Exploring Nantucket - the last of our American islands
A year afloat: to the Caribbean and back
Sam and Alex Fortescue
Sun 10 Jul 2011 22:46
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I shall let the photos do most of the talking
today, dear readers. Suffice it to say we've had a cracking sojourn on
Nantucket, despite a dismal arrival in the clammy fog two days ago. We're now
sporting freshly acquired sunburn after cycling around the island
yesterday.
The Whaling Museum - if you recall, my chief reason
for dragging First Mate Biffle here - was beautifully curated, but slightly
lacking in the meaty details of whaling. One wall held a fearsome array of
harpoons and lances, along with a description of how the whalemen would yell
'There's fire in the chimney!' when the hapless beast neared its end and
began to spout blood. But the grisly business of processing a whale was barely
touched upon - the carving and cutting, ripping and rending and finally the
melting down of the blubber. There was a beautifully-shot film on show
which also made some rather preposterous claims about Nantucket's justly famous
mariners; the narrator would have had it that Marco Polo, Magellan and Columbus
were lubbers who left the serious business of exploring the world to
Nantucketers. As an over enthusiastic interviewee said: 'Nantucket's sailors
were the astronauts of their age.'
Still, the island has a fascinating story to
tell, and there are reminders of its Quaker roots everywhere. They say the
island will have been entirely washed away within 400 years, as it is nothing
more than a heap of glacial moraine. Its present day incarnation is
toe-curlingly sweet, with lovely shingled buildings everywhere. But like all of
this part of America, it has an obsessive neatness and quaintness which is at
odds with its proud and grubby past. The look is still here, but the soul is
long departed - replaced by tourists and second homers. Good beaches,
though.
We're now back at Martha's Vineyard, where we are
meeting my ex-Edinburgh flatmate Savannah. She's flying in from London to
join us for the last leg of our American Tour back to Newport. It's going to be
super to see her, but she's going to get a taste of Atlantic fever as we gear up
for our departure. If all goes well and the weather co-operates, we'll be
setting sail for the Azores on Saturday.
Two trouty faces - a la Tabitha
 Skull of a 48 foot long bull whale
 Lens of the Nantucket Lightship light
 Madakonet beach on a rare sunny afternoon in
Nantucket
 More beached whales...
 letterboxes
 Dionis beach on the island's north
shore
 Nantucket town
  A daunting prospect in store at the end of the
week
   A curious sight on Beach Street
 The harbour
 Sconset in the east of the island
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