Day Trip to Chatham

I have to admit that this summer of 2010 was just about a perfect summer for sun loving, hot weather seeking people like me. I’m not sure how many weeks we went without rain but I do know that except for 1 week I had sun and nice temperatures on all my days off. Can’t beat that.

Of course all that warm weather had some unexpected consequences. The waters off Cape Cod got warmer earlier than usual and with the exploding seal population on Monomoy Island, Cape Codders, especially in Chatham, began to hear reports of Great White Shark sightings. As the summer heated up, so did the reports. It got so there was at least one report a day and eventually some of the Chatham beaches were closed to swimming.

I’ve always had an interest in marine biology so I followed these reports with interest and finally decided that a trip to Chatham was in order to see what this was all about. I confess that although I’ve lived in Massachusetts for 30 years and own a time share in Dennisport, I don’t go to the Cape too often and when I do it’s usually to the Eastham National Seashore to hike the trails there so I wasn’t familiar with Chatham.

I thought that Monomoy island was a remote island that was reached only after a long boat trip. Ok all you native Cape Cod folks. You can stop laughing now. Anyway, I headed down to the Chatham fish pier to see what I could find out and maybe see a great white for myself.

When I arrived at the pier there was a little open boat tied up to the dock, nothing that looked like an excursion or tour boat. I asked about the Seal Watching Tour and the captain of that little boat told me he hadn’t seen them around all day. He explained that he ran a shuttle service out to Monomoy Island and he would take me out to the seals for the price of the shuttle, $15.00. That seemed pretty reasonable to me so I hopped on board with another family that was going to the island for the afternoon.

The captain took us by the tip of the island first so everyone could see the seals. I couldn’t believe all the noise! The seals don’t seem to be that loud in captivity but there was no shortage of grunts and brays and honks and barks out here. Once again I was reminded how different animals can be when we see them in their natural environment instead of a zoo or aquarium.

We didn’t linger because this was a shuttle and the family needed to be dropped off.  They arranged a pick up time for the shuttle to come back, the capatin "grounded " the boat on the beach  and were soon they were on their way up the beach. We or if I am honest, the captain, pushed us back off (I stayed in the boat) and we headed back out to the seals.

The Captain explained that Monomoy Island is part of the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge. He said Monomoy Island used to be a peninsula until a few years agon when a big winter Nor’ Easter eroded part of the barrier away. The folks in Chatham hoped that another storm might fill it back in but chose to let nature be the deciding factor. Subsequent storms only served to widen the breach so now they have Monomoy Island. I could see little houses or “shacks” on the Island and was told that these were originally privately owned but when the government took over the land as part of the refuge, they took most of the buildings by eminent domain. Once they realized the cost to either maintain or demolish the buildings, they gave them back to the original owners to use on a temporary basis. That temporary “stay” has expired but the government hasn’t made any move to change the status quo. As the buildings crumble and rot, they cannot be rebuilt so it is just a matter of time before they will all be gone anyway.

By now we were back off the tip of the island and there was the seal colony. These are mostly gray seals and the difference in head shape between the males and females is quite pronounced. My captain said sometimes they are called “horse head” seals because the males have a very horse shaped head. The females are just plain cute ansd seemed to be the more inquisitive. As we sat quietly drifting on the swells they would swim up to the boat and pop up for a look and then duck back under and swim away only to pop up again a few yards away.

I spotted one large male that seemed to be entangled in a fishing net. When I commented on it the Captain said it was a sad truth that the seal would probably die if it couldn’t free itself. He said rescue efforts usually fail because they have to tranquilize the seal. Unfortunately the drug doesn’t work fast enough to keep the animal from getting back into the water. Once in the water, when the drug takes effect, it knocks the seal out and it drowns. That made me feel terrible, sad, angry, helpless…Man strikes again!

As I watched the animals, I didn’t see any Great White Sharks. The captain said we were in the “Inner” harbor and the shark sightings were outside the harbor on the seaward side of the island. His shuttle doesn’t go there. A fog bank began to roll in so the Captain said it was time to head back in to the pier. It was well worth the $15.00 but I figure if I want to see a great white I’ll have to find someone who was going out of the harbor next time.

I had a lunch at the Fish Pier that was the freshest fish and chips I can remember having. It was outstanding! I sat at a picnic table near the take out and was soon joined by a couple from England. I asked them how our fish and chips measured up to Jolly old England’s and they said quite favorably.

I hung around for awhile after lunch and watched the fishing boats coming in and unloading their catch. By now the fog had lifted and the sun was back out. As I made my way back to the car I couldn’t help thinking how such a simple afternoon turned out to be one of the best days of the summer!