Kayaks

Where to get kayaks?

Waiver

Fishing & Shellfishing

Fishing

Fishing charters are available throughout the Cape, with several operating out of Falmouth Harbor. Most are expensive sport-fishing outfits that accommodate between 5 and 10 people at around $75 to $100 per person. For the budget-minded, Patriot Party Boats, 1-800-734-0088, runs bottom-fishing excursions twice daily during the summer for $25 per person and their boat accommodates up to 50. Reservations are essential.

Shellfishing

Falmouth and Woods Hole provide excellent shellfishing throughout the year. Licenses are required and can be purchased at Falmouth Town Hall; $20 resident, $50 non-resident. Permits are good from March 1 until the last day of February. For recorded shellfish information call 508-495-7334.

Surfing

Surf in the Northeast does exist. Summer surf is slow. But be patient. As hurricane season approaches, the surfing spots come alive. Watch for tropical waves off the West coast of Africa. These storms will move east and often start curving North as they approach the Lesser Antilles and the Puerto Rico Trench. They’ll bring a nice solid 4-8’ swell with 11-13 sec period to South facing beaches like Squibnocket beach in Martha’s Vineyard; the Town landing in Little Compton, RI; and the beaches in the outer Cape like Coastguard station, Marconi beach, Whitecrest. The outer Cape has lots of secret spots too that can be reached only by off road vehicles -like Marconi Secrets. If the swell has some East to it, the South shore will get a nice swell. Places like Brant Rock in Marshfield will go off. As the winter approaches, Nor’easters give challenging surf for those who don’t fear the cold. You need a 6x5x4 wetsuit (6mm chest, 5mm arms/legs, 4mm hood) booties, and gloves. You often look for protected spots like Green Harbor in Marshfield because duck diving is brutal in the winter. The outer Cape gets a sweet Northeast swell too -but paddling out to the line up can be challenging. Best website for all your surfing needs: http://www.nesurf.com/index.html^{Image Added}. Gives tides, surf report, cam, local surf shops, everything

Windsurfing

Woods Hole beaches are popular windsurfing spots. Windsurfing is allowed on public beaches prior to 9:00 and after 17:00. Trunk River Beach and a portion of Chapoquoit Beach are open any time. Which beach sailors head to depends on wind direction and tidal currents. See the beach listings below. Tide information is available online, but the Eldridge Guide, published yearly and available through the WHOI stockroom, offers graphical representations of the tide and is worth picking up anyway if just for the included lore. Both experts and novices should join wind-stalkers@mit.edu for daily traffic during the summer months on who is going sailing and where, and also to inquire about borrowing equipment.

Locations

Stoney Beach (MBL Beach)

NE N NW wind; rocky beach but great NE waves.

Nobska Beach

Between Oyster Pond Rd. and Church St., Woods Hole. Views of the ferries passing and of the lighthouse. Sandier than most other beaches in town and has changing huts. Parking is a nightmare, and there’s nowhere to lock bikes. A short walk from the village or Winding Lane. For windsurfing: SW W wind on a dropping Woods Hole tide. Advanced sailing only because of strong tides and waves.

Surf Drive Beach (Trunk River)

SW S SE E wind; popular windsurfing spot for WHOI locals.

Surf Drive Beach (Jack's Beach)

SW S SE E wind; dirt parking lot off of Surf Drive near Elm Rd.

Chapoquoit Beach

Very popular bathing and windsurfing beach on Buzzards Bay. Rt. 28 North, Brick Kiln Rd. West, Rt 28A north. Left onto Chapoquoit Rd. Large Parking lot near end of road. The pond across the road is warmer and calmer. For windsurfing: N NW W SW wind. Great high wind spot with waves. Pond on the east side of the road for beginners.

Woodneck Beach

N NW W SW wind; great beginner beach and SW high wind sailing.

Equipment

Generally, better deals are available online or at the occasional tag sale. Add yourself to windstalkers@mit.edu if you’re in the market for any large items. Some of the people on that list watch online postings religiously and will alert the list. Eddie from Cape Cod Windsurfing (see listing below) is also a good source for heavily used, ex-rental equipment, particularly beginner stuff. Every summer finds WHOI community members learning to surf, and there are always experts willing to help beginners get started. Again, subscribe to wind-stalkers@mit.edu.

Sail World, Cape Cod

271 Main Street, Buzzards Bay; 508-759-6559, http://www.sailworld.com^{Image Added} Large selection of new boards and new/used sails, plus all the accessories, although generally only one brand of each. Knowledgeable staff. They hold swap meets about 3 times a year; check their website for upcoming meets. They also run clinics and sponsor area races.

Island Sports

86 Aquidneck Avenue, Middletown, RI; 401-846-4421, http://www.islandsports.com^{Image Added}. About 3 hours away. Smaller selection of windsurfing equipment that sailworld, but they hold swap meets too, and have a much larger selection of wetsuits. lessons

Cape Cod Windsurfing

350 Quaker Rd., North Falmouth; Beach Location: 508-457-7806, Pro-Shop: 508-801-3329, http://www.capecodwindsurfing.com^{Image Added}. Affiliated with the Sea-Crest Hotel. Eddie offers lessons and rentals. The website lists current rates.

Online Resources

Current wind conditions are available for free from Weather Underground http://www.wunderground.com^{Image Added} and a NOAA tower at the mouth of Buzzards Bay http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.phtml?\$station=buzm3^{Image Added}. Subscribers to http://www.iwindsurf.com^{Image Added} can access data from a tower at Chapoquoit Beach. No web-accessible anemometers exist in Woods Hole proper.

Sailing and Yacht Clubs

Spring, summer and fall in provide a wide range of opportunities to get out on the water and sail in and around Woods Hole. MIT students, don’t forget about the MIT Sailing Pavilion for a great opportunity to learn sailing while in Boston.

Boats

If you have your own boat and will require a mooring for it, check with every harbor master you can find soon. It can be a painfully slow process to get a mooring. Beware of the tides in Woods Hole. Check out an Eldridge Guide before heading out, to avoid being flushed through the hole.

Yacht Clubs

There are also many local yacht clubs that host racing fleets during the spring, summer and fall. Joining up as crew can be as easy as putting your name on a bulletin board. Call or stop by the specific clubs for the details.

• Woods Hole Yacht Club, 548-9205 (Dinghy sailing several nights a week)
• Falmouth Yacht Club, http://www.falmouthyachtclub.com^{Image Added} (Dinghies, 210’s, J24, Beetle Cats)
• Quissett Yacht Club, http://home.earthlink.net/~alecburt/index.htm^{Image Added} (Hereshoff’s and Dinghies)
• Chapoquoit Yacht Club, 508-548-0681 (Beetle Cats)
• Marion/Beverly Yacht Club, www.beverlyyachtclub.org (Wed. night PHRF big boats, J24’s, J105’s, Shields)
  For a bigger list check out http://www.cc-waterweb.com/main/clubs.htm^{Image Added}

SCUBA

WHOI Diving

Typically the classes (theory and pool sessions) take a month or so in June. Major time sink but worth doing if you need it or just are interested in helping other people out with their projects. It’s also free and you’ll get a NAUI certification out of it. Start early doing the paper work (February or March). You’ll need a full medical exam—easy to schedule and get done at MIT Medical, not so convenient in Falmouth. Really important to also do First Aid, CPR and O2 courses otherwise you won’t be able to dive in other places, or off UNOLS ships. These courses can be delayed until the fall.

Local Dive Shops

• Aqua Center - 2 Freezer Rd., Sandwich; 508-888-3444. Owned/operated by Greg McGrath. Friendly guy. Constantly organizing dives, underwater hockey games. Get on his email list.