I thought I knew Cape Cod.  I’d been there many times before.  In reality, all I had seen was North Truro and Provincetown.  That’s like saying you’ve experienced New Jersey by visiting Atlantic City. 

    Our friends and paddling buddies Bruce and Linda, have spent a week or more at a friends vacation house in Chatham on the Cape since their daughters, now through college, were little.  This they graciously invited Lisa and I and another paddling buddy, Alan, to join them for a week of padding, friendship and good seafood.  Bruce, Alan and I paddled every day, while the women paddled less often.

    I had often heard the song “Old Cape Cod” and the lyrics about sand dunes, salty air and quaint little villages here and there, but had never experienced them as I did on this trip.  Seeing the Cape from its rivers, bays and harbors was a very special experience. 

    We were surrounded by post card picture perfect vistas in every direction.  Anchored everywhere was the stereotypic

Cape Cod sailing vessel, the beautiful, gaff rigged cat boat.  These were nestled among another, newer stereotype, the Boston Whaler.  On the surrounding hills and shores were buildings in the typical Cape Cod salt box style, sheathed in cedar shakes, weathered silver-gray by the salt air.  There was a sense of timelessness there that I don’t often get in a “settled” environment like this one.  I would recommend paddling in this area to anyone who has the time and inclination.  You won’t be disappointed.

    Below is a summary of the places we paddled with maps, photos and comments.  The only map missing is of the Herring River paddle, which I must admit was my least favorite.  My favorite paddle of the trip was Barnstable Harbor, but all were great in their own way.

 

Trip Summaries:

Monday - AM: (Alan, Bruce, Don)

Pleasant Bay – Paddled from Strong Island Road, Chatham Harbor around Strong Island and then toward Nausset Beach where we saw seals.  We then ducked into Crows Pond.

    This trip was less scenic than others and produced a substantial headwind to paddle against.  The most interesting thing was the many seals we saw in the water.  And as we approached Nausset Beach, we heard an erie moaning, wailing sound that we couldn’t identify until we got closer to a sandbar that held about a hundred seals howling and moaning

together.  When we approach to within about a quarter mile, they all took to the water, barking and honking as they splashed into deeper water.  Eventually, most headed back to the sandbar, while a few swam closer to see who we were and what we wanted.  They followed us for quite some time before disappearing. 

Monday- PM: (Alan, Bruce, Don, Linda, Lisa)

Little Pleasant Bay - We paddled from Lucy's Point in Orleans down to Little Pleasant Bay and back.

    This was our first paddle on this trip with Linda and

Lisa.  Little Pleasant Bay is true to its name - pleasant.  If you trace the path from Lucy’s Point to the Bay

you’ll see a winding path with many bends, bays and coves to explore.  The whole route is very picturesque and provides easy, protected paddling. 

Tuesday: (Alan, Bruce, Don, Linda, Lisa)

Stage Harbor - We paddled from the bridge at Stage Harbor, Chatham to Oyster Pond Beach and back

    This was our second and last paddle with Lisa and Linda on this trip.  The women had other places to be and would leave

the men to themselves for the balance of the week.  This was another very pretty and quite protected paddle.  If you trace the road that passes close to the end of Oyster Pond south to where it T’s and crosses the outlet of Mill Pond, you’ll find our launch

point and also see where Oyster Beach meets the highway.  The nice thing about this paddle is that it can be done as a one way, starting and ending at either end. 

    The Oyster Pond River is aptly named as there are one or more large commercial oyster farms within it.  We paddled by

on the far side of the river wondering what we were seeing.  Alan and I decoded to slake our curiosity by paddling across to investigate.  It was quite fasinating.

    When we reached Oyster Beach, the women had had enough

paddling, so we left them and their boats on the beach where they enjoyed a cold drink from a local refreshment stand and admired some of the younger, fit young men on the beach, while we paddled back for the cars.  This gave us a chance to paddle faster and exercise ourselves a bit. 

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