting pelted in the rain) were screaming “IT’S SANTA!!”
Harbormasters Scott Story and Rosemary Lesh expertly coax some kayakers (are they nuts? It’s freezing!) out of the way so the Ocean Reporter can pull up to Motif #1.
Santa gingerly disembarks. The crowd is hiding from the wind behind the Fudgery.
Santa asks if everyone has been nice. There were no naughty children out in this weather.
Two Rockport police officers keep a wary eye on me while I chase down Santa to make sure he got my list. Yes, and he had checked it twice this time.
Santa buckling up to the Rockport Fire Truck for a ride back to his sleigh.
After Santa was gone there were still cookies and hot chocolate in Dock Square before everyone got back to Christmas shopping on Bearskin Neck. This GMG cub reporter quickly found a hot toddy.
The Friends of Magnolia Library had it’s annual Tree Lighting yesterday. Thanks Karen Macky for sending in the pics.
Magnolia Library Tree Lighting Pics From Karen Macky, originally uploaded by captjoe06.
Just one day left. How will the kids get to sleep tonight?
Checking SANTA TIMER.
Santa rounds Bearskin Neck at 3:45PM Saturday. He then offloads at the Tuna Wharf (that’s the pier with the Fudgery. I like to say Fudgery.) Santa then gets on an old Fire Truck (have you seen the youtube of the baby saying Fire Truck?) for a quick ride to Dock Square.
Santa comes up from Bearskin Neck on the left and the tree that he lights is right in the middle of Dock Square at 4PM. Boy, I need to update my photos which I will tomorrow. I will have an orange jester’s hat on just like Sean’s (but will not be wearing a jockstrap) and my daughter will have a Santa hat on. We will be hanging out at the hot chocolate and cookies or saying hello to the harbormasters Scott Story and Rosemary Lesch who will have escorted Santa’s boat into the harbor.
Photos posted to GMG no later than Tuesday at my normal time slot at 2PM. If you have never seen this you have to come down. I witnessed this event for the first time last year. Even the Grinch’s cold cold heart would melt by the sight of dozens of small children jumping up and down screaming, “IT’S SANTA, IT’S SANTA!!!” Mine was warmed and then I started screaming “IT’S SANTA!!!”
Fun Fact: It has been proven that screaming warms the peripheral blood system. Since Santa has ordered at least 4.7 million snowflakes to dust Rockport tomorrow you need to join in.
What a great day for the Parade. Pictured are the kids from Beeman School spreading the word to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle!
Good Morning Gloucester 