by Windsurfing in the Woods Hole (Cape Cod) area. This is fairly long so if you
are not interested hit 'n' now.
This is a short! summary about windsurfing in the Woods Hole area. The major
advantage of windsurfing in the area is that you have easy access to both
Buzzards' Bay as well as Vineyard Sound which means, depending upon wind
direction, you can choose the beach you want to gaurantee sideshore/
onshore wind unhindered by land shadows.
Directions to Woods Hole:
If you're coming from Rhode Island or points South take 195 from Providence to
the last exit for Rt 25 (Cape Cod). Then follow the common directions below.
From Boston take 93S. At the 3S split follow the lanes which say I93 to I95
(NOTE: 3S also goes to Cape Cod, the Sagamore Bridge, but is always a big mess
in the summer due to traffic congestion!) and then take the first left exit,
24 to Brockton. Follow 24 (~20 to 25 miles) until you see the signs for I495 S
to Cape Cod. Follow 495 to its end (~30 miles) where it changes its name to 25
and becomes three lanes.
COMMON DIRECTIONS:
NOTE: 495 and 25 have the most ingenious SPEED TRAPS in Mass. Keep your eyes
peeled and your radar detectors on. They often pull over five cars at a time !
Follow 25 over the Bourne Bridge. Go straight through the rotary (i.e 180
degrees)(there is a BayBank ATM right on the rotary which is very convenient)
onto Rt 28 towards Falmouth. Keep on Rt 28 through the Otis rotary
until it becomes single lane on the outskirts of Falmouth (~15 miles). Go
through the traffic light. Follow the road through (it curves a bit) Falmouth
until you come to a T. Make a right onto Woods Hole road. (You'll see a sign
here that says Woods Hole - 4 miles). Continue on Woods Hole road until the
traffic light.
If you are going to Trunk river or Nobska turn right onto Oyster Pond Rd.
Follow it to the end and make a right.
For Trunk River: The parking lot is the first tarred
road on your left. This has a section reserved exclusively for windsurfing.
Please be careful of the bikers, joggers, rollerbladers when you cross the
bikepath. The beach is rocky and has great fla***er sailing.
For Nobska: Follow the road for two miles until it goes past Nobska
lighthouse. The beach is on your left. Officially you cannot windsurf there
before 4 o'clock in the evening but when it is really blowing the only
people around are windsurfing. Sandy beach but be careful of the rocks on the
lighthouse end. Great bump-and-jump when it cranks.
For Stony Beach (alias MBL Beach or RSS,Rolland's Secret Spot) continue
straight on Woods Hole road into Woods Hole. Turn left onto Water Street (the
main street in Woods Hole) and go straight through downtown. At the end you'll
be forced to make a right. Go straight through the first Stop sign and at the
second Stop sign turn left and (within 50 yards) turn right. Within a 100 yards
you'll make almost a U-turn at the Y-intersection. The entrance to the parking
lot is on your right. Sandy beach, shallow for quite a ways. If you sail out
past the point you might have problems with the tide and staying upwind.
Closest Windsurfing Store: Cape Sailboards in downtown Falmouth. Bob, Roy and
Josie run it. Great place. Tell them Hanu sent you. (No I'm not affiliated
with them!).
New England Windsurfing Academy is in Falmouth Heights. I've never dealt
with them personally but they have a decent reputation.
FOOD: Downtown Woods Hole has (my prejudiced opinions)
Pie-in-the-Sky: The BEST Pastry in the world. Try it before flaming :-)
Fishmonger's Cafe: Good food, slightly over-priced (?).
Black Duck: They run two restaurants in the summer. A s***y expensive place
with all kinds of seafood and down-to-earth decent burgers place which has a
bar.
Shucker's: Raw Bar, Lobster specials.
Food Buoy: Very good, cheap, take-out deli sandwiches. It's our local general
store.
In Falmouth:
You have a whole host of restaurants. If you want to splurge on a good meal
the Coonamasett Inn. Expensive but worth it.
Hotels, Motels, Inns: I don't really know anything about....
If I can help (I like meeting other windsurfers) I'm a grad student at the
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Give me a call at
(W)(508)-457-2000 x3270
(H)(508)-548-4550.
See you on the water.
Hanu