Thacher Island is a beautiful little island about 2.5 miles from our shop on Rockport Harbor. It hosts a National Wildlife Refuge and has twin lighthouses, erected in 1771, which align North to South and pointed the way to Gloucester Harbor and Boston for whalers and seafarers returning from afar. Thacher Island has been mentioned in literature and films over the years – everything from Rudyard Kipling’s Captains Courageous to a brief mention by George Clooney as Captain Billy Tyne in the movie The Perfect Storm.
We offer daily trips to the island at 1:30 pm, and also can take groups of 10 or more for an overnight camping trip, with prior arrangement of course.
The daily tour lands and spends about a half hour on the island; time for you to explore, climb the lighthouse. have a picnic lunch, or just laze in the sun.
Our overnight tours to Thacher leave Bearskin Neck (all geared up and fully loaded) around 3 pm on the first day, do a leisurely paddle out to Thacher Island, set up camp, have dinner and relax, take a hike around the island, or climb the North light house. If the conditions are nice, we can also enjoy a moonlight paddle after dinner (at your option, of course).
On the following morning, we will have breakfast, break camp, take a different return route and be back at NSKOC base on Bearskin Neck around noon. Check here for further details about what to expect and bring on a kayak camping trip to Thacher Island.