The 2011 Cape Cod Oldtimers Longboard Classic will be held on August 14th at White Crest Beach in Wellfleet starting at 5pm. This not-so-serious contest traditionally features dinged up old surfboards, flabby older guys and gals and young people who flout their youth on a beachfront of greying eminences.

This year's rules have been relaxed. Since vintage longboards are getting more valuable and harder to come by any longboard over 9 feet in length may be used in the contest (without a leash). Attendees are encouraged to bring collector boards and items to the beach for everyone to drool over. Organizers will still be presenting the Sparky Merrill Best Board Award.

Register at the Pump House Surf Shop in Orleans starting August 10th.

Here's the Oldtimers website.

Latest designation covers 30 miles of coastline making 67 percent of the Massachusetts coastline a no boat sewage dumping zone

BOSTON – August 1, 2011 - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved the Commonwealth's designation of the Outer Cape Cod No Discharge Area (NDA). This latest NDA designation prohibits the discharge of any treated or untreated boat sewage along the entire Atlantic side of Cape Cod. There are now 15 NDAs along the Massachusetts coast – covering 67 percent of state waters. This latest NDA covers the coastal waters off Chatham, Orleans, Eastham, Wellfleet, Truro, and Provincetown. A designated no-dumping zone for boat sewage means cleaner water for recreational pursuits from boating to swimming and fishing.

“EPA is very proud to help these Outer Cape communities take an important step in protecting the health of their coastal areas,” said Curt Spalding, Regional Administrator of EPA's New England Office. “Especially in summer, we see how a clean and pristine environment is a critical foundation of the Cape’s vibrant tourism economy. Summer visitors expect to find clean coastal water, and this designation will help ensure that Cape citizens are protecting their environment and their economy.”

"Designation of the Outer Cape Cod NDA was a team effort, with local, state and federal partners working together to protect these coastal waters," said Bruce Carlisle, CZM Director. "I'd especially like to thank these six Cape Cod communities for their commitment to protecting coastal water quality and habitat and give a special nod to Goose Hummock Marine for their partnership and support in this endeavor."

In particular, the town of Orleans and Goose Hummock Marine were instrumental in providing the necessary coverage for Nauset Harbor by respectively purchasing and agreeing to operate and maintain a new shoreside pumpout facility. The town of Orleans will be reimbursed for 75 percent of the cost of purchasing and operating the pumpout facility via the Commonwealth’s Clean Vessel Act Program administered by the Department of Fish and Game’s Division of Marine Fisheries.

The Outer Cape Cod NDA extends from the previously designated Cape Cod Bay NDA in Provincetown to the tip of Chatham, covering the waters within the National Seashore and including Nauset Harbor. Pleasant Bay was separately designated as an NDA in 2010. The 30 miles of coastline included in the NDA are extremely important for recreation and tourism. The area’s 24 beaches include the Cape Cod National Seashore, which is enjoyed by millions of visitors each year. It is also a popular area for boaters – with Nauset Harbor home to more than 500 vessels. Swimming, sailing and shellfishing are other important local recreational activities.

“The EPA’s decision to approve the Outer Cape Cod No Discharge Area designation could not have better timing,” said State Rep. Bill Keating. “Despite incessant attacks on the EPA’s regulatory authority and essential conservation efforts, the EPA has again demonstrated its unrelenting commitment to upholding the standards of the Clean Water Act. Perhaps no one in Massachusetts understands the economic importance of clean water more than the Tenth Congressional District. Our community is dependent on the tourism attracted to the scenic coastlines and pure waters of the Outer Cape. So for us, more visitors directly translate into more jobs and greater revenues. Without vital measures such as the designation of No Discharge Areas, our local economy would be severely impacted. This vision held by both the Commonwealth and EPA only adds to my pride as a resident of the Bay State, and I speak on behalf of the residents of Chatham, Orleans, Eastham, Wellfleet, Truro and Provincetown as I commend this announcement.”

NDAs protect water quality and aquatic life from pathogens, nutrients and chemical products contained in discharged sewage and also reduce the risk of human illness, making it safer to swim, boat, fish and eat shellfish from protected waters. NDAs can also help reduce the growth of harmful algae that occurs due to high nutrient levels in sewage discharge and protect commercial clam fishing flats.

The outer Cape Cod NDA joins a growing list of protected state waters that include these 14 previously designated NDAs.

• Upper North Shore - the coastal waters of Gloucester, Rockport, Essex, Ipswich, Rowley, Newbury, Newburyport, Salisbury, including the Merrimack River in Amesbury, West Newbury, Merrimac, Groveland, North Andover, Haverhill, Methuen, and Lawrence
• Pleasant Bay (Brewster, Orleans, Harwich, and Chatham) and Chatham Harbor
• The coastal waters of Revere, Saugus, Lynn, Nahant, and Swampscott, including the Pines and Saugus Rivers
• All of Cape Cod Bay
• Boston Harbor - the coastal waters of Winthrop, Chelsea, Everett, Boston, Quincy, Milton, Weymouth, Braintree, Hingham, and Hull, including the Charles River in Watertown, Newton, and Cambridge
• Salem Sound - the coastal waters of Manchester-by-the-Sea, Beverly, Danvers, Salem, and Marblehead
• The coastal waters of Cohasset, Scituate, and Marshfield
• The coastal waters of Plymouth, Kingston, and Duxbury
• All of Buzzards Bay
• Waquoit Bay in Falmouth
• The coastal waters of Harwich
• Three Bays/Centerville Harbor in Barnstable
• Stage Harbor in Chatham
• The coastal waters of Nantucket from Muskeget Island to Great Point, including Nantucket Harbor

Federal, state and local officials continue their work to designate the two areas which remain undesignated in Massachusetts coastal waters: Nantucket and Vineyard Sounds and Mt. Hope Bay, with the goal to protect the entire Massachusetts coastline as an NDA.

For more information on No Discharge Areas in New England, please visit: www.mass.gov/czm/nda and www.epa.gov/region01/eco/nodiscrg. For more on boat sewage pumpout locations throughout Massachusetts coastal waters, see: www.mass.gov/czm/nda/pumpouts

July 8, 2011 - A spotter pilot saw a 12-15' great white shark off Chatham on Tuesday, July 5th. That brings to four the number of great whites that have been seen in the waters surrounding Cape Cod this season. The first sighting was May 6 by a fisherman who saw a shark estimated to be about 18 feet long off Martha’s Vineyard. Sightings were also reported on July 1st near Monomoy Island and July 2nd off Truro.

A recently released study of sharks tagged off Cape Cod last year found that one swam along the coast of Georgia, and another entered into the Gulf of Mexico.

Here's the fine print that goes with this ever more common Cape Cod story. Shark attacks on humans are very rare. The last fatality caused by a shark in Massachusetts took place at Hollywood Beach, Buzzards Bay in 1936. Beach goers are advised to pay attention to their surroundings, not to swim in areas where seals are known to congregate, not to swim alone or great distances from shore, and to avoid swimming at dawn and dusk, when most attacks occur.

Here's more from Boston.com.

June 28, 2011 - Far too often the climate change debate devolves into a dispiriting "my data prove it" "no they don't" pre-school level discussion. Part of the problem is that the climate is incredibly complex and there isn't enough data to be conclusive about what's happening now or even what happened in the past. What's needed to bring the current debate to a higher level is more and better data. Last October a fun project called OldWeather.org was launched to address this problem and provide more high quality data to climate scientists.

The idea at OldWeather is to recruit and deploy an army of human volunteers to transcribe the log books of World War One era Royal Navy Warships. The naval logbooks contain a treasure trove of information but, because the entries are handwritten, they are incredibly difficult for a computer to read. On Royal Navy ships weather observations were made every four hours, even when they were under enemy fire.  Most of the data about past climate comes from land-based weather stations which have been recording data for over 150 years. The OldWeather project will add data from 280 seaborne weather stations traversing the world’s oceans during the years 1905-1929.

As of today the project is 71% complete. If you have an interest in climate science or an interest in the Royal Navy and WWI era ships this is a great project to check out. They've made it a lot of fun for participants. Go to OldWeather.org to learn more.