By Carol Odell

My predecessor, John Kelsey, ran a very tight ship, so when I was elected President of Friends of Pleasant Bay, naturally I was concerned about following his act. It soon became evident that John's efficiency and attention to detail would make the transition seamless. The makeup of the current Board of Directors is energetic, skillful and effective and I am delighted to serve with them.

The board has assessed the directions it might want to work towards in the coming months and has determined that the purpose of the Friends would be served best were we to focus on education, communication and cooperation. Being comprised of imaginative minds, the board is launching new projects as well as carrying on important outreach work it has been doing all along.

Education about the Bay is the most effective means of preserving a fragile resource. The School Grants Program continues to fund projects originating in the schools of Chatham, Harwich, Orleans or Brewster. This year two teachers from Nauset Regional Middle School are working with over 100 students to help them learn about the Bay -- its complex ecology and its inspirational beauty. Keep a lookout for groups of students and parents working with teachers and naturalists at Jack Knife Cove or Kent's Point. A report on their progress appears in this newsletter.

Education is also important for adult citizens and especially for public officials. It is in this vein that FOPB -- along with corporate sponsors The Cape Cod Five and Wequassett Inn -- have contracted with the Boston University Marine Program of Woods Hole to undertake a study of the Horseshoe Crab in Pleasant Bay. Legislation regarding the harvesting of this animal may be imminent, yet until now there has been no definitive study done on the horseshoe crab.

A report on the work launched last fall by Dr. Ivan Valiela, professor of marine biology, and his Ph.D.-candidate researcher Ruth Carmichael, appears in this newsletter. Their study will have a particular focus on spawning time, upcoming in May and June.

In the last few years, a variety of groups have been formed at many levels whose shared goal is the well-being of the Bay, perhaps most notably the Pleasant Bay Resource Management Alliance, a multi-town agency that oversees the critical Pleasant Bay Management Plan that FOPB helped create. In 2000, the Alliance's Pleasant Bay Citizen Water Quality Monitoring Program completed its first complete May-October season at 16 sampling stations around the bay. Volunteers include numerous FOPB members.

Several other conservation-minded groups are also active on Bay issues, including Friends of Meeting House Pond, Friends of Lonnie's Pond, Friends of Arey's Pond, Friends of Chatham Waterways, Orleans Conservation Trust, and Pleasant Bay Cruising Club. Our members are seeking closer ties to all such groups as we work towards our common purpose. FOPB board members make the effort to attend appropriate meetings to keep abreast of issues concerning Pleasant Bay.

The Personal Water Craft issue will be coming before Town Meetings this spring. It is likely that regulations that call for the banning of PWCs (aka "Jet-Skis") in waters contiguous to the National Seashore will be voted on. In accord with its members' wishes, FOPB will make a public statement in support of such regulations.

The Publications Committee has been hardworking this year under the leadership of chairman Roy Terwilliger. This newsletter has a new editor, Jeff McLaughlin, newly retired from The Boston Globe. Richard Hiscock is our new website editor, and he will bring a wealth of information to Bay enthusiasts both near and far. In the works is creation of an archive and bibliography of publications relating to Pleasant Bay, a project that Alan McClennen Sr. will guide. The committee as a whole has worked hard on sales and marketing of our latest publication, PLEASANT BAY: STORIES FROM A CAPE COD PLACE, by Marcia Monbleau, a richly rewarding book that continues to be very popular.

There are other new projects yet to come that are still under wraps but also have much to offer in the way of education, communication and cooperation. Members at large who wish to become more involved with activities are most welcome. Please call any board member and let us know of your interests and concerns.

Be sure to enjoy the winter Bay!

Horseshoe Crab Study Launched, Fundraising Off to Good Start

by John Kelsey

In September 2000 the FOPB-sponsored study of the horseshoe crab population in the Bay got under way. The study is being undertaken in response to strong public interest in the crab and the frequently asked question, "Is the crab population in decline and is it in danger?'' On the one hand, some anecdotal reports suggest a serious problem, but on the other, there is no credible evidence for such a case. There is increasing demand for a science-based report on the status and future trends of the horseshoe crab population.

Toward that end, the Friends have retained the Boston University Marine Program at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole to conduct a two-year study. To quote from their proposal: "Our intent is to provide the information and means by which managers, policy makers, and public stakeholders can plan how to protect this important natural resource, and provide the basis for immediate and future regulatory and management decisions."

Dr. Ivan Valiela, professor of marine biology, will be responsible for oversight, planning and final reports for this study. Ruth Carmichael, a Ph.D. candidate in biology, will be in charge of the field work and data processing.

The team is currently in the middle of the first phase, which consists of a literature search and data analysis. They report that there is a great deal of helpful background information, but few data, on the historical abundance and distribution of the horseshoe crab in Pleasant Bay. They have been in touch with other groups who have studied or are currently studying the crab -- including Dr. Carl Schuster, whose work in the 1950s remains very important. He has been kind enough to make his papers available.

The BU team also has contacted Jude Wilber, who is conducting a sediment study for the Pleasant Bay Alliance; the University of Rhode Island team which is undertaking a spawning study for the National Seashore; and the Massachusetts Audubon Society in Wellfleet, which is doing horseshoe crab studies in Cape Cod Bay. This coordination with other research is sure to result in a whole which will be greater than the sum of the parts. FOPB board member Jay Harrington, who has spent nearly three decades working the Bay's waters, has been helping the researchers understand the Bay's complex ecology.

The Massachusetts Department of Marine Fisheries held a meeting in Wellfleet on Nov. 10 that was open to all parties interested in, or already studying the horseshoe crab. Ruth Carmichael reported that most of the parties mentioned above were on hand to give updates on their work. The familiar call for more scientific information echoed at that gathering, and Ruth said she felt our study was further validated.

The heart of the study will be the second phase of field work. It will commence with the spawning of the crabs this early spring. FOPB board member Tony Davis has kindly agreed to make a Boston Whaler from Arey's Pond Boat Yard available to the research team for that phase.

The BU study carries a total cost of $55,000. The Friends have committeed $10,000 from their own funds. The Cape Cod Five Charitable Foundation has contributed $10,000, the Wequassett Inn also has given $10,000, and Friends of Meeting House Pond have given $2,500. These gifts are much appreciated ; we are over half way to the total.

FOPB is starting a grant search, and a fundraising campaign will start soon. You all will hear from us! We are very hopeful that the public's strong emotional involvement with the horseshoe crab will be translated speedily into complete funding for the project.

Microbes To Melodies

Mark on your calendars: June 13, 7-8 p.m., at the Nauset Regional Middle School in Orleans. That's the date for "Pleasant Bay Expo," a presentation that will be produced by the two groups of NRMS teachers and students who have been studying the Bay this year under separate FOPB Student Grants for 2000-2001.

Science teacher Linda P. Johnson is working with 96 students in the school's Oasis Team. Their field studies involve eight ecological subject areas, ranging from Birds to Benthic & Burrowing Organisms, Water Quality Testing to Aquatic/Marsh Vegetation. To keep teams small, all this is going on at two sites -- Jack Knife Cove and Kent's Point.

Music teacher Mariellen Sears is working with a seminar group, a dozen selected members of the 7th-and-8th- grade Concert Band. Their field trips to the Bay, and their creative responses to it, both at the shore and in the classroom, will yield small musical works for a chamber wind ensemble, and a large work for band that Mariellen is calling "The Pleasant Bay Suite."

Both teachers provided the board with winter updates, edited here for space.

LINDA JOHNSON REPORTS: "We have all had the opportunity to visit both field sites at least twice. We will be visiting each site once a month during the winter and will begin once-a-week visits in May. The field study groups are: Benthic & Burrowing Organisms, Nekton/Fish, Birds, Water Quality Testing, Erosion, Microbial Life, Sediment Analysis, and Aquatic/Marsh Vegetation .

"Each group is assigned specific instructions or protocol to follow when visiting the field sites, and a member of each group records all their data on log sheets specifically designed for their group. Each student also makes personal entries in their field lab notebook. Each student is learning about Pleasant Bay's physical and biological environment by way of observation and various testing methods. Our grant money was used mostly for the purchase of water-testing equipment, seine and dip nets, field guides, binoculars, sediment-sorting sieves, and many pairs of hip boots."

MARIELLEN SEARS REPORTS: "We started the seminar by studying maps, field guides and tide charts to get an idea of the place we were going to write about. We documented the types of birds and sea life that we might see. Our first site visit was to PahWah Point on a beautiful day in October. The students were able to draw or take photographs and write about what they saw and felt that day. We have subsequently been to Round Cove and Jack Knife Cove to photograph and study the shoreline.

"We have spent 13 hours in the classroom so far discovering the theory of music, scales, chords and progressions. We have talked about how to write a melody and how to shape a phrase into a musical idea. The students are experimenting to create mood and color with music. We are taking those melodies and creating harmony for them. The large work has yet to evolve although the melodies the students have created will play a part."

Early Yachting on Pleasant Bay

The Sidney Brooks Scholars, a group of Harwich historians dedicated to rediscovering the old town's rich maritime heritage, was organized in the 1990s by John Roche, a former officer of the FOPB board. Among the scholars was Roy Terwilliger, currently chairman of the FOPB publications committee.

What follows is the text, very slightly edited for reasons of space, of Roy's presentation, "Early Yachting on Pleasant Bay," given to the Harwich Historical Society.

By Roy Terwilliger

I began by reviewing the Harwich Independent for 1889, and went through the entire year's issues trawling for "maritime facts." Although there was a great deal of information about mackerel seiners and "corncrackers," my attention was drawn to the activities of the Pleasant Bay Yacht Club (PBYC). I live in East Harwich and race a Beetle Cat sailboat on Pleasant Bay, so it wasn't hard to get interested in this facet of the maritime history of Harwich.

Although there was not a great deal of detail about any shore facilities or clubhouse, the Independent did cover two regattas in 1889 -- one on July 4 and another on July 29. There were extensive articles about the races, and apparently a great deal of public interest. One story noted that PBYC sailors raced under "Beverly Rules," and I did some further research in my collection of marine books. I found that the original Beverly (Mass.) Yacht Club was founded in 1872 for the express purpose of admitting yachts of less than 30 feet which at the time were not allowed at the prestigious Boston Yacht Club (based in Marblehead) or Eastern Point Yacht Club (in Gloucester). Beverly broke racing classes down into five-foot increments, and that is what PBYC did in its 1889 races.

After finishing my review of 1889, I went back to the Independent for 1885 because that year's issues had not yet been studied by other Scholars. Once again I was drawn to yachting on Pleasant Bay. In that year there was a reference on June 30 to the "Boat Club," and an article covering "the annual race of fishing boats." Evidently "yachting" was not yet in vogue, but the article reported nine boats sailing. The race was won by CURLEW, owned by Sam Rogers, and again, what interested me most was that the boats were handicapped for speed, probably based on their size. The winner's margin was just four seconds after one hour and 12 minutes of sailing -- pretty close racing!

By now, my interest was piqued, so I decided to see what I could find in other years about racing on Pleasant Bay. I've only begun to scratch the surface, but moving on to 1886, I found more extensive coverage, all in the East Harwich section of the paper.

July 4th Weekend was when the club held its big regatta, and some details from 1886 provide insight into what went on in those days. In the June 22 Independent, the Regatta was announced. A special feature that year was that "a live owl" would be given as a last-place prize. First place would be "the Champion Cup," which the winner got to keep, but the Independent didn't say if the loser got to keep the owl.

The writeup in the July 6 issue described the race in the usual flowery language of the time. The Independent reported very light air by gushing: "Old Boreas remained obstinate, held his breath, and only gave now and then a miserable puff." The boats finally started, and went twice around the course, but after the finish "the referee" said that the start had been so far out of order that he was ruling the race off -- to be sailed again another day. As a final insult to the ill-fated plans, "There was great merriment created by the owl getting away and flying off toward the incoming boats."

The regatta was rescheduled for July 31. The Independent reported, "The owl still lives." Alas there was a storm on the 31st, and the race finally was held on Aug. 4. By 11 o'clock, the paper reported, "The bay was well dotted with white sails, a large tent was erected on the brow of the hill, and there were a large number of people on the hills around the Bay in the towns of Chatham, Harwich and Orleans." Thirteen boats were entered, it was a fair start and good race, and the Independent proudly proclaimed that at the end of the day, the first three boats were Harwich-built and Harwich-owned.

The owl was won by KENBLAH. I found in later reports that KENBLAH usually sailed better, and actually won some races. There was no further record of the owl.

So now we know there was active sailboat racing on Pleasant Bay as early as CURLEW's triumph in 1885. Some of the other Scholars have found references to the Pleasant Bay Yacht Club as early as 1878.

PBYC finally built a clubhouse in 1902, and that is what I would like to tell you about now. Prior to the formal opening on July 4, 1902, an advertisement appeared in the Independent, inviting the public to attend, with a very ambitious schedule for the day. In a writeup in the June 11 issue -- this time under the South Orleans section -- it was noted that there were 180 members of PBYC, with 41 new members about to come on board, and applications still coming in. The newspaper noted that Myrick, the contractor, "is quite confident that he can have the building in a condition to be used, if not fully completed by the due date of July 4." This sounds like some modern contractors I know.

The building itself, as seen in early photos, was 40 ft. square, with verandas 15-ft. wide on three sides, and balconies of the same width to step out on from the upper hall. According to the newspaper, it was spacious, or as the writer put it: "commodious with rooms for members and visitors, dressing rooms, kitchen, banquet hall, with hall above for dancing, amusement and public gatherings."

The clubhouse, noted the Independent, was erected by "one of your public-spirited citizens," who was identified later in the story as George W. Brown, of Newton, Mass. I took this to mean that he paid for it.

The site of the building was on a part of the farm of Elnathan Eldredge, who had settled there more than 100 years before the clubhouse was built. "The view from Wequassett Hill is very fine. The whole of Pleasant Bay is before you -- north, east and south -- with the islands Strong and Sipsons on the farther side; beyond which lies the ribbon of sand which divides the Bay from the broad Atlantic." W. Sears Nickerson, in his book, THE BAY - AS I SEE IT, says the building was located about 550 feet north of the present Wequassett Inn.

Now, moving on to the big day ... Our source is the July 9 Independent, reporting on the Fourth of July under a Page One headline that proclaimed, "The Eagle Screamed."

The entire front page was given over to writeups on the club's Dedication Day. The Independent said, "Nearly 3000 people from all parts of the country ... were present to participate in the carnival." Even allowing for the 200-odd members' likely large families, this is an impressive showing of wellwishers, although there doubtless were some freeloaders on hand as well. .

It was indeed a carnival -- music, games, speeches, luncheon, sailboat races, dancing, fireworks, and "other ... attractions that won the constant interest of the throng."

The Independent covered it all. The early day went something like this:

Flag hoist by Executive Committee ... Chatham vs. Orleans in baseball ... Boats of all sizes and descriptions begin gathering in the bay, from the Commodore's steam yacht to little sharpies and skiffs ... Colonel Caleb Chase arrives with ... the ladies ... Commodore Winslow and Rear Admiral Rockwell arrive ... General Blackmar, orator for the day and candidate for Congress, arrives ... Lunch in the Club Room, "purely informal" but attended by the likes of state and federal representatives and ex-Senators ... Admiral Rockwell takes the floor. After praising the US Navy, he endears himself to the Cape Codders by opining that "the women of Cape Cod were not only handsome, but their sons were the bravest, and their daughters were the prettiest and best our land afforded."

Page One had separate stories for the afternoon Yacht Races and the Grand Ball in the evening. "By actual count," the Independent noted, "there were 83 boats, yachts, steamers and other craft anchored off the new club, which made a very pretty picture."

So that is some of the history of early Pleasant Bay yachting. It was launched in style.