The Cape Coddah
Posts
☀️ Meet Cape's Newest & Oldest Celeb

☀️ Meet Cape's Newest & Oldest Celeb

Plus: Rum-Fueled Dare Turned Cape's Biggest Regatta

Cape Coddah
June 06, 2025

In partnership with

Good morning Cape Cod. It's National Donut Day and from Sandwich to P-town, our local donut shops work hard. They deserve you buying a dozen, polishing them off in the parking lot while watching the tide roll in, and then buying a second dozen for the family. After all, calories don't count when there's salty air involved. 🍩

In this week’s Cape Coddah:

Shark data: 74 sharks, 18,000 pings
21-Year beer journey ends
Events and live music

Let’s get to it.

CAPE DIGEST

🪨 Plymouth Who? Meet “Staples Rock”

An ordinary boulder in the Orleans Staples parking lot has transformed into an unlikely tourist destination, complete with its own Google Maps marker and satirical reviews.

The glacial rock was unearthed during sewer work and kept as a protective barrier after a driver crashed into the store last year. It quickly went viral in town Facebook groups, inspiring specialty drinks at local bars.

Visiting geologist Katie Castagno dates the rock to 15,000-20,000 years ago when melting glaciers deposited boulders across the region. "Better than Plymouth Rock," quipped one visitor. Read the full story.

🦈 Tracking Cape's Toothiest Tourists

Last year's data from the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy shows the Outer Cape dominated white shark activity, with Chatham's Monomoy Island topping the charts at 18,122 detections from 74 individual tagged sharks. Nauset North in Orleans ranked second with nearly 14,000 detections.

Though the total number of detected sharks dropped from 128 to 109 compared to the previous year, overall detections increased to nearly 170,000. Cape Cod Bay also saw significant activity, particularly at Plymouth's Manomet Point.

"We have resident sharks that spend seemingly most of the summer and fall here, actively patrolling the coastline for seals," explained senior scientist Megan Winton. October proved the busiest month, followed by September and August, with some sharks lingering into December. Read the full story.

@THECAPECODDAH

📸 @yarmouthcapecod | 📍 Yarmouth Port
@fitzysnowman

Tag @thecapecoddah to get your photos in the Coddah!

⛵︎ From Rum-Fueled Dare to Cape Tradition

Born in 1972 when three rum-fueled friends raced from Hyannis to Nantucket, Figawi has evolved from its rowdy origins into Cape Cod's unofficial summer kickoff. This Memorial Day weekend, 109 boats with 1,100 crew members raced across Nantucket Sound.

Though some locals still view the event as a nuisance, race officer Tom Duggan says things have mellowed considerably. "Nobody wants to climb the tent poles anymore."

The three-day event now includes high school sailing competitions and supports local charities. Nantucket police reported zero arrests this year, a far cry from its wilder heyday when 240 boats participated in the mid-1980s. Read the full story.

AROUND THE CAPE

Families report their kids suffered chemical burns from Ocean Mist resort's pools during Memorial Day weekend.

Toxic algae blooms have appeared earlier than expected in seven Cape ponds, likely triggered by May's heavy rains.

In 1942, Chatham Radio secretly became the Navy's "Station C," intercepting encrypted German U-boat messages across the Atlantic.

LOCAL BUSINESS

🍺 Founders Tap Out After 21 Years

Beth and Todd Marcus are selling Cape Cod Beer to Triton Beverage Group, ending a 21-year journey that began in a borrowed brewing space and grew to produce over one million pints annually. The couple, whose sons now live overseas and in New Hampshire, weren't actively seeking to sell but embraced the opportunity to retire and travel.

The brewery will join Hog Island Beer Company and Mayflower Brewing under the Triton umbrella, making it the largest locally owned brewing operation on Cape Cod and the South Shore. While the Phinney's Lane taproom—a community hub hosting food trucks and events—won't see immediate changes, Cape Cod Beer will now be distributed statewide for the first time. Read the full story.

THE ISLANDS

A cleanup effort has retrieved over 3,500 lbs of sunken debris from Nantucket Harbor.

Morning Glory Farm has evolved from a small roadside stand on land purchased for $7 to a substantial operation with 135 employees.

The Steamship Authority's former freight boats may soon transport Nantucket's recyclables and construction debris to New Bedford.

🗞️ BECOME A SUPPORTER

We spend 8 hours every week making this newsletter. You spend 5 minutes reading it. Fair trade? Become a monthly or annual supporter.

Already a supporter? Thank you so much. 🙏

CIVIL NEWS

🚨 Failure to Yield Leads to Fatal Crash

Kenneth Lavache, a 65-year-old Hudson resident, died Wednesday after a collision on West Falmouth Highway near Wishing Moon Hill. The accident occurred around 1:30 PM when a vehicle pulled from a driveway and failed to yield to Lavache's oncoming motorcycle.

First responders found Lavache with life-threatening injuries in the roadway. Despite immediate aid, he was later pronounced dead at Falmouth Hospital. The other driver suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries. MA State Police have taken over the investigation with assistance from Barnstable County Sheriff's Office. Read the full story.

PET OF THE WEEK

👋 Meet: Snoopy
🐾 Treeing Walker Coonhound
🎂 5 months old
♀︎ Female
Available to adopt at MSCPA-Cape Cod

WHAT’S HAPPENIN’

SATURDAY - JUNE 7

SUNDAY - JUNE 8

Frasier Cake w/ Martha @ Highfield Hall | 12 PM
Hat Burning Class @ Naukabout | 3 PM
World Ocean Day Poetry @ Payoment PAC | 5
World Ocean Day Party @ Devil’s Purse | 6 PM

LIVE MUSIC 🎸

SUNDAY - JUNE 8

Bart Weisman Jazz @ Bleu Restaurant | 12 PM
Brenda & Dan @ CC Winery | 12 PM
Jim Carnazza @ Flying Bridge | 1 PM
Bryce Elizabeth @ Bad Martha’s (Falmouth) 1 PM
Mike Giammarco @ Laurino’s Tavern | 3 PM
Women’s Chorus @ FCC of Harwich | 3 PM
John Redden @ CC Beer | 3 PM
Bode Corona @ Bad Martha’s (Falmouth) 4 PM
Salted Fork @ Chatham Squire | 5 PM

_{Nothing in this section is sponsored. We'll let you know when something's sponsored.}

WEATHER

Friday

74 🌡️ 62 | ⛅️ | 💧23% | 💨 NW 6 mph

Saturday

68 🌡️ 59 | ⛈️ | 💧 88% | 💨 SE 7 mph

Sunday

67🌡️ 55 | ⛅️ | 💧 7% | 💨 ENE 9 mph

💧🌡️ Water temperature = 53.4ºF

HOME OF THE WEEK

16 Beach View Road, West Dennis
Asking $1.98M
4 🛌
2.5 🛀
2,423 sqft
8,276 sqft lot

_{Nothing in this section is sponsored. We'll always let you know when something's sponsored.}

THANKS!

Thanks for reading The Cape Coddah today. If you found something useful or entertaining, please share it with someone whose been to “Staples Rock.”