A lovely day sailing made more interesting by seeing a Leatherback turtle. We saw them nesting on a beach in Trinidad but never in the sea before. This one was big too – probably 6ft and weighing 1 ton. My favourite leatherback facts: they are prehistoric, unchanged for 120 million years and can swim fast (10m/sec). That is faster than Great White sharks and Killer whales, the only predators of mature adults. They also go straight down, to depths of 3500m. The reinforced longitudinal stripes on their backs are to protect internal organs from the huge pressures at those depths.

The name Cuttyhunk is derived from the Wampanoag Indian for ‘Land’s End’ because it is the last in the chain of Islands running south west from Cape Cod. With less than 100 residents on it 1.5 square miles it didn’t take long to explore, and the Museum, Church, School, Library and Town Hall were all conveniently placed next to each other. (The school had one teacher and 3 students in 2009)! We had to walk a bit further to get to the shop – sadly, closed!

Beautiful views from the top of the hill too.