DESTINATION > CUTTYHUNK, MA
Discover the Island Charm of CUTTYHUNK, MA BY RICHARD KERN
E ver wish you could hop in a time machine and go back 50 or 60 years to experience a less frenetic pace of life? It’s not as far-fetched as it might sound.There’s a place off the coast of Massachusetts where you can do just that ... at least for a weekend. “It’s like 1960 — you’re stepping back in time,” notes Captain Jono Billings, who owns and operates the Cuttyhunk Ferry out of New Bedford, about 18 miles north of Cuttyhunk Island, a 580-acre arc of stone and sand that’s the westernmost of the Elizabeth Islands that lie between Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound. For such a small place, Cuttyhunk has a long, colorful history. In 1602 — nearly 20 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock — Bartholomew Gosnold sailed from Falmouth, England to establish a colony in the New World, explored the areas near present-day Kennebunkport, Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard, and built a small fort on what he christened Cuttyhunk Island. A 70-foot stone tower was constructed in 1902 commemorating the 300th anniversary of that historic landing. After passing through the hands of several English earls and dukes, Peleg Slocum purchased the island in 1693, and her family continued to live on Cuttyhunk for the next 165 years. In 1865, a group of Rhode Island fishing enthusiasts bought a large portion of the island and built the Cuttyhunk Club and a few fishing stands, enhancing its reputation as a prime spot for sport
fishing. In fact, two 73-pound, world-record striped bass have been caught off Cuttyhunk in 1913 and more recently in 1967. Local fishermen know all the qualities and quirks of the area’s waters, offering their services to visiting anglers and acting as expert navigators for ships sailing into New Bedford Harbor, piloting them through the dangerous Sow and Pig Reef on the west end of the island. Fishing isn’t the only way to interact with nature on Cuttyhunk. Half the island is a nature preserve, home to a variety of birds and mammals, as well as wildflowers, sweet peas, bayberry and a host of other flora. Plenty of hiking trails wind through the landscape that’s largely craggy and reflects Cuttyhunk’s glacial
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