Walking Wellfleet's Marina After Hours

Sven and I went down to the marina yesterday afternoon. It is fast becoming our favorite walk. There’s no dune to negotiate, no cold wind off the ocean to require scarf and long underwear. Something is always happening, be it shellfishermen out on the flats, collecting oysters, or a new configuration of boats, both in the water and out, or birdwatchers at low tide, binoculars in hand. (In this photo, a fellow Wellfleetian points out an egret to Sven.) Yesterday we noticed sailboats and catamarans propped up in the parking lot, as if ready for a competition on the number of barnacles, encrusted to hull and propeller.

A good time to walk is right before sunset, when the long rays of the sinking sun sparkle off windows on Sandpiper Hill. The harbormaster has gone home, and the place is usually deserted. You can watch a seagull as it drops a clam onto the hard surface of the pavement, intent on dinner. Sometimes shellfishermen are returning with baskets of oysters or clams, which they load into pick-ups, visibly tired after a long day’s work. There are Wellfleet landmarks to admire, like Pearl, Mac’s Seafood, and WHAT, all closed for the season. Often I imagine the crowds of summer and rejoice that they have departed. We 3000 residents again have this marvelous town to ourselves. The peace and quiet resounds at the marina after hours.

Sometimes we see other pedestrians, especially retired folks, like Sven. They, too, have realized the marina walk is a perfect spot for a bit of exercise. The walk measures one half a mile, so theoretically one needs to go around twice to make a dent in the daily exercise requirement. Usually, once is all we do though. We often end up on the pier, watching the sunset. Wellfleet has fabulous sunsets in the fall and winter.

Have you ever walked around Wellfleet’s marina?

How Healthy is Wellfleet Harbor?

For nine years Wellfleet Elementary School has hosted the State of Wellfleet Harbor Conference. The 2011 date is November 5. The goal of this free conference is to provide the community with information about current and ongoing research, monitoring projects, and issues related to Wellfleet Harbor and its watershed. For more details, go here.

This year I contributed some blog photos for the informal slide show during the breaks. Here's what was requested: "We are looking for any kind of photo that shows the resources and landscape of Wellfleet Harbor and people using it appropriately."

For those of you who follow the NStar issue, know that I suggested, in August, that Professor Craig Slatin from Lowell be invited to speak on the probable contamination of the Cape Cod aquifer by NStar, and was told my suggestion came too late, that the speakers for 2011 had already been chosen. Hopefully, if enough of us show interest, perhaps our sole-source aquifer will be included in 2012, the 10th year the conference will take place.

One appropriate use of the harbor has become walking beside the marina. Sven and I love this walk. The view is constantly changing. We have noticed, of late, an increase in the number of benches. Pedestrians often sit and rest a while. It's always fun to discover the inscriptions on new memorial plaques. When we read about the man who swam with dolphins in 1950, we always remember our friend Brewster Fox. The plaque above speaks to the love that unites families. Have you ever walked around the marina? Do you have a favorite walk that you never grow tired of? Would you like to have your name on a memorial bench?

Yes, Fish Can Be Caught from Wellfleet Pier

Yesterday Sven and I went for a quiet walk around the marina. A slight breeze was blowing. The sun had emerged from behind a cloud, after heavy rain at dawn and morning cloudiness that had lingered into the afternoon. The tide was incoming high. The marina has really become The Place To Walk. It's flat, and easy. What's more the view is never boring. We passed quite a few people, some with walkers, some without. No one young was out walking, however. I suppose they have better things to do. Sven remarked the number of benches has increased. I noted a memorial inscription to a nice man we had known, Brewster Fox, who "swam with dolphins" in Wellfleet Harbor in 1950. Even the picnic tables have memorial inscriptions now. Every fourth bench was occupied by a couple resting, or a lone woman gazing off into the distance. We said hello to every one of them. Since I had spied a rowboat near the pier, we headed over in that general direction. Unfortunately the rowboat's skipper had moved in close to a sailboat and his passengers had already disembarked, so I was not able to take a photo. However, I did photograph several people fishing. We watched two women joyfully reel in stipers, one after the other. They had collected a pailful. Apparently these small fish were biting and are good smoked. Do you like to fish? Have you ever fished off the pier?

Wellfleet to Hold Harborfest in June

I do not know what the objects in this photo are, but I found them interesting and picturesque. They poked out of the water at low tide and, without my glasses, from a distance, looked like seabirds, with buoys for bellies. I spotted this strange flock last week when Sven and I went to the harbor for some exercise. Wellfleet's marina has become one of my favorite walks. There's a nifty sidewalk that is one half mile long, so we have to walk it several times to get the type of workout LeCount Hollow Beach offers. More people will discover the marina this spring during Harborfest, now in preliminary planning stages. A date has been selected, June 12. There will be a boat show and the promotion of charter/fishing events, a Marine Flea Market, a "clamboil." The Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary will hold educational events in conjunction. The day will close with a concert or dance of some kind in the evening. Volunteers are still very much in demand, so if you are interested in participation or have any input to provide, please contact Paul Pilcher through town hall.