Chatham Lighthouse Beach: 3/09: open and protected

From an archived Cape Cod Times article:

Lighthouse Beach wins reprieve

March 3, 2009

CHATHAM - A beloved but dangerous public beach near Chatham Light will open in June in light of last night%26#39;s vote of the board of health, pending funding approval for a new beach-patrol plan. The h...

The new beach-patrol plan includes patrolling dune buggies and boats offshore warning swimmers about dangerous conditions.

I love this beach for sunbathing and walking. I don%26#39;t love it for swimming. There are sharp drop-offs and dangerous undertows in these waters.

Chatham Lighthouse Beach: 3/09: open and protected

I concur! Lighthouse Beach is NOT a swimming beach. Swimming at Lighhouse Beach in Chatham should be outlawed.

We have seen one too many deaths here. 3 people have drown close to shore in the past 5 years, one of whom grew up in Chatham and by default grew up on Lighthouse Beach. He knew the waters, and still perished.

With the shifting sands, the new break, etc, the rip currents are worse than ever, not to mention closer to the shore. Please folks, do not swim here. Enjoy the walks, the views, etc. But please do not swim at Lighthouse Beach!

I am afraid if the Town adds lifeguards, they are endorsing risky behavior. If they charge $ to go to the beach, they are endorsing it as a swimming beach. It%26#39;s a tough call, but hopefully safety is more important than town revenue.

Chatham Lighthouse Beach: 3/09: open and protected

The beach should be banned from swimming.

I don%26#39;t think any lifeguards are being considered. Instead, they%26#39;re planning on using dune buggy riders to warn people away from the water and boats to monitor where people swim.

I once spent an afternoon just floating in the boat out by the point near the Harbor Master%26#39;s boat and the Coast Guard (talk about money being spent!!!!) boat and was amazed at the risks people were taking with their lives, the lives of their kids and the lives of the harbor master and coast guard.

I%26#39;m not jazzed about encouraging people to swim where there are so many seals, either. The Cape isn%26#39;t Disney World! (Paradise for some, but not a fantasy land at all).

Thanks fussy, I figured that if anyone would know the current news about Chatham it would be YOU! Glad to hear that the town is taking their responsibility to protect public safety seriously. Folk who do not know the North Atlantic%26#39;s awesome power are sometimes lulled into thinking they are just taking a dip in the pool! And Mermaid, I can recall seeing people in the water off South Beach playing with the seals....yikes! Sea World NOT! Thanks again for the update.

Again: Cape Cod Times online is a great source for Current local information. My old parents, still living in Chatham independently, aren%26#39;t fazed in the least by the comings and goings of Cape/Chatham events. This goes for my Cape friends too. I often only hear of things long after (or long before) they%26#39;re published or announced. Depends upon what it is. Sometimes they get it wrong (Christian%26#39;s restaurant fate, for instance) because they%26#39;ve heard the preliminary discussions rather than the final decisions. So I check online often.

yellowbird: you have local connections too I thought...your network is at least as extensive as mine, I%26#39;m sure.

A few more weeks and school will be out and I%26#39;ll be back on the boat! I really can%26#39;t wait to be fishing again. Another entire Cape summer coming up! Enjoy yours!

...and let%26#39;s not forget - where there are seals - there are sharks. A couple of kite-surfers at Lighthouse Beach spotted one close to shore awhile back. I wish I had the link to the story - it was kept pretty quiet, if I recall correctly.

Why not post signs about the sharks? It would keep everyone out of the water! I suppose if Chatham admitted there were sharks around Lighthouse Beach, it would be a PR nightmare.

There are many beautiful swimming beaches on Cape Cod. Fussy should start a thread!

There are sharks all over the Cape. (they%26#39;ve come from this forum). just kidding.

I like the Sound beaches for swimming. The seaweed doesn%26#39;t bother me at all and the water is relatively warm. I don%26#39;t like the National Seashore beaches for swimming, too cold and rough. Bay side%26#39;s low tide is forever and the water there at ebb or high tide is cold. I%26#39;m fussy.

Really, give me a good pond any day and I%26#39;m happy.

Best kept swimming pond secret:

Spectacle Pond, Wellfleet.

Only 2 parking spaces make it very exclusive (IF you can even find it to begin with!)

Bear in mind - for the uninitiated - Cape Cod ponds are great until end of July - too many nitrogens (lawn pesticides, etc) make the water a wee bit murky... and toxic thereafter...

Spring has sprung!

shhhh, CapeMermaid!!! lol

Herring, Duck, and Dyer aren%26#39;t too shabby either. I don%26#39;t know if the more %26#39;remote%26#39; ponds are as subject to nitrogen loading from water fowl and pesticides etc. as the other ponds...I haven%26#39;t kept up with longitudinal water studies.

I’ve always been one to recommend people seek out the Outer Cape’s Kettle Ponds if they’re interested in a relaxing swim – especially if you have little kids. Gull Pond, with it%26#39;s small boat rentals, is a great choice. But tiny, unmarked Spectacle Pond!? My favorite Duck Pond!? Even the people working the permits office pretend not to know exactly what road to take when you mention these ponds. If I can’t get a parking spot this year I’m coming after both Fussy and Mermaid!

;)

Sorry Brooklyn!

How about in exchange for my faux pas, I give you the heads up on a beautiful Maine island called Islesboro located in gorgeous Penobscot Bay? A summer haven of choice for more than 100 years for those able to travel anywhere in the world?! 20 minutes from the mainland, yet a world away. As Charles Dana Gibson once said ';One summer in Dark Harbor is worth a dozen abroad';. We go from 600 in winter to 200 in summer. No hotels save for one bed and breakfast...

Check out Islesboro on wikipedia - we moved here because Cape Cod was getting too crowded, and my husband longed for the Chatham he knew as a child (Islesboro is in fact the only place he would leave Chatham for). Check out the island on:

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islesboro), and visit our island school website - we are dedicated to educational excellence: (www.islesboro-central.islesboro.k12.me.us/). Lastly, take a look at: (www.islesboro.com) to see how much further your real estate dollar can take you...

Hope that helps!

Enjoy.