Cape Cod: A Brief Maritime History

To the mariner, Cape Cod represents both a hazard and a haven. On a sunlit summer day, with balmy breezes and endless sandy coastline, boaters can be lulled into a sense of complacency, blissfully unaware of the treachery that lies beneath. It is the shallow sand bars several hundred yards off the beach that present the greatest danger. Here is where countless storm driven ships have grounded over the years, broken into pieces under the pressure of tons of raging water, and spilled their fragile contents and occupants into the bone chilling surf. So many ships have piled up on the hidden sand bars off the coast between Chatham and Provincetown, in fact, that those fifty miles of sea have been called an “ocean graveyard.”

In the early 1800s, there was an average of two wrecks every month during the winter. It was not, however, until 1872, that a really efficient lifesaving service was put into operation by the United States government. Stations were erected every five miles on the beach. Six or seven surfmen and a keeper lived in each station and kept a continuous watch. When a ship in distress was sighted, a red signal was fired from ashore to let the crew at sea know they’d been seen. Then the lifesaving crew went into action.

If the sea permitted, they launched their special surfboats–some equipped with air chambers (to help keep them afloat), cork fenders (to keep them from being smashed against the sinking ship), and righting lines (to use in case they capsized). When weather and surf were too violent to launch the surf boat, the alternate method of rescue was the “breeches buoy”. The buoy consisted of a pair of canvas breeches fastened inside a life ring and suspended from a life line and pulley system between the stranded ship and shore. A small cannon was used to shoot a lightweight line to the ship, which in turn was pulled on board by the ship’s crew. Simultaneously, the surfmen erected a twelve-foot wooden crotch to suspend the hawser line and breeches buoy above the surf and buried an anchor in the sand. In practice, the whole operation had to be done within five minutes. Only after all this was accomplished could one victim at a time be rescued as the breeches buoy was tediously pulled back and forth from shore. Visitors can view the breeches buoy in action at a drill given weekly during the summer months by National Seashore Rangers.

For a glimpse of the contraption in action, go see the movie “The Golden Boys”, which was filmed on location in Cape Cod in 2007 and, in part, at the Old Harbor Life Saving Station at Race Point in Provincetown. The climatic final scenes of the film depict a rescue at sea off the coast of Chatham. The film is currently playing at movie houses on the Cape and throughout the country.

To mark Cape Cod’s rich maritime history, the Annual Cape Cod Maritime Days is celebrated throughout the month of May. For more information and a schedule of events, which includes lighthouse and walking tours, nautical art exhibits, maritime lectures, boat-building exhibits, and kayak excursions visit http://www.ecapechamber.com/MaritimeDays/

Reminder: While visiting the Cape, we invite you to stay at The High Pointe Inn in West Barnstable, Massachusetts.

Kayaking Cape Cod Style

Rich and I first bought kayaks during our tenure in North Conway, NH, where, as many of you know, we had an 11-room bed and breakfast in the heart of the White Mountains. Longtime owners of an Old Town canoe, we were cajoled by friends one day to try kayaking on the Saco River. Lulled into complacency by the ease of navigating this gentle river in summer, allowing the current to steer us downstream to a pick-up spot in the bend of the river, we soon sold our canoe and invested in kayaks of our own.
We “tried on” several kayaks (literally) before making our choices. I went with a Perception Acadia, and Rich chose a Walden specifically because it is designed for fishing, being wider of berth and shallower of draft, and hence more stable. Plus it had a neat gizmo attached to store his fishing rod when not in use and a nifty little detachable apron across the cockpit, just perfect for attaching hooks, and lures, and flies, and such.. Actually, it comes in much more handy when eating lunch out on the water. Well, you get the picture. We each decided to get our own kayak rather than a tandem, primarily due to the ugly moped incident on our honeymoon when we opted to rent one moped for the both of us. It’s lucky we still married after that experience, let alone alive. But that’s another story.

Anyhow, we brought our kayaks with us when we moved to the Cape, fully expecting to while away many a summer’s afternoon in the bayous and backwaters of this lovely peninsular. To date we have kayaked in Barnstable Harbor, on Little Pleasant Bay, on the Parker River (to a 4th of July fireworks display), and Lake Wequaquet, all memorable experiences to be sure, but not nearly enough to sate our hunger for the sport.

There are a number of good kayak rental outfitters on Cape Cod, and a few that offer guided tours and instruction. Our favorite is Osprey Sea Kayak Adventures (http://www.ospreyseakayak.com), operated by Dick Hilmer and his wife. Dick is a heck of a guy, a throwback perhaps to the 60s, but a supremely knowledgeable and extremely eco-conscious individual with a terrific sense of humor. We have sent a number of our guests on kayak adventures with Dick, and all return with high praise for his unique ability to share his love of and concern for the fragile Cape Cod eco-system. We’ve even taken some of our friends out with Dick, who echo our kudos to what he offers the Cape Cod visitor.

When time allows we will tackle the rest of what Dick tells us are the best kayaking spots on the Cape. Here is his top ten list, in no particular order:

SCORTON CREEK, Sandwich
Launch from the State Wildlife Reservation off Route 6A by the Scorton Creek Bridge. Scorton means “place where the stream branches.” Follow this twisting tidal creek through the Great Marsh, which once stretched as far as Barnstable Harbor. Explore adjacent Mill and Shove Creeks. Highlights: herons, egrets, ospreys, and striped bass.

WAQUOIT BAY, Falmouth & Mashpee
Launch from Great River Boat Landing, Great Oak Road, Mashpee. Paddle down Great River and west across Waquoit Bay to Washburn Island. Continue south along the island, across the channel to South Cape Beach State Park, then return across the bay. Highlights: walking the pristine 330-acre Washburn Island (primitive camping available), beachcombing on South Cape Beach, shorebirds.

BARNSTABLE HARBOR, Barnstable
Launch from Blish Point State Landing, Millway Road. Head across Barnstable Harbor to Sandy Neck and explore this spectacular seven-mile long barrier beach that protects the 4,000-acre Great Marsh. Highlights: second highest sand dunes on Cape Cod, views of the Great Marsh, quaint village and old lighthouse at Beach Point.

BASS RIVER, Dennis
Launch from Cove Road and paddle north. Bass River is the longest river on Cape Cod, stretching seven miles from its headwaters at Mill Pond to Nantucket Sound. Highlight: walking the two mile trail at the Indian Lands Conservation Area, spring wildflowers (including lady’s slippers).

BELLS NECK/HERRING RIVER, Harwich
Launch from Bell’s Neck Road and cross the West Reservoir, a freshwater cedar swamp. Take out at the dike and put back in on the Herring River. Follow the winding river to Route 28 in West Harwich. Highlights: 245 acres of salt and freshwater marshes, woods, herring run, cranberry bogs, kettle ponds, hiking trails.

BREWSTER PONDS, Brewster
Launch from Punkhorn Parklands parking lot, Run Hill Road. An easy canoe trip through a chain of freshwater ponds, Walker’s, Upper Mill, and Lower Mill. These kettle ponds were created 12,000 years ago by melting blocks of glacial ice. Highlights: Stony Brook Grist Mill, the herring run, five miles of trails in the 800-acre Punkhorn Parklands.

LITTLE PLEASANT BAY, Orleans
Launch from Portanimicut Road, Orleans. Paddle across Little Pleasant Bay to circumnavigate Sampson and Hog Islands and explore Nauset Beach. The privately owned islands allow visitors, and Nauset Beach is part of the Cape Cod National Seashore. Highlights: snorkeling, eelgrass beds, horseshoe crabs, ospreys.

NAUSET MARSH, Eastham
Launch from Salt Pond below the Salt Pond Visitor’s Center or Hemenway Road off Route 6. Nauset Marsh is a vast system of salt-marsh, creeks, channels, islands, and barrier beach. Circumnavigate the marsh heading north through Salt Pond Bay and Nauset Bay, then south along Nauset Beach, and back through the Main Channel. Or head south through Skiff Hill Creek along Fort Hill, past Town Cove to Inlet Marsh and back. Highlights: former Coast Guard Station, thousands of nesting terns, migrating shorebirds, seals, striped bass, ospreys, beachcombing, National Seashore visitor center, hiking trails and bike paths nearby.

WELLFLEET PONDS, Wellfleet
Launch from Gull Pond Landing off Schoolhouse Hill Road. This is a short and easy tour, especially good for beginners, of three kettle ponds – Gull, Higgins, and Williams – in the Cape Cod National Seashore. Williams Pond was the home of the “Wellfleet Oysterman” immortalized in Thoreau’s Cape Cod. Highlights: water lilies, red maples, turtles, frogs, sunfish, swimming.

PAMET RIVER, Truro
Launch from the South Pamet Road culvert to explore the freshwater Upper Pamet or from the Pamet Harbor boat ramp on Depot Road to explore the saltwater Lower Pamet and Pamet Harbor. The Pamet is an outwash channel carved by the glaciers with its head at the Atlantic Ocean and its mouth at Cape Cod Bay. Highlights: foliage, panoramic views of the Pamet Hills.