Portsmouth, New
Hampshire
May 04, 2018
An old sport fisherman with a faded signboard "Idle-Knot" across the stern crept out of the harbor with a pair of custom outriggers and a bank of short trolling rods lined up on the afterdeck. The steady throb of the inboard engines signaled to a trained ear that the diesels were properly tuned-up and would deliver all the power needed by a crew headed into the Atlantic Ocean. The new owner obviously put the money where it counted and would save the cosmetics until the end of his first season. Some other operators wondered whether there would be more competition for the summer market when similar boats would go out for full or half-day fishing excursions or whale watching. Though new to Portsmouth, the man at the wheel had the weathered look of a seasoned skipper. His underway plans involved neither fishing nor whales. He glanced at the chart and set the autopilot on a heading to a point due east of Boston. A simple coastal transit of exactly 100 nautical miles, he'd be anchored in Boston Harbor just after sunset.