Cape Cod, Mass is nothing more than a pile of sand (a terminal morraine) left over from the continental ice sheet. You could say it looks like a flexed arm. Located on the elbow of the arm is Chatham and Monomoy Island.

Click on this image and the images that follow to see larger photos. This is an aerial photo of Chatham looking south. The big, sandy island that runs off into the distance is Monomoy Island.

The dozens of sandbars that surround Monomoy offer a flat water sailing paradise, especially when the tide is low. Click on the photo to see a close up of one of the sandbars I was able to sail behind on two days during my trip to Chatham.

This is that very sandbar, looking east. I'm sailing with a flat 6.5 meter sail and a 120 liter board. It was blowing between 18 and 23 mph... though it doesn't look like it in the photo. Nor does it look like I was going very fast. I was, in fact, flying.

Looking west. If you look back at the aerial shot, you can see this channel runs a long ways to the west. I was able to continue for another half a mile before I had to jibe again. The channel, however, continues for miles.

Coming back and staying as close to the sand as I dare before having to bear off to avoid crashing at full speed into our boat.

The water is about 2.5 feet deep under my board.

Easy to make hero jibes in the flat water even though my F2 Sputnik carves very poorly.

If you fell in here, the water was about chest deep... with Striped Bass all over the place.

Smooth water and a very steady breeze. Sailing here at high speed with hardly any effort.

Monomoy Island is loaded with spots like this yet in the last 2 years, I haven't seen anyone sailing in this area.

Kind of intimidating to be moving along like this and be bearing down at high speed for the stern of the boat.

What can I say. Flatwater sailing heaven.

After she took a bunch of shots, I had Jeannie stand in the water for a couple.

Check out this spot. Plenty of room, flat water, nothing but sand with no obstructions and the water felt like it came out of a bathtub.

A few days previously not far from the flatwater channel, we checked out the huge group of seals that live in the area.

Their numbers have been growing every year. The biologists estimate there are 6-800 here now.

Sydney listening in as the seals groan, grunt, howl and belch.

The flatwater sailing spot is in the distance right where the line of sand meets Sydney's glasses.

Here I am putting the health of Sydney and Jeannie at the mercy of my long time nutcase buddy Chris who calmly drives the boat while I take the picture. Notice his steady hands at the wheel as we fly along.