Tag Archives: ocean

Great Whites Prowl the Coast of Cape Cod

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Cape Cod Paddle boarder attacked!

Shark bite in paddelbaord

082317- Paddleboard bitten by shark off Marconi Beach in Wellfleet, MA. (Cape Cod National Seashore photo)

That’s a juicy headline for Cape Cod. And not just on the cape. It made the headlines on all the local Boston stations too. The attack was in 3 ft of water off Marconi Beach, Wellfleet, Ma.

 

 

 

Where are all the Sharks?

Sharks have always been summer visitors to the Cape. But now that the seal population has exploded more and more sharks are here. So why do we have so many seals? In 1972 the Marine Mammal Protection Act made it illegal to harm or harass these animals. Great White sharks help keep the seal populations in check. Believe it or not, we need more white sharks to balance out  the seals.

Swimmers and boaters should understand that sharing the water with great whites means sharing the beaches and land with fewer seals. Check out this map of sightings, tagings and pings!  http://www.capecodtimes.com/great-white-sharks-map

Cape Cod Officials want to Kill Great Whites

Is it JAWS all over again? In 1975 we were all afraid to go in the water when Steven Spielberg turned Peter Benchley’s book into a big screen success. It was set on Martha’s Vineyard. Now in a twist of life imitating  art we have Great Whites paroling our coast. Once again our local officials want to wage war on these magnificent creatures. Why do we think we have the right to kill off any animal that interferes with humans? These Great Whites are just doing their own thing acting as apex predators. That’s what they are supposed to do.

Killing Sharks is not the answerGreat white shark swimming

Why do we humans feel we have the right to kill off the predators. I don’t want anyone hurt but why is the ocean any different than bears in the forest? Do you let your child wander alone in grizzly country? Sharks are hunting for food. When humans go hunting most often it is for sport. What if the animals we hunt could decide to kill us because we are a threat?

What do you think?

Should we hunt down the Great White Sharks of Cape Cod? Yes or No?

Please share this post to raise awareness. Thank you

I’m Alive!

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Well as you can see from the title I not only survived the nose to nose standoff, I managed to come back down the mountain side and get back to the safe driving.

The first car would not give an inch. I climbed a boulder to get as far off the road as I could. Finally the car I was facing gunned the engine and shot past me. My car immediately slid of the rock and settled back onto the road but there was still one more car that had refused to back up.

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With much arm waving and shouting the spectators finally got him off to the side of the road so I could just squeak past. I didn’t dare look at the drop off to my left or I’m sure I would have fainted dead away.

Having passed that obstacle I finished my drive to the top where I found a food truck with a small parking area. There were lots of cars parked and everyone was milling around. I pulled in too. It seemed as good a place as any to bring my heart rate back down to something close to normal.

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I made up my mind that I was not leaving that parking area unless it was to go back the way I came. I’d had quite enough of the Road to Hana. I didn’t care that I hadn’t found the park I was looking for. Another time maybe.

It was almost 30 minutes before we saw cars beginning to climb the road on the opposite hill. Everyone ran for their cars including me. I tacked onto the end of the little caravan. But about 100 yards down we came to a stop. Finally a man came back to tell us all to back up. As the last in line I was the first to start to back up.

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Still shaken from the first experience I wasn’t doing too good a job so our traffic director hopped in and had me back in the parking area in short order. It was obvious that he had a lot of experience backing up. Another 20-30 minute wait and we all started down again. This time he had the upcoming cars pulled over and our line of about 15 cars all managed to pass without incident. I was the last one and I watched the cars head on up the road once I had passed by.

The Road to Hana is beautiful but as I learned the hard way, also dangerous and treacherous. I don’t want to do a repeat of this anytime soon!

 

D.T. Fleming Beach Park

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The sun came back out after that pretty amazing rain storm. Wind and torrential rains and five minutes later, sunshine. Wow!

Since the day looked to be a good one, I took off north on Rt 30. I wanted to see if any surfers were out. If there were rip tides it would probably be quiet but it was worth taking a look.

I wasn’t sure I’d remember the exact turn off so when I spotted a left I took it. Immediately I knew this wasn’t the one. This was a paved road. The one I was looking for is a pretty rugged dirt road.

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I decided to see where this road went before I turned around. The sign said D.T. Fleming Beach Park, voted best beach in 2006. There was a rest room and maybe a bath house for changing???Also a life guard stand.

The beach seemed pretty popular. More and more people were coming while I was there. I suppose once the weather lifted everyone headed for the beach. You could see the weather was still very unsettled as rain squalls passed in the distance.

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I was surprised that so many children were there. Don’t they have school?

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The beach was certainly a pretty little beach. I found myself thinking that if these kids could handle the surf  here maybe I could too.

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I’ll have to think about it after I get my whale picture.

Graves Light

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Yesterday I mentioned Graves Light that marks the North Channel into Boston Harbor. It isn’t as “pretty” as Boston light but its history is just as colorful.

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The lighthouse gets it’s ghoulish names from the tiny island it’s situated upon. “The Graves” is the outermost island of the Boston Harbor Islands National recreation Area, 9 miles off shore of downtown Boston.

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The lighthouse is the tallest lighthouse in the approach to the Port of Boston and until 1975 it was the most powerful lighthouse in New England. It is currently lit with a modern , solar-powered lamp that doesn’t compete with the original giant Fresnel Lens.

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The Lighthouse was built in 1905 and equipped with a first-order Fresnel lens that shown with a 350,000 candlepower beam across the harbor. That lens was removed in 1975. Although not on display at this time it remains in the possession of the Smithsonian Institution. Any classic film buffs may remember that this light was the setting for the climatic storm in the 1948 movie “Portrait if Jennie”.

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In recent years many lighthouses have gone up for public auction and Graves Light was no exception. In June of 2013 the lighthouse was put on the auction block. The starting bid was $26,000 but by the time the gavel dropped it had reached a record $933,888, the highest bid ever paid for  a U.S. Lighthouse.

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In 2014 the new owners began a major restoration project that has been features on the s television show, This Old house.

Graves Light is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The lighthouse is still being used for navigational purposes and will remain so under the terms of the sale.

The lighthouse includes 2 bedrooms, a kitchen and a study but landing is difficult and entering the building requires crossing a 40 –foot ladder shown in this archival photo.

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Still who wouldn’t want to own a real lighthouse?

Boston Light

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Boston Light is a lighthouse located on Little Brewster Island in the outer Boston  Harbor.

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The original lighthouse was built on this site in 1716 making it the first lighthouse to be built in what became the United States.

This first light house was held by the British during the American Revolution and subsequently burned down by the American forces, not once but twice. When the British withdrew in 1776 they blew up the tower completely destroying it.

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In 1783 the new lighthouse was constructed with a 75 foot tower, the same as the original. In 1856 the tower was raised to its present height of 98 Ft. A new lantern room was added along with a 12 sided second order Fresnel Lens.

In 1998 Boston Light was automated but is still staffed by a resident Coast Guard Keeper. The current keeper is Sally Snowman who, along with volunteers from the Coast Guard Auxiliary act as interpretive tour guides for visitors.

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The current light still uses the 2nd order Fresnel lens, one of only four left in use and the only one in Massachusetts. It flashes white every 10 seconds and is visible for 27 nautical miles.

To reach the safety of Boston Harbor, ships had to navigate the dangerous channel through numerous rocks, shoals and islands so Boston Light was an important navigational aid.

In more recent times the channel has been dredged  and larger vessels have shifted to the North Channel marked by Graves Light.

Boston Light is designated a National Historic Landmark and is the second oldest working lighthouse in the US today.