Somewhere around 1500 B.C. C., the Lapita people (ancestors of the Polynesians) crossed the ocean carrying their food plants and domestic animals. This marked the beginning of true seamanship in the Stone Age. The traditional boat used then is what we now call a catamaran. These sailors knew how to read the patterns of the wind and waves, and navigated by the sun and the stars. It could once be said that the Lapiths studied the flight pattern of birds as they made their way to landfall, the drift of vegetation, and even cloud formation; Salts ancient skills are still used today.
In the mid-14th century, European sailors ventured into the Atlantic. On August 2, 1492, sailing on the Santa María, Christopher Columbus crossed the blue ocean leaving the Canary Islands. Funded by the king and queen of Spain, Columbus sailed west for silks and spices in Asia only to discover America.
In the 1600s:
— 1620, December 21 Windswept and weary, the Pilgrims anchored in Plymouth Harbor, MA after being at sea for approximately two months. They spent the winter on their crowded ship (Mayflower) and lost half the people to illness. Over the next several years, Plymouth’s population grew due to new arrivals from England.
— 1659, the first settlers (two men, 1 woman and six children) arrived on the island of Nantucket traveling by open boat through rough seas from the winds of approaching winter. Farming and fishing were main activities until 1712, before whaling became popular.
— 1675, the Boston Harbor Islands had historically been places where society had pushed aside unwanted institutions and marginalized people. American Indians were interned on Deer Island during King Philips’ War.
— 1684, the English purchased the Rumney Marsh and Pudding Point estates from Native Americans. Then, between 1753 and 1763, a fishing industry was located at Point Shirley and 300 people lived and worked there.
For millennia, Northeastern Coastal Indians fished, farmed, and hunted on the islands, and European settlers used them for the same purposes. New England’s great natural harbor and transportation network have made Boston a thriving seaport ever since. The port had its share of sea stories, as ships plying the port’s sea lanes attracted pirates.
Pirates rode up and down the Atlantic coast between Newburyport and Winthrop. It was here that they hid at Pudding Point waiting for other ships to come down and then attacking and sinking the ships. However, before the ships sank, the pirates would remove the gold and jeweled treasures from the ships and then sail back to Newburyport, where they would bury these bounties. Where exactly no one today really knows. However, if you do come and visit Winthrop, be sure to walk the three-mile trail around Deer Island and stop at the center of the headland. In front of you is a small island with a light called Nix’s Mate. It is here that the pirates were imprisoned and some are believed to have died there. On a dark and windy day you can hear them screaming revenge. Today, boaters struggle to stay away from Nix’s Mate. The actual structure is a ledge and meeting place for four different canals; Nubble, Narrows, South and North. The tide is swirling pretty strong there and if you get caught you can finish off the pirates.
Boston was also a port of entry for early settlers and other immigrants seeking a better life in a new world.
In the late 1960s, Winthrop had many marshes around its three yacht clubs. There was a problem at the time with some of the overflow from Deer Island going back into the harbor. This “fertilizer” was making sea lettuce grow. Unfortunately the sea lettuce was covering all the clams causing the clams to die. The smell and pollution of the clams permeated the neighborhoods and stripped the paint off the houses. A doctor was called in to find out what could be done and he recommended submerging everything under water by dredging.
Clamming is an active industry in Winthrop, supplying many area restaurants. In fact, Boston bosses have claimed that the best clams are Winthrop’s.
Every week, biologists at the Plum Island purification plant send an email to all clam miners in Quincy, Boston, and Weymouth. This email notifies clam diggers where and when they can dig for soft shell clams. According to Massachusetts State Law, a clam digger is allotted five racks of soft shell clams per day. This really isn’t a bunch of clams in the scheme of things, but it’s back-breaking work nonetheless. Rules and regulations keep changing, making it more difficult to support a family this way.
So no matter if it’s 110° or 20° below, a clam digger starts arriving at Winthrop’s Public Landing ready to go half an hour before sunrise. Armed with their buckets, boots and paddles, they jump into the boats and get to work before the next tide comes.
Hunched over for hours with a paddle in hand, the clam’s fate is entirely up to the clam hunter as to whether it ends up on his plate or in the belly of a seagull. Clams are popular, but they must be two inches in diameter, otherwise they will be thrown back. Sometimes, if the diggers are in a hurry to finish before the tide comes in, the clams will end up being dumped onto the rocks. This is when the Gulls feed.
Once all five shelves are filled, the bulldozers go back inside. Here they will meet with buyers and/or the Environmental Police to check their clams. Because these clams are harvested in Winthrop, they must be transported to the Plum Island purification plant to be cleaned before they are sold to restaurants and seafood stores.
At the purification plant, the racks are placed in long, deep tubs filled with salty ocean water. Ultraviolet lights are used to clean the clams. The clams stay there for three days and every morning the tanks are cleaned, samples are taken and tested for bacteria. Air bubbles are pumped into the PVC to help the clams breathe while they are in the water. Once the clams are cleaned and approved by on-site biologists, the racks go through a washing machine for the last step before earning a seal of approval from the state before going out. Once approved, the clams will rest in a cold room until they are harvested. However, if any bacteria are found in any of the tanks while the clams are being cleaned, all those clams are discarded. This causes a financial loss to prospectors and could mean no clams for restaurants.