Local Interest Points

One of the best parts of keeping your boat at RCBY is the convenience of being close to all the local amenities that Chatham has to offer. Within a few minutes’ boat ride, customers can access great fishing, swimming spots, food and drink, wildlife sightings, and immaculate beaches. It’s hard to beat the location and recreation in this area.

Chatham Fish Pier – The fish pier is a popular spot in Chatham by foot or by car but is an entirely unique experience from the water. Observe fishermen unload their daily catch and witness seals only feet away hoping to snatch a stray carcass. Go slow because the seals may swim right up to your boat! While you’re there, order a cup of chowder from the fresh seafood market on site and enjoy unmatched views of Chatham Harbor. All within a 20-minute boat ride from the RCBY dock!

Wequassett Beach Club / Resort – On warm summer days, many RCBY customers want somewhere they can go to eat, drink, and relax during their day on the water. Wequassett Resort offers the perfect interval. The resort has its own small mooring field that boaters can pull up to, and their launch service will bring you and your group to their outdoor dining deck. There, stay a while and order drinks, food, and watch the sailboats go past from Pleasant Bay Community Boating’s summer sailing camp, located just on the other side of Pleasant Bay. Upscale dining with a view, followed by a leisurely afternoon boat ride – it doesn’t get much better than that.

North Beach – North Beach is a barrier island created by breaks in the coastline that was once a part of Nauset Beach. Now, the only way to access this pristine beach is by boat. One of the most popular activities for Chatham boaters, many say their summer isn’t complete without a day on North Beach. Because of its limited accessibility, it is far less crowded than most Cape Cod beaches during the summer. It also has some of the best views, shelling, driftwood collecting, and places to explore along its 5-mile coastline.

Water Skiing / Tubing – The epitome of a family day on the water: water skiing, tubing, wakeboarding, knee-boarding – all perfect ways to cool off at the end of a hot day and get your adrenaline pumping at the same time. Two perfect water sports locations are within minutes of Ryder’s Cove: Crow’s Pond and Pleasant Bay.

Fishing – The fishing off Chatham’s coastline is unmatched. Striped bass, black sea bass, tuna, fluke, bluefish, bonito, and false albacore are a few of the species regularly caught off Monomoy and other areas close by. Along with fishing, Chatham also has a healthy supply of lobster, crabs, scallops, quahogs, and clams. Try your luck at a variety of seafood!

Whale Watching – During the late summer in particular, whale watching becomes a spectacle few can enjoy without paying pricy ticket fees on a whale watch vessel. Sometimes, however, just a few miles offshore Chatham, humpbacks put on quite the display for visitors in their own small boats. Keep a respectful distance, but this up close and personal experience seeing the whales – and sometimes even getting hit by their spray – is often a once in a lifetime experience that can’t be replicated just anywhere. Whale watching is an easy afternoon trip from Ryder’s Cove Boatyard.

Seal / Shark Spotting – Ryder’s Cove has several resident seals that reside within the cove during the warmer months. They can usually be spotted from the docks. Outside of the area, there are more- thousands more. Especially at low tide, seals group together on sandbars all over Chatham harbors and lounge in the sun. If you’re lucky enough to spot a group of them, you may even be able to hear them ‘sing’. Sharks, particularly Great Whites, are another sea creature that lives off the Chatham coast. Spend the day down at Monomoy and see how many sharks you can spot. You may even catch a glimpse of scientists from Chatham Shark Conservancy tagging great white sharks while you’re out there. Cape Cod, Chatham in particular, has become quite a large research base in recent years for scientists who study these animals.