It is not all that often where the ONLY way to get to a POTA park is by kayaking up a large river for a few miles, getting stranded on that island for a few hours waiting for the tide to reverse, and then kayaking back to the boat launch where you started. Eagle Island Wildlife Management Area US-11591 is that park and every activation is like a “mini adventure” with the time, planning, and some of the risk that goes into each trip to the island. Eagle Island is a small remote island on the Merrimack River just outside of Salisbury, Massachusetts.
To get to the island, you first want to assemble all of your gear and size it all to fit in a small watercraft of your choice, such as a kayak. There is no dock on the island, so expect to get wet up to your knees. You want to plan on being on the island for about 5-6 hours as well so make sure you pack plenty of water, food/snacks, sun tan lotion, a hat to keep the sun off your face, and a jacket or hoodie for the cooler days. In the cooler months, I usually wear cold weather waders since the waters of the river can be freezing.
Once you assemble your gear, you are going to want to check the tide charts for Salisbury, Massachusetts, deploying from the “Cashman Park Boat Launch” in Newburyport, 1 hour after low tide. While looking at the tide charts, look for when high tide is at as well, and plan on leaving the island 1 hour after high tide, which is normally 5-6 hours after low tide. Leaving 1 hour after low and high tide allows the river to fully change directions so you aren’t paddling against the current, which can be impossible to do if you wait too long after this time period, so be warned now and plan accordingly.
As I mentioned before, the period between low tide and high tide is about 5-6 hours, so it is really important to understand before you leave for the island, that you will be trapped on the island for 5-6 hours once you get there. Once the current of the river picks up, there is no going back, so make sure you TRIPLE check your gear before you leave so that you do not forget anything at home, get stuck on the island, and fail an activation because you forgot something silly like your coax.
The most important part of this activation is your planning and that you consider every single possibility since you will be stranded on the island for so long. Plan for the weather you will be in and plan on being out in the sun. Eagle Island does have a lot of trees for shade and hanging antennas, but everywhere there are trees, there are these vines that cover the ground below that are full of thorns, so if you do go and activate under the cover of trees, wear (or bring) thick boots, long pants, gloves, and seriously watch your step as it is really easy to trip over the vines and fall on the thorns. I have explored all over every square inch of that island with my thick winter waders, and luckily, I never tripped and fell, so I do not know how painful that is from experience, but I imagine it is not fun.
Because of Eagle Islands proximity to Salisbury, there is excellent cellphone coverage if you need to use your phone as a hotspot, but don’t expect anyone to come and save you if you forget something.
When I go to Eagle Island, I leave Cashman Park in Newburyport about an hour after low tide and it can take anywhere from 18min to 30min to paddle up river to the island. On approach of the island, I aim for the center, which is a rocky beach at low tide. I then disembark my kayak, pull it up onto the island, unload all of my gear, and then pull my kayak about 25-30 feet up the beach of the island to the tall grasses. As the tide comes in over the next few hours, you don’t want your kayak to wash away, which is why I pull it so far up into the island. From there, I will activate right there on the beach with my dipole antenna, which sits on a stand by the water. As the tide comes in, the stand of my antenna will partially go under water, but I have found that it only helps with propagation. As long as there are no frays in the jacket of my coax cable, I never have any issues. If you wanted to, you could throw an end-fed up into the trees, which are further into the island and still stay clear of the thorny vines.
I usually set an alarm on my phone to when it is high tide, so I know I have an hour left before I need to leave. This gives you time to wrap up with any pileups you might have gotten yourself into, pack up your gear, and enjoy a little bit of the fresh air, and silence before you venture back down river to Cashman Park where you launched in Newburyport.
Eagle Island is like no other POTA park I have ever activated with how remote and beautiful it is, but also with all the planning and precautions you must take when activating this park. If you are looking to add some real adventure into your POTA activations, then come to Eagle Island Wildlife Management Area.
Eagle Island is also a US Islands Awards Program (USI) island that can be activated under its designation of “MA064R”.
