Conference vicki::boats

    Well I have seen the waters of Nantucket sound off the beaches of
    Chatham and Harwich to be as quiet any almost any pond at times,
    perfect for water skiing, but you'd have to be opportunist to take
    advantage of those times.
    
    You say Monomoy isn't too far? Then I'd suggest the bay at the end of
    the Oyster River in Chatham. Enter by the Stage Harbor light and turn
    to port, keep going, the "river" will widen into what seems to be a
    real nice lake. It is warmer than the sea (we swim there at "children's
    beach") and usually calmer. People ski there a lot.
    
    The other place is in Pleasant Bay itself, north of Monomoy. Pleasant
    Bay is bigger so the water isn't always perfect for skiing, but there
    are some spots that are usually pretty good. It is a little more tricky
    to get into these days since the barrier (Nauset) beach was washed out
    in front of Chatham light.
    
    john 

    People used to ski just inside Bass River on the West Dennis side.
    There is a small bay area to starboard as you enter from the ocean. The
    area is called Wrinkle Point and skiing used to be allowed there. Best
    to check with a local first.
    

    The area directly in front of Craigville Beach is usually smooth
    enough for skiing. I have skied there before. It's just to the west
    of Hyannis (1-2 mi).
    
    					Kenny

Dave,
I'm not familiar with the ponds at the Cape, but can add to the list of
suggestions for ocean skiing.  Load your boat on its trailer, and head
over to Sesuit Harbor in East Dennis, on the bay side of the Cape.  I've
skied there many times, sometimes in water as smooth as glass.  As you
said, the ocean can be unreliable, but if you hit it on a good day you'll
never forget it.

To get there, take route 134 north to 6A.  Head east on 6A, and take your
first left about 3/4 mile down.  I forget the name of the street, but there's
a sign for some kind of pottery shop.  From there, take your 2nd left onto
Cold Storage Road.  The parking lot and ramp will be about 1/4 mile on the 
left.  Launching is free, but parking is somewhere around $6-10.  Once out
of the harbor, head east toward the protected area of Billingsgate shoals
and Wellfleet - the trip takes about 1/2 hour or so.  On a good day we've 
taken turns skiing all the way from Sesuit Harbor to Wellfleet.  Also, bring
your anchor and a picnic lunch, because the shoals are actually large sand
bars which are above water even at high tide and you will definitely want to
get off the boat and explore the area.  Other sites to see are an old target
ship, the sand cliffs and beaches just outside of Wellfleet Harbor, and
P-town is only another 40 minutes or so from there.

The only thing to watch for is to keep an eye on the weather late in the
afternoon.  If the weather and seas pick up it's about a 15 mile trip
directly into the wind to get back to the harbor.  This should be no problem
at all for your 22' Sea Ray, but was the cause of a few uncomfortable return
trips in my old 15' tri-hull.

It's definitely worth the trip.  If you want any other info just let me know,
I'll try to answer your questions.

Rick W.

    Thanks for your suggestions for a good place to ski.  We checked out
    a couple of the places, so here's what we found....
    
    o Lewis Bay - plenty of deep open water, but just too many boats
                  around to feel safe.
    
                  Never made it over to Craigville beach.
    
    o Oyster Pond - this trip took about 20 minutes once we got out
                    into the open ocean from the mouth of the Bass River.
                    The channel was too shallow because we got there at
                    low tide.  We will check this out when the tide
                    is right.
    
    o Inside right of the Bass River mouth - this water was way to shallow
                    and is also a no wake zone - no skiing here!
    
    o Atlantic Ocean - so far has been the only place to ski - it's not
                       bad when it is smooth, but once a chop comes, the
                       day is over for skiing.
    
    Trailering is out of the question at this point due to the fact 
    that we don't have one.  The only way to get to the other side is
    through the canal.
    
    Thanks for your suggestions....I still have 1 more place to explore
    it seems!
    
    Dave

    Dave, 
    
    Sorry you found that the channel into Oyster Pond was too shallow for
    your boat, and that I couldn't warn you about that. I have only been
    through that channel in a smaller outboard as a passenger and really
    wasn't looking down. As a swimmer in Oyster Pond I have seen boats that
    I would guess at 20'-22' pulling skiers in there, and assumed that
    you'd have no problems. I know that rafts off the public beach are in
    water at least 10' deep at low tide, but of course that isn't the channel. 
                                                                     
    john

    John,
    
    No problem, no harm done.  Noticing the water was too shallow, we
    turned the boat around and headed back out the channel even before
    we got into the mouth of the waterway to the pond.  No damage was 
    done to the prop or outdrive.
    
    It doesn't look like it would be a bad ride during high tide, but
    the I/O just can't hack that shallow of water during low tide.
    There are definate advantages with an outboard!
    
    There seems to be a rather large body of water if you head straight
    up the channel, instead of bearing off left to Oyster Pond.  Is this
    able to be skiied, or is it a harbor?   The water there looks plenty
    deep.
    
    Dave

    (I didn't reply rigth away because I was taking a vacation to remodel
     my cottage's kitchen, and to try to find a place for the boat I'm
     buying.)
    
    That area is Stage Harbor, it is only about half the size of the Oyster
    Pond, and it is too crowded to ski. Commercial fishing operations are
    in there (or at least they were the last time I was in there.)
    
    It seems that mornings will sometimes offer calm enough water on
    Natucket Sound to ski. We were at the beach last Wednesday (OK, so it
    was too since to start work in the kitchen right away) before noon, the
    water was very smooth. Then at 1 pm it was almost as if someone had
    turned on a fan and the wind came up. The water was still ski-able for
    a while, but then turned kind of rough. Saturday when we were at the
    beach we were entertained by someone trying to ski in rough water,
    emphasis on "trying".
    
    If everything works out I'll give you a report on skiing on Pleasant
    Bay in a couple of weeks.
    
    john 

    Stage Harbor seems to be out of the question.
    
    As of yet, I haven't found any other place to ski other than the ocean.
    The ocean this past Saturday was as smooth as any lake could be.  
    Opportunities to ski on glass in the ocean don't come very often, but
    the opportunist in me took full advantage of it.  Now if one didn't
    have to make the 45 minute trip down the BAss river to find out how
    rough the ocean is...!
    
    I too noticed how calm the ocean is in the morning, as compared to the
    chop that builds in the afternoon.   It is strange, but I've noticed
    the quick changes that can occur with weather conditions on the
    Cape as well.  There is a relation in there somewhere.....
    
    Good luck with the boat, I look forward to your review of Pleasant Bay.
    
    Dave

    As stated in .9, Cape Cod Bay in the area between East Dennis
    and Wellfleet Harbor was smooth as glass on Saturday.  I've never
    seen so many boats out there towing skiers and tubers. Wouldn't
    ya know, there were only two of us in the boat, with no observer.
    I may have tried it anyway, except my buddy who was with me is not
    very experienced at driving a boat, and I figured towing a skier
    in the ocean would not be a good time to learn.
    
    For future reference, does anyone know whether the Coast Guard or 
    Harbor Patrol would enforce the same rules in regard to the observer?
                                                   
    Rick W.
    
    P.S. Conditions do change quickly.  Sunday was a whole different
         story, much too choppy to ski comfortably.

    Water skiing on Pleasant Bay is possible. However it is big enough
    that the water can get fairly choppy, and in some areas there are/can
    be big wakes to watch for. Getting to Pleasant Bay may be too long
    a trip for you though. It would be easier to go with the tides at
    Oyster Pond or take advantage of calm weather in Nantucket Sound.
    
    john

    Moved by mod...   Topics are close enough
    
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Note 887.0                     Skiing on the Cape                     No replies
CALS::BRAGINSKY "Leo"                                 4 lines  29-JUL-1991 15:49
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I am looking for lakes on the Cape and near it that are suitable for
water skiing (no power restrictions) and have access to them.

Thanks.