Cuttyhunk Pond MA USA

When we left Hadley Harbour at 1030 on Sunday 30 September it was glassy calm so we resigned ourselves to a motor for the transit 13nm west to Cuttyhunk.

The harbour at Cuttyhunk is a landlocked pool, entered by a short dredged canal (min sounding approx 2.5m). In summer, the place is so popular that there is also a large mooring field and anchorage outside the canal entrance, which is well-protected from the normal southwesterly winds, but we reckoned on there being plenty of space inside it being so late in the season.

And so there was.  The mooring field is huge and perfectly laid out on a square criss-cross plan, just like a huge chequers board when it’s empty, which it was almost.  Just to the north of the mooring field, there’s a small area of dredged water available for anchoring.  When we arrived there were 4 boats here (if you count the 2 that were rafted together as one) and not much space for more.  But we managed to squeeze in and decided to launch the dinghy for an explore ashore.

Mid-afternoon on a Sunday at the end of September Cuttyhunk is not a bustling, happening place.

Even the terrapins were taking life slowly, though we seemed to see the cop car wherever we went

There were a few people at the main dock enjoying a bite to eat from the Raw Bar and the policeman in his golf-buggy cop car seemed to be doing the rounds of the island but other than that it was all peaceful tranquillity.  In high season, on the other hand, the island’s sure to be a very different beast.

Views from Tower Hill, Cuttyhunk’s not very high high point. (Top) looking southwest across Westend Pond and (bottom) looking east over Cuttyhunk Pond, the entrance canal and Nashawena Island beyond

We walked up Tower Hill to the island’s high point where there are a number of concrete bunkers left over from WWII – protection for Buzzard’s Bay and the eastern entrance to Long Island Sound. The views and the concrete bunkers reminded us rather of the north end of Guernsey…..

On the way down from Tower Hill, looking north-northeast across Cuttyhunk Pond with Penikese Island beyond, just under the horizon

…..though, of course, the houses didn’t.

Ferry car park

Feeling that we should walk a bit further we headed towards the canal and came to the ferry terminal and abandoned Coastguard Station, with its parking ‘lot’ along the road.  There are almost no cars on Cuttyhunk just lots of golf buggies, some in a better state of repair than others.

We continued on to the end of the entrance canal, which has a number of small beaches along it, all with signs saying ‘No parking motorised watercraft’ and we thought about going out onto the isthmus that stretches towards Nashawena Island but it looked as if it were private land so we didn’t.  And so, after a major explore of the island, which took all of about 90mins, including a 20min stop to chat to some other cruisers, we headed back to BV and a glorious sunset to enjoy with sundowners.

Views from the anchorage including (top left) the disused Coastguard Station

Cuttyhunk Pond, Massachusetts, USA