Splash Into Summer
Cape Cod Life Magazine
While PPSD (post-pandemic stress disorder) may be a lingering issue for some, there’s a growing sense that Summer 2023 promises a return to normalcy. People are eager to make a hard break from the frantic, phobic and grim Zeitgeist of the past three years, to ditch the facemasks, gloves and hand sanitizer and celebrate summer.
The Cape’s seasonal residents, tourists, collegiate baseball stars and other wash-ashores will likely flock back to their traditional haunts this summer, but this promising season of change might be the perfect time to view the Cape from a different angle. Spending a few hours on – or in – the life-giving waters that surround and permeate the Cape is the best way to develop a new appreciation for the Bay State's famous peninsula.
“I truly believe that there is no better way to see – and truly connect to – Cape Cod than in a kayak,” says Cape Cod Kayak owner Kim Fernandes. “You’re eye level with your environment, quietly listening to what nature has to tell you – and it’s important to listen.”
Or, as Blue Claw Boat Tours Captain Rob Wissmann succinctly notes, “You’ve gotta get out of your car and get on a boat to see what the Cape is really about.”
So, for those interested in gaining a fresh perspective on Cape life, what follows is a modest-sized sampling of the many ways to float, fish, sail, sightsee, kayak and paddleboard around the Cape and Islands.
Catboat Charters | Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard
https://www.catboatcharters.com
Sporting a brilliant stylized American flag as its sail, the catboat Tigress is one of the most colorful, eye-catching wooden sailboats on the Cape and Islands.
“The idea for the [American flag] sail came from the Nantucket catboat Cleopatra, which sailed these waters in the mid-1800s,” says Captain Kurt Peterson, owner of Edgartown-based Catboat Charters. “The captain of the Cleopatra painted his sail to resemble an American flag to celebrate the ending of the Civil War and inspire unity.”
Built in Wareham in 1927 by Charles Anderson, the fully-restored 30-foot Tigress offers two-hour private sails around Edgartown Harbor and oyster-rich Katama Bay.
In addition to sailing by Edgartown Harbor Light and the Chappaquiddick Ferry, guests will also glide by the scenic Edgartown waterfront, which boasts a number of historic captains’ homes built when Edgartown was a bustling whaling port.
Blue Claw Boat Tours | Orleans/Chatham
https://www.blueclawboattours.com
Based in Orleans, the three-boat Blue Claw Boat Tours fleet – the Blue Claw, Bravo and Roameo – ferries guests through Pleasant Bay to Chatham Harbor for a variety of tours, including a seal-watch cruise, a beachcomber expedition/seal-watch adventure and a sunset cruise, among other options.
“People come to us from hectic worlds, so our tours allow them to slow down and enjoy the wind, the sound of the waves and the salt spray,” says Captain Rob Wissmann, a self-proclaimed sailor by heart and power boater by trade. “We offer them a chance to appreciate the region’s natural beauty, to see the Cape as it may have appeared to Native Americans and early colonists.”
While in Chatham Harbor, participants will get to watch a seal colony in action, whether frolicking in the water or lounging and “singing” on a sandbar. After visiting the seals, those who choose the beachcomber experience are dropped off on Chatham Harbor’s uninhabited Tern Island, where they can collect seashells and perhaps enjoy a picnic (BYOP). On the way back to Orleans, the cruise swings by the renowned Chatham Fish Pier, where one might observe a commercial fishing vessel unload the day’s haul. If desired, guests can also request a visit to Chatham Light.
Monomy Island Tours | Harwich Port
https://www.monomoysealcruise.com
Captain Peter Spalt has been navigating the waters of Nantucket Sound since childhood, and after a lengthy career as a commercial fisherman he turned his attention to running Monomoy Island Excursions well over a decade ago.
With a catamaran-style hull, the sturdy 43-foot Perseverance departs Harwich Port’s Saquatucket Harbor, heading westward to the picture-perfect Wychmere Harbor, site of the dearly departed Thompson’s Clam Bar (which had its own jingle!). From there, the trip powers east, passing picturesque Stage Harbor Light, up into Stage Harbor, where passengers can get a glimpse of Chatham Light. From before heading south past Morris Island to Monomoy, a barrier island and national wildlife refuge that also hosts a lighthouse.
“When the fish migrate through the area as the water warms, the seals follow the fish and the sharks eventually chase the seals,” says Spalt. “For those who like seabirds, this time of year you can watch flocks of gannets nose-dive into the ocean [to catch fish] and it looks like a tornado hit the water. From a wildlife perspective, our tours offer guests a snapshot of almost everything that the Cape has to offer.”
Bay Spirit Tours | Hyannis Harbor
https://bayspirittours.com
While most business owners found their own company, it was Bay Spirit Tours that found Jake Kohl in 2009. Kohl was enjoying a culinary career in Los Angeles when the lure of launching Bay Spirit Tours with his father, Bob, a Cape Cod commercial fisherman, proved too tempting to resist.
The Bay Spirit, a 64-foot motorized catamaran, offers a narrated lighthouse tour of Hyannis Harbor and Hyannis Port’s Kennedy Compound, as well as a sunset cruises and music sunset excursions. The company’s second vessel, the 45-foot Bay Breeze sailing catamaran, takes guests for a pleasure cruise from Hyannis Harbor through Lewis Bay and into Nantucket Sound.
“When you get out on the water, you look back and say, ‘Wow, what is that, where are we?’” says Jake. “By leaving the land and going out on the water, you really get a different perspective on the Cape. People like that.”
RideAway Adventures | Mashpee, Sandwich & Woods Hole
https://www.rideawayadventures.com
Like many Cape natives, Mike Morrison ventured off-Cape to attend college. After briefly flirting with the bright lights of corporate Boston, Morrison experienced a self-described “quarter-life crisis” and decided to return home.
After a time of introspection, Morrison decided that his next career step would be to launch RideAway Adventures, an outdoor-adventure company that offers kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding and bicycling tours and training for people of all experience levels.
“You haven’t experienced the Cape until you’ve seen it from the water,” says Morrison, who’s water tours focus on inland waterways, lakes, ponds and marshes in and around Sandwich, Mashpee and Wood’s Hole.
“Our mission is to connect our customers with the natural environment,” says Morrison. “We want them to feel the breeze on their face, touch the beach grass, hear the birds and maybe see a bald eagle at Lawrence Pond in Sandwich. We want to create ambassadors for the Cape Cod ecosystem.”
Cape Cod Kayak | Bourne
https://www.capecodkayak.com
The first time that Kim Fernandes slipped into a kayak, while on vacation in Hawaii in 1993, it was love at first glide. “I felt the water gently rocking my kayak, smelled the salt air and watched a magnificent sunset,” recalls Fernandes, owner of Cape Cod Kayak. “I could think of nothing else that would make me so happy.”
Upon her return to her Cape home, Fernandes couldn’t find a single place to rent or buy a kayak. Two years later, Cape Cod Kayak was born. “On our excursions, you get to experience nature as it should be, minus the roar of a boat engine or the smell of fuel,” says Fernandes, who grew up on the Cape. “We offer such a variety of tours that you could spend several summers with us and never get bored.”
For those new to kayaking, Fernandes and her team offer robust training and brief trips to protected inland waterways, lakes and ponds, where trainees can witness wildlife, shorebirds and marine life up close as they gain confidence.
More experienced paddlers can rent equipment and choose their own adventure or decide to take part in more-demanding excursions that involve the exploration of estuaries or open-water trips to an island or a lighthouse.
Schooner Liberte | Falmouth
https://www.theliberte.com
After he launched the Schooner Liberte sailing business in Falmouth, Captain Chris Tietje quickly discovered that the region’s commercial sailing season was very short and sought to extend the Liberte’s season by moving it to the warmer waters of Chesapeake Bay.
Soon after he docked in Annapolis, Maryland, he met Jane, who eventually joined the Liberte crew as the captain’s wife, first mate and business partner. The pair have been offering sailing excursions – open day sails and private charters – in Annapolis and Falmouth ever since.
Located at the mouth of Falmouth Harbor, the Liberte takes flight quickly. Depending on the winds and tides, the Liberte may tack east to the bluffs of Falmouth Heights and the pristine beaches of Waquoit Bay. Other days, the tours may head past Nobska Light to Woods Hole and the Elizabeth Islands. Heading south, the Liberte will cruise by the antique sailboats and quaint villages of Oak Bluffs and Vineyard Haven on Martha’s Vineyard.
Moment Sailing | Provincetown
https://momentsailing.com
The Moment, a 47-foot sailing yacht that has circumnavigated the globe, was christened in 1981 and completely refitted by current Captain Chris Bartick in 2013. Moored at MacMillan Pier at Long Point Marina, Bartick and the Moment have been providing – yep, you guessed it – memorable moments for its guests for the past decade.
The Moment offers a series of two-, four- and six-hour day sails around Provincetown Harbor. Setting sail from the West End of Provincetown, the Moment zips out to Long Point and into Cape Cod Bay. On the four- and six-hour tours, if the weather cooperates, the Moment can set anchor near Long Point or Herring Cove beaches so guests can take a refreshing dip.
“I like to think of the Moment as an escape from your escape to Provincetown,” says Bartick. “The Moment moves fast, but it's a very heavy boat that offers a very comfortable sailing experience. “The nature, beaches and the bay are ever changing, and the sunsets are some of the most magnificent in the world.”
Black Dog Tall Ships | Vineyard Haven
https://theblackdogtallships.com
While growing up in Chicago, Black Dog Tavern founder Robert Douglas had the privilege of spending summers with his parents in West Chop on Martha’s Vineyard. Time marched on, and Douglas served as a jet-fighter pilot for the US Air Force in the mid-1950s.
Unable to shake the Vineyard from his mind, Douglas moved to the Vineyard a few years after he flew his last mission. By 1964 he had designed and built The Shenandoah, a topsail schooner that he used to provide customers with a taste of old-world sailing. Eventually, Douglas added historical Schooner Alabama to the Black Dog Tall Ship Fleet.
Although a local educational non-profit has taken over The Shenandoah, the Black Dog Tall Ship Alabama still offers multiple daily sails, sunsets cruises and July 4 fireworks cruises in and around the Vineyard. “Boarding The Alabama is like stepping back in time,” says Captain Jamie Douglas, son of the 91-year-old Robert. “Our guests find running under sail power to be an exhilarating, exciting experience.”
Helen H Deep Sea Fishing | Hyannis
https://helen-h.com
While the Helen H Fleet focuses offers inshore and deep-sea fishing for anyone from novices to experienced fisher-folk, Helen H also runs sunset cruises, whale and seal watches, ferries to the islands and beach trips.
But deep-sea fishing is the bread and butter of the Helen H business. So for those interested in a serious fishing adventure, the Helen H conducts a variety of one-, two- and three-day fishing trips for cod, fluke, deep-sea bass, spring porgies, tuna, cod, haddock and pollack, among others.
Hy-Line Cape Cod Canal Cruises | Onset
https://hylinecruises.com/cape-cod-canal-cruises
Originally founded in 1962 to offer tours of Hyannis Harbor and the Kennedy Compound after JFK was elected president in 1960, Hyannis Harbor Tours evolved into Hy-Line Cruises and became the region’s dominant ferry and marine-sightseeing business.
Currently, Hy-Line offers the only Cape Cod Canal tour, which sets sail from Onset and cruises under the Sagamore, Bourne and Vertical Lift Railroad bridges. Along the way, visitors will get to view the Mass. Maritime Academy, the Scusset Beach Fish Pier, the Sandwich Boat Basin, and the site of the former Gray Gables Estate, the first “White House” on Cape Cod, where President Grover Cleveland spent his summers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
In addition to this narrated sightseeing cruise, Hy-Line also offers sunset cocktail, live music and musical bingo canal cruises.
“Most people only see the Cape Cod Canal by driving over one of its bridges, says Betsy Rich, marketing director for Hy-Line Cruises. “To be able to experience the canal by boat, to cruise under the bridges and beside a cruise or container ship, is a completely different experience.”
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