Category Archives: Cape Cod

Any New Year Resolutions?

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New Year Resolutions

Ok, the big question…did you make any New Year Resolutions? 2020 was certainly a weird year when I look back on it. But I found myself wondering how you can make a resolution when the future is so unknown. I’m not ready to resolve to join a gym even though I need more exercise.  We have a light at the end of the COVID tunnel but its too soon to tell if its going to work. I miss traveling but I’m not sure I’m willing to risk my life for a little excitement. Hanging out at home isn’t so bad especially since I have my little buddies to amuse me. 

Travel Resolutions in 2021

If I do take a trip in 2021 I think it will be near the end of the year. I’m not making any reservations yet. Hopefully things will begin to ease up over the summer. I can do some day trips locally with my camera. I live in a beautiful part of the country. With The White Mountains of New Hampshire to the north and the rugged coast of Maine to the northeast Opportunity abounds. I can go south to Cape Cod and the National Sea Shore. Or take a boat trip to Stellwagen Bank to watch the whales.

Whale Breach off Cape Cod – 2017

 

Go west and we have the rolling mountains of the Berkshires.  So many day trips, so little time. 

Where to go for a “Big” trip in 2021

I’m not sure where I’ll go if I do take a trip in 2021. I might go back to Hawaii but part of me thinks I’ve been there too much and should take a break.

Dreaming of Hawaii

I was looking for a specific photo recently and couldn’t find it. The photo was from one of my trips to Sedona, AZ. I was thinking I might need to go back there again so that I can capture the missing picture again. It’s of Montezuma’s Castle  That’s not really a castle.

Montezuma’s Castle-By Tomas Castelazo – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10142804

Its a cliff dwelling and I know I had a picture.

The Bottom Line on Resolutions this year

 

Skip the usual resolutions!
I’m going to spend more time with my cats

 

Greg Skomel the Shark Man

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Have you ever heard of the Shark Man?White Shark

My first exposure to that title, Shark Man, was Thursday night. I was back on Cape Cod but not to go “Sharkin”. This time I was there to listen to a presentation by Dr. Greg Skomel aka The Shark Man! I’m not sure when I first heard of Dr. Skomel but by the time I saw him on Discovery Channel’s Shark Week his name was quite familiar to me. In fact when I was challenged to pick 5 people dead or alive, that I would like to spend an evening with, Dr. Skomel was on my list. The rest of my list were Neil Degrasse- Tyson, astrophysicist and director of the Hayden Planetarium, Seth Shostak, senior astronomer SETI institute, Dr. Michio Kaku, theoretical physicist, futurist, and last but not least Josh Gates,  cable TV host and adventurer. He also has a degree in archaeology so I guess I’m still sticking to the science theme.

I’m not sure if I’ll ever get to meet any of the other people on my list but I can tell you that they will have tough shoes to fill!

Living With White Sharks

Dr. Skomal’s talk was about living with white sharks, a very timely topic for Cape Cod.  Greg is assigned to the Martha’s Vineyard Research Station. Can we all say Jaws? I’d been told that he was very charismatic and it  was quickly clear that this was true. His spotter pilot was sitting in the same row as I was.  Before the evening even got started Greg came over to shake his hand and welcome him to his talk.  Once the presentation got underway there was quite a bit of good natured banter back and forth between them especially when Greg showed a clip of an “Air Jaws” right under his feet on the pulpit. You could hear the pilot’s voice telling him there was a shark right below and then wham! That got everyone’s attention! That was the way evening went. It was an intimate setting as there was only room for about 150 people. It was a full house. There were lots of oooh, ahhh and wows in between the more dry scientific stuff.

In Conclusion

Greg started the evening off by asking how many people had been to a presentation of his before and most of the room had been. I was one of the few newbies. By the end of the evening I could see why. I will definitely be  keeping my eye out for more opportunities to hear him speak. 

Gone “Sharkin”

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“Sharkin” on Cape Cod

Flash Back to Jaws (1975) when the fictional town of Amity on Martha’s Vineyard was terrorized by a great white shark.  Chief  Brody, marine biologist Hooper and shark hunter Quint took “Sharkin” to a new level as they pulled out all the stops to catch the murderous Great White. Shades of Captain Ahab and Moby Dick. Anyway, last year Cape Cod had it’s first fatal shark attack in 82 years! Everyone was horrified and as this year arrived towns along the Cape struggled to find ways to protect vacationers when they entered the shark’s domain.

The Shark App

The Atlantic Great White Conservancy created a Shark App ( There’s an app for that) that alerts when a shark is sighted and lets you know where, which beaches are closed and for how long. My app had been blowing up and I was determined to see a white shark in its natural environment. Whale watch boats reported seeing sharks feeding on a whale carcass. Sharks were stealing fish right off the lines of guests on fishing charters. Was I around when these things were happening? Of course not. I couldn’t be that lucky. So I picked a day to take off from work to go to the Cape to look for sharks. I told everyone at work I was going “Sharkin”. Of course it hadn’t rained in a week but it did that day. 

The Atlantic Great White Conservancy

My app was strangely quiet. Either the sharks didn’t like the rain or  no one was at the beach to see them. My friend Nancy and I wound up in Chatham. We planned to go to the Fish Pier for lunch and watch the seals. On the way there we spotted the Atlantic Great White Conservancy. What a neat little museum. It was pretty crowded because no one wanted to go to the beach in the rain but even though we couldn’t turn around without bumping into someone we had fun. The last room was a virtual reality room where we donned  a headset and voila- we were swimming with sharks! And we didn’t even get wet!

 

 

Beachcomber Seal Tour

We wrapped up our Cape day by visiting the seals with Beachcomber Seal Tours. We didn’t see any sharks because the tour stayed in the inner harbor and so far the sharks haven’t ventured in. The channels and low water level seem to discourage them. But there were certainly enough seals for the sharks to have a hearty lunch if they wanted to drop by. The light misty drizzle changed to serious rain while we were on the water. The captain pulled out the disposable rain capes and pretty soon our boat looked like a convention of ghosts with the breeze flapping our ponchos. Our “Sharkin” day  didn’t yield any sharks but we had a good time anyway. 

The Great White Sharks are Still Here

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Great White Sharks Hang out off Cape Cod

Great white shark swimmingThe sharks of Cape Cod aren’t leaving anytime soon. Our vacations may be over but according to Dr Greg Skomal of the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy August and September are active months for our Great Whites.

 It’s been A busy August

With a cool spring Shark season took its time ramping up but August was a busy month.

  • July 31: A Great White tried to snack on one of the research cameras.
  • On August 10: Chatham beach goers watch a real life “Jaws” as a Great White chomped a seal in half in clear view of the beaches.
  • August 11: Whale Watchers spotted 2 Great Whites feasting on a dead minke whale
  • August 12 : A fisherman had his catch stolen by a shark. The video became an internet sensation 
  • August 21 A Shark enjoyed a seal lunch as beach goes looked on
  • August 24 A shark tasted a paddle board off Marconi Beach.

Great White Shark

Staying Safe with Great White Sharks

There are a few things you can do to stay safe with these apex predators in the water. 

  1. Avoid swimming with the seals
  2. Swim or surf in groups
  3. Stay in Shallow water
  4. Don’t wear shiny jewelry

Great White SharkSurvey Says…..

The good news is that even with this shark activity the beach going public remains fascinated by the sharks. The Polls and surveys show that public opinion is against the politician’s ill advised suggestion that the sharks be culled. According to Chatham natives, at least some of the beaches may be monitored by balloons equipped with cameras to provide an early warning system.

 2 More Months

If the past is any indication we’re looking at 2 more months of Great White activity. The season winds down off Cape Cod at the end of October. I guess the Great Whites don’t like our winter weather any more than I do.

White Shark

 

 

 

 

 

The Day has A Seal of Approval

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The Seals of Cape Cod

Nothing like spending a day with herd of gray seals in Chatham, Cape Cod. I confess I didn’t just want to see the seals. I thought there might be a small chance that I’d get a glimpse of a Great White Shark. It’s been 7 years since I’ve been back to see the seals so I figured it was about time. Of course it meant another weekend drive over one of the bridges but I was hoping I’d be going against the traffic. Turns out I was. The Sunday exodus from the Cape had route 6, the Cape Highway, backed up for miles leaving the cape.

Beachcomber Seal ToursYellow beachcomber boat

I’d called Beachcomber Seal Tours before I started for the cape. They said they had room for me on the 12 pm tour. I knew it would be close but I jumped in the car and headed off. With luck and traffic on my side I arrived with 10 minutes to spare! The folks at Beachcomber Seal Tours are very warm and welcoming. They make sure the children are fitted with life jackets and everyone gets a “pit stop” before we are all loaded onto a bus for the trip to the marina.

Chatham Light House

Chatham Harbor and waterways

The little orange boat holds about 29 people. We boarded by climbing a little step stool and stepping over the side. The captain stands at a center console to pilot the boat. It makes it a little hard to hear his commentary but the fresh sea air in your face on a sunny day is a pretty awesome way to spend a summer afternoon.

Sleeping SealSeals, seals and more seals

We passed Nauset Beach, recently the scene of a Great White sighting. As we swung toward North Beach the seals were suddenly right in front of us. They looked like they were piled on top of each other but our captain explained that each one has it place. A steady moaning sound came from the piles of seals. A few were in the water. They would rise up from the bottom and then sink back down. This is how they sleep. True enough, none of them had their eyes open!

 

Pile of seals

Before heading back we took a run past the shark buoy and Lighthouse Beach.

Shark ping buoy

 

 

Too soon it was time to return to the dock. The very successful 90 minute tour was at an end. No great whites but lots of seals.