Who's on the Vineyard?

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macneill

Rollin’ on 33s
Joined
Jun 2, 2004
Threads
258
Messages
4,041
Location
Port Washington, NY / Edgartown, MA
I'm out here until August 6th. if anyone is interested in getting together or fishing.

-Mac
 
Got back from the Vineyard last Sunday (the first). Spent the last week of June there.

I actually saw your rig - on Cape Poge. I think it was on Monday, the 25th. Was in the wifey's Pathfinder - hadn't gotten the guts up to bring the FJ out onto the sand (tranny's slipping at times). Finally Bit the bullet and bought a(nother) CP sticker later in the week. The FJ handled it flawlessly.

Hoping to get back on island sometime later this summer.

Anyway, enjoy your time there. We always joke it's the only place where Ma$$holes don't behave like Ma$$holes - actually being nice and polite to each other...

:cheers:
 
is there any trick to getting a car on the ferry in short notice for a weekend or is it still a nightmare with reservations etc?
 
Sorry I missed you. Work threw a monkey wrench into our leave date.

My buddy was out last week using our house, so I'm pretty sure you saw him out there. Should have gone and kicked some sand in his face.

Fortunately, the Massholes are kind. It's the damn New Yawkers and Jerseyites that ruin it.

Got back from the Vineyard last Sunday (the first). Spent the last week of June there.

I actually saw your rig - on Cape Poge. I think it was on Monday, the 25th. Was in the wifey's Pathfinder - hadn't gotten the guts up to bring the FJ out onto the sand (tranny's slipping at times). Finally Bit the bullet and bought a(nother) CP sticker later in the week. The FJ handled it flawlessly.

Hoping to get back on island sometime later this summer.

Anyway, enjoy your time there. We always joke it's the only place where Ma$$holes don't behave like Ma$$holes - actually being nice and polite to each other...

:cheers:
 
is there any trick to getting a car on the ferry in short notice for a weekend or is it still a nightmare with reservations etc?

They got that new ferry which holds a lot more vehicles, but I think it's still a mess.
 
is there any trick to getting a car on the ferry in short notice for a weekend or is it still a nightmare with reservations etc?

I'd say it's gotten slightly better overall.

There's a ton of info here:
http://web3.steamshipauthority.com/ssa/faq.cfm

The website claims that you need a reservation every Friday thru Monday - I guess Tues thru Thurs you could just show up and go "standby".

I'm not sure how "short notice" you mean, but here's a (semi-unknown) direct line to their reservation desk - you could try it for a last minute trip: 508-693-9130 (workday hours only). I think they always hold a few slots on very boat - it's worth calling. Oh, and of course, you'll probably have better luck with trying to get on a boat that runs very early or very late in the day.


MacNeill - so it was your buddy I saw! BTW - the rig looked great out there, doing what it's meant to do...
 
i am going to spray the undersside of the cruiser then head out there the weekend of the 20th... very excited to see how things go in the sand with the big ole 35" Nitto grapplers.

how much is it for a vehicle sand permit?
 
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i am going to spray the undersside of the cruiser then head out there the weekend of the 20th... very excited to see how things go in the sand with the big ole 35" Nitto grapplers.

how much is it for a vehicle sand permit?

Awesome!

My favorite beach wheelin spot is on Chappy - Cape Poge Bay and Wasque - miles and miles of sand, and few people. The Trustees of Reservations runs it. They charge $180 (not cheap!!) for the oversand permit. Included is their annual membership fee (good for all of their properties across Mass), so you can take a tax deduction for a portion, which makes it a bit easier to justify the $$.

Bring your rod if you like to fish...
 
i am going to spray the undersside of the cruiser then head out there the weekend of the 20th... very excited to see how things go in the sand with the big ole 35" Nitto grapplers.

how much is it for a vehicle sand permit?

FWIW, my 33" BFG MTRs on the 100 did just fine in the sand. Course I aired down to 10-12psi though.
 
Awesome!

My favorite beach wheelin spot is on Chappy - Cape Poge Bay and Wasque - miles and miles of sand, and few people. The Trustees of Reservations runs it. They charge $180 (not cheap!!) for the oversand permit. Included is their annual membership fee (good for all of their properties across Mass), so you can take a tax deduction for a portion, which makes it a bit easier to justify the $$.

Bring your rod if you like to fish...

:eek::eek::eek:
i can remember driving out there by south beach... then someone in a 4x4 would stop you, you would pay $40 or so bucks and be on your way. Now its $180?

Are the trustees people the same ones that run cranes beach? http://www.thetrustees.org/pages/1581_property_directory.cfm

i think they are which is good because we are already members there.
 
:eek::eek::eek:
i can remember driving out there by south beach... then someone in a 4x4 would stop you, you would pay $40 or so bucks and be on your way. Now its $180?

Are the trustees people the same ones that run cranes beach? http://www.thetrustees.org/pages/1581_property_directory.cfm

i think they are which is good because we are already members there.

Yup, same organization. Good group. Your membership will get you onto Long Point beach on the South side (no wheelin), but you'll still have to pay the full $180 to wheel on CP/Wasque. Of course, if you want to do Norton's Point, that's a separate sticker and more $$!

You'll have no problem with your 35's. As MacNeill says, just remember to air way down. I cheated with my wife's Pathfinder (only aired down to 20), and proceeded to get (temporarily) stuck on the ocean side of CP. Of course, I aired my 62 down to 15 (on 31's) and had no issues whatsoever.

Enjoy!:cheers:
 
basically, i used to enter in the red box, past the airfield, in katama at south beach.. the i would head in the direction of the arrow out to the fishing. is that still accessible?
sand.webp
 
Yeah, that area's called Norton's Point. You'll need a sticker (not sure about the cost). The Trustees now manage this spot. I skipped getting a sticker for Norton's b/c there is now a breach there - Katama Bay is now open to the ocean - it opened during that big storm in April. So now Chappy is again an island.

The fishing is supposedly very good there, but I chose to skip buying the Norton's sticker b/c the breach made the sand wheelin terrain alot smalller.

If you want miles of awesome sand for wheelin', take the "on time" ferry from Edgartown to Chappy and hit Cape Poge/Wasque.
 
thats cool thanks for the info. there is good fishing on nortons or is it still best off chappy like it used to be?
 
I was born in Mass, lived in Salem until I was 6, grew up in northern and central NH.

I've never been to the cape or the vinyard.

I grew up on the Cape. The Cape is primarily strip malls, condos, and housing developments now. I haven't been to the Vineyard in probably 20 years, so I can't comment on how it is now. The place I used to work had a company outing there last year, but I opted out of it.
 
thats cool thanks for the info. there is good fishing on nortons or is it still best off chappy like it used to be?

You can't lose - you'll catch fish at either place. When I was there the last week of June, they had the Chappy side of Norton's and Wasque closed b/c of the Piping Plovers, so I didn't personally do any fishing there, but folks on the fishing forums say that it's been great there.

My personal favorite spot is the Gut, which is the tip end of Cape Poge - it's the narrow entrance to Cape Poge - all the water (and fish) drain in/out of there. Plus, it's like a 45 minute over-sand wheelin ride (each way) to get there, so the trip's as much fun as the fishin.:cool:
 
I grew up on the Cape. The Cape is primarily strip malls, condos, and housing developments now. I haven't been to the Vineyard in probably 20 years, so I can't comment on how it is now. The place I used to work had a company outing there last year, but I opted out of it.

The ferry schlep factor has helped to keep the Vineyard alot less crazy than parts of the Cape. Sure, the towns (Vineyard Haven, Oak Bluffs, Edgartown) tend to get a bit touristy/busy during high season, but there are a ton of places to truly "get lost" on the Vineyard. Much of the Vineyard is rather rural and peaceful - and there aren't alot of people. The Western side of the Vineyard and Chappy are two of those places.

The best part of the Vineyard is that most of the coolest spots don't have signs and aren't marked/labeled. You need a good map, a sense of adventure, and a willingness to drive down narrow dirt roads (not a problem for us FJ owners!) to truly find beautiful fields, woods, beaches, and ponds - and few if any people.
 
The last time I went there, it was on a boat that my uncle owned. I'm pretty sure that we stayed mainly in and around Oak Bluffs. It was a long time ago.

By the way, where's South Shore, MA?
 

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