Discover Cape Cod's Maritime Heritage on this Coast Road Trip

The sun glows a fiery tint of orange and begins to soak under the watery Nantucket horizon. At the helm of the boat, Captain John Stover casually pilots the wheels with his palms as he serenades a small cluster of guests onboard with the Sunset Sun and Melody Sishanti. It is the incredible story of a drunken sailor, long lost love, and hope for fair weather for the future: lyrics that have sprinted through these bodies of waters for centuries.

More recently, the ballad has been sung for his curiosity on a sunset cruise tour, hosted by the family-run boat company Nantucket on the water and departs from Nantucket Port. The song of Call and Response, used in the 19th century to rock sailors on New England voyage ships, today's sea huts are a way to save and celebrate the region's rich maritime traditions.

I came to Cape Cod and Martha's vineyards and neighboring islands in Nantucket to explore the revival of its sailor culture. Shaped like a fish hook that stretches from the southeastern corner of Massachusetts into the Atlantic, the area is celebrated with its romantic charms of wind-splashed coastlines, pristine beaches and beamed lighthouses. The Cape was originally an indigenous home in Wampanoag, and in 1620 Mayflower pilgrims sailed here from Europe and after trying to go down the anchor, they decided to travel to Plymouth instead. .

Over time, the coast witnessed the Renaissance. Whaling and agriculture have given way to tourism. This was supported by the region's long-term relationship with Hollywood stars and presidents, including the Kennedy family, who supported it as a summer hideaway. Currently, 15 unique towns line the Cape Peninsula, home to around 230,000 people. This number will swell into the warm moon when a steady stream of visitors arrives, and will be invited to the area's powdery white coast, beautiful covered houses and relaxed characters.

Nantucket's Beach Island has a reputation as a seaside playground for wealthy and well-known people. Joe Biden celebrated Thanksgiving here, Bill Gates tee off at the golf club and drew Barrymore's holiday on the island with her family. The local film festival is even foundered by actor Ben Stiller. Nantucket is 25 miles from the Massachusetts coast and is accessible by an hour's high-speed ferry from Hyannis Port on the Midcape mainland. Passengers descend into the town of Nantucket, taking deep breaths of salty ocean air, visibly relaxing.

Its cobblestone streets are adjacent to colonial and federal architecture, and are often plaques that are built primarily as houses for 19th century whaling merchants, displaying names of the years when the aftermath of the captain and house were built. It's finished. There is a refreshing absence of chain stores, instead there is a voyage-themed boutique and a location photographed by an oceanfront restaurant that serves fresh seafood, usually served with a splash of white wine.

The morning after a voyage trip, you wind several streets from the ferry dock and discover the Scrimshander Gallery, a hidden underground shop owned by Boston-born Mike Bienneau. Covered under the fluorescent light behind the gallery, with whale teeth in one hand and a needle engraved between the other fingers, Mike's interest in the scrimshow The unusual art of carving on bones or ivory, sparks were drawn during childhood holidays in the 1960s when kissed by the sun.

“My parents will rent a house in Nantucket in the summer,” Mike says. “There's a whale tooth barrel in front of the gift shop, each for a few dollars,” he recalls. “All kids around here taught scrim shows as a hobby.” Hanging on the adjacent wall, etched with the stable hands of a microphone and retailed for $40,000 (£31,000), It has a giant sperm whale jaw.

Sealow was born to this handicraft on a long voyage by a sailor who was bored. They were separated by the sea by adorning the bones and teeth of walruses and adorning the fangs of walruses. “I can't buy teeth anymore, so I work with what I already have in my collection,” says Mike. He opened the door to his business in 1974. “Teeth like this takes me two or three weeks. It involves a lot of preparation in advance. It involves grinding the teeth, creating a stand, pulling out the image and then chop it out.”

I leave the microphone, concentrate on his fiddly task and try the nearby Hadwen House. This is a magnificent, white pillared revival mansion originally built in 1846 for wealthy whaling merchant William Hadwen. Now it is a local history museum packed with glass cabinets packed with examples of Nantucket's art and crafts.

In the studio on the second floor of the museum, you can see Weaver Elizabeth Clin working on the Nantucket Lighting Ship Basket. The history of these sturdy baskets, woven with rattan and cane, is intertwined with the history of whaling in the region, when by the 1850s, the East Coast waters were so popular that they were so badly trafficked. To prevent fatal shipwrecks, Massachusetts commissioned a floating version of the lighthouse, and basket weaving is believed to have evolved among the crew sent to maintain them.

“The early basket weaving was male,” says Elizabeth, who shaped thin rettan staves around the base of refined wood. “Seagers bring materials to the ship to spend time.” After tourism boomed in the 1860s, she quickly shaped the baskets from utilitarian household items, and summer visitors. He added that it will be a desirable memorabilia for the In the 20th century, artisans such as the Philippines-born José Formoso Reyes, whose studio was recreated at Hadwen House, transformed Nantucket lighthouse baskets into high fashion wallets decorated with elaborately carved birds and flowers.

“There hasn't been much change in terms of technique since the beginning of these light baskets,” recalls Elizabeth. “But today there are many shops in town that sells the woven fabrics of the town as decorative clutch bags and bracelets.” She says that reclaiming this old-fashioned craft will help promote her deeper connection to the island. “The people here have been doing this type of weaving for generations, so I'm just continuing the legacy,” she says with pride.

See the light

At dawn the next morning, I ride a towed bike on the ferry to Martha's vineyard. This summer resort drifts seven miles south south of Cape Cod's mainland, with a 125-mile tidal shoreline, protected by five towering lighthouses scattered along the glittering gem-like shoreline .

I would like to discover more about these historic beacons. I disembark the ferry at the vibrant port of Vineyard Haven and take a cycling pass to Martha's Vineyard Museum. At 20 miles long and 10 miles wide, its wideest point, Martha's vineyards can be easily moved on two wheels. Currently, about 40% of the island is protected, and the scenery of farmland, sandy beaches and six port towns is a joy to explore on my rental bike. Ice cream emporium and traditional New England style “salt box house” flashes a white picket fence as I follow the path.

He sat on a grassy hill and sat on a chorus of seagulls. It was founded in 1922 to preserve the island's history, art and culture. Today, its star attraction is a Fresnel lighthouse lens that is displayed in the heart of the museum and measures twice the height of an average adult.

The beehive-shaped game-changing lens used crystal glass prisms to produce an incredible beam. Viewed from 20 miles of the ocean, it was the street in front of the previous ramp, deterring the shipwreck and thus saving lives. It was installed in many fanfares on the island's gay headlights in 1856, but was later replaced by an automated version. Daytrippers now flock to the museum, celebrating the pioneering beacons in its kaleidoscopic glory.

Before returning to the marina, I make a pit stop with East Chop Lights at Oak Bluffs. This is a black and white lighthouse overlooking one of the busiest waterways in the world. Pleasure boats, sailing boats and fishing boats pass under careful eyes, as they have been going for over 150 years.

Back on the mainland of Cape, I close things off with a visit to the Cape Cod Maritime Museum in Hyannis, an organization focused on preserving the peninsula's maritime culture. Elizabeth York Executive Director continues to live the traditional boat building craft for a new generation in woodworking workshops surrounded by shiny metal tools and surface walls covered with thin blankets of sawdust. It explains what is being done.

“We have a group of local teenagers who come here to work as a team and learn to build boats from STEM to stern,” she said, made from white oak and cedar trees. I tell me as I watch the handsome Bevin skiff boat looking at the mentor's sand. “Boats have once been the main mode of transport around this area, and water is still crucial to our lives. Sailing, fishing, ferrying, rowing, swimming – that's what we do.”

Ask why they invest in making Cape Cod boats by hand and buying a kit will make life easier. Elizabeth takes a little time behind the harbor window, where masts rattle like a cowbell. “It's a connection to where we came from and what sets us apart,” she says. “It must be worth saving.” I see the bouncing boats and are sure they are made by cape coders for the generation to come, and by future crew members I wonder what he'll sing.