The summer is in full swing here on Cape Cod. The weather has been nothing but spectacular. The beaches have been filled with vacationers as well as residents. The tide rolls in and out, welcoming you into its warm waters. As we enjoy the pristine beaches, we sometimes forget that it is also home to marine life and long forgotten ocean mysteries.
The circle of life continues in the ocean as a humpback whale washed up on a remote beach on Nantucket. The whale had been dead for a couple of days, but someone couldn’t leave nature as it should be and tried to cut off the whales’ tail. The thing is, the tail has no value, as it contains no bone, only muscle and skin and eventually would deteriorate. Prior to the carcass being removed the whale was engulfed by the high surf and returned to the sea. Some might say that is poetic justice. Mutilating a whale carcass is a violation of the federal Marine Mammal Protection Agency. Last week a sperm whale washed up on a Chatham beach and scientist quickly removed the lower jaw, which contains ivory and marketable on the black market, to stop such instances.
So many ships have sunk of the coast between Chatham and Provincetown it is often called an ocean graveyard.http://www.mychatham.com/capecodshipwrecks.html
One such shipwreck was discovered in Nantucket Sound early this week. The Jennie French Potter sunk in 1909. The ship was 260 feet long with five masts, and was headed to Boston in May 1909, with a cargo of Appalachian Coal. Due to the strong tide the vessel was grounded and abandoned in 25 feet of water, approximately 10 miles south of Yarmouth. It stayed beneath the sea for more than a century, until December 2010, when its iron wheel upright was found on the beach. With the warm water temperature and excellent visibility divers were able to get a closer look, and found an amazing site.
Although these are not your common occurrences, they enhance the charm of Cape Cod.
Here are some other events happening this week on the Cape.
The Graduate comes to Cape Cod - http://capeplayhouse.com/
The Barnstable County Fair http://www.barnstablecountyfair.org/
See you next week - www.onecentrestreetinn.com
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