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☀️ Family rescued 30 hours after boat fire

☀️ Family rescued 30 hours after boat fire

Plus: Cape Cod's original music scene is here

Cape Coddah
October 24, 2025

Together with:

Good morning Cape Cod. This is the Cape Coddah, the DoorDash of Cape news and events (we deliver the goods, hot n’ fresh). 🍩

In this week’s Cape Coddah:

P-towns got a rat problem
You can buy the cigar, but not the wrapper
Events and live music

Let’s get to it.

🛟 Family Jumps Overboard, Stranded 30 Hours on Island

A family of three jumped overboard and swam to Naushon Island after their 30-foot motorboat caught fire Monday night while anchored off Martha's Vineyard, spending 30 hours in an abandoned farmhouse before rescue.

Patrick Sullivan, 72, his wife Cynthia, 73, and their son Tyler, 37, were awakened by barking dogs as flames engulfed their boat Third Wave. They sought refuge in a gray farmhouse near shore with no way to call for help until Tyler found their marine radio washed ashore Wednesday morning.

"Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! Our ship burned while we were sleeping, and we barely escaped," Tyler radioed at 7:20 AM. Coast Guard and Naushon Trust staff coordinated rescue via helicopter.

All three suffered burns and smoke inhalation. Cynthia remained in critical condition Thursday while Patrick was in a burn unit and Tyler stable with third-degree burns. Their two dogs remain missing. Read more»

🐀 A Real-Life Game of Whack-a-Mole

Provincetown's rat infestation, which emerged after 2018 storms flooded the West End breakwater and flushed out rodents, has settled into a block-by-block pattern with three current Commercial Street problem areas.

The town is requiring restaurants in affected zones to sign pest management contracts while threatening homeowners with $100 daily fines for unsecured trash. Pest control company Fowler and Sons says calls have increased for years, with bird feeders and chicken coops often attracting rats that forage up to 500 feet from burrows.

Controversy surrounds which rodenticides should be allowed. Wild Care reports nearly every bird of prey brought in shows poisoning symptoms from anticoagulants. Home-rule petitions to ban certain rodenticides haven't passed the legislature yet.

The town is considering a rodent birth-control system costing $18,000 to install and $8,000 annually to maintain. Read more»

SPONSORED BY CAPE SZN

Sunset Strolls & Sweatshirt Weather

When fall arrives on Cape Cod, the beaches don't close—they just get better. Quieter shores, that perfect crisp-but-not-cold evening air, and sunsets that make you stop mid-walk just to take it all in.

This classic crewneck is your go-to for those golden hour beach moments when the day's winding down but you're not quite ready to head inside. Soft enough to live in, stylish enough to make you feel like the main character in your own Cape story.

Because the best fall nights start with a beach walk and end with sand still in your shoes.

Want to see your business in this space? Contact us here.

🔨 From Incarceration to Construction

Barnstable County Sheriff Donna Buckley and nonprofit leader Vincent English launched Skilled Purpose, a 12-week carpentry training program for people leaving incarceration or in recovery, housed at the Bridge Center in Barnstable Village.

The program addresses both Cape Cod's shortage of skilled trades workers—264 carpenter positions open annually—and helps prevent recidivism by connecting participants with stable jobs and support systems.

English, who struggled with addiction and homelessness before finding stability as a pipefitter, co-founded the Michael English House nonprofit after his brother died from substance abuse at 28. Instructors are all in recovery or have family members who've struggled with addiction.

Two 10-person classes will meet weekly, learning carpentry basics while renovating the 1936 building itself. WellStrong provides peer navigators, personal coaches, and mentors funded by $46,000 in town opioid abatement money. Read more»

📸 @millie.red.photos | 📍Brewster

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🚬 You Can Buy the Cigar, Just Not the Wrapper

Bourne prohibits the sale of blunt wraps—tobacco leaf products designed for rolling marijuana—while allowing the sale of cigars that contain the exact same wraps, creating a confusing regulatory loophole that's about as logical as banning pizza boxes but not pizzas.

The ban, adopted in 2016 before recreational marijuana was legalized, defines blunt wraps as tobacco products "designed or intended to be filled by the consumer with loose tobacco or other fillers." However, people have long rolled blunts by simply cutting open cigars like Backwoods, Black & Milds, or Swishers and using those tobacco wraps.

At an October 8th Health Board meeting, a 7-11 owner was fined $1,000 for selling "True Wrap" blunt wraps, even though the store can legally sell traditional Backwoods cigarillos containing tobacco.

With three marijuana dispensaries opening soon in Bourne, the outdated regulation remains unchanged despite marijuana's legalization. Read more»

The Wilmington, North Carolina house that served as Dawson Leery's home in the Cape Cod-set TV series "Dawson's Creek" is on the market for $3.25M.

Bourne's Board of Health voted to ban the sale of kratom and its synthetic counterpart 7-OH after hearing testimony from grieving mothers whose children died from kratom-related toxicity.

The homestead of Chatham's first European settlers, William and Anne Nickerson, has been deemed eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.

Canadian Chris Manocchio defended his Wellfleet OysterFest Shuck-off championship by shucking 24 oysters in a penalty-adjusted time of 2:42.

🎸 Where Cape Musicians Play Originals

Lily Rapoza, 24, launched Songbird Collective in August 2024 after returning from Nashville and realizing Cape Cod lacked venues focused on original songwriting rather than covers or background music.

The showcase features local songwriters performing original acoustic music across genres including folk, blues, country/rock, and pop at Falmouth coffee shops. What started with Rapoza and two friends has grown as artists from Rhode Island and Boston now reach out to perform.

For Rapoza, who was diagnosed with chronic illness at eight and homeschooled through formative years, songwriting became "free therapy" when physical activities weren't possible. She now hosts multiple showcases monthly at Coffee Obsession and Daily Brew Coffee House, with tickets at $15.

Her goal is building tight-knit music communities where audiences actually listen instead of treating music as background noise. Read more»

The MV YMCA held an official groundbreaking ceremony Friday for its $30M, 39,000-square-foot fieldhouse expansion featuring a multi-sport gymnasium, elevated track, and wellness program space.

Nantucket metal detectorist Travis Nichols discovered a 1782 Spanish silver one-reale coin on the island's south shore, believed to have been minted in Mexico City.

Sam Bell won the 80th annual Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby's grand prize—a 22-foot Sisu Hardtop boat—for his 18.66-pound false albacore caught on opening day.

The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its controversial plan to remove 350 navigational buoys from New England waters, including six around Nantucket.

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🚔 "Shock and Awe": Inside the Police Academy Abuse

Recruits at the new East Falmouth Police Academy were mentally and physically tormented, denied bathroom breaks, and forced into grueling outdoor exercises without proper gear in below-freezing temperatures, according to a state Municipal Police Training Committee report following a six-month investigation.

Academy director Christopher Donelan sought a "shock and awe" experience, but instructors instead "relentlessly bullied" recruits, forced them to exercise on icy hills in private property, pushed faces into mud, and created dangerous conditions that sent two recruits to hospitals.

The investigation, launched in February 2025 after multiple police departments raised concerns, resulted in terminations or certification revocations for seven staff members including the director and coordinator. Four other instructors not involved in serious misconduct had certifications reinstated.

MPTC has added stronger oversight, including tougher instructor certification requirements, surprise audits, and a statewide review of training practices across all police academies. Read more»

👋 Meet: Bash
🐾 Beagle/Pug
🎂 11 years old
♀︎ Male
Available to adopt at MSCPA-Cape Cod

SUNDAY - OCTOBER 26

Oktoberfest @ Pelham House Resort | 12 PM
Oktoberfest @ Cotuit Center | 2 PM
Petting Zoo @ Buzzards Bay Brewing | 2 PM

SUNDAY - OCTOBER 26

Mathis Picard @ Highfield Hall | 4 PM
Karaoke @ Knockout Pizza | 6 PM

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

Friday

60 🌡️ 46 | 🌤️ | 💧25% | 💨 W 6 mph

Saturday

54 🌡️ 43 | 🌤️ | 💧 1% | 💨 NNW 7 mph

Sunday

55🌡️ 46 | 🌤️ | 💧 25% | 💨 N 6 mph

💧🌡️ Water temperature = 56ºF

2070 Main Street, West Barnstable
Asking $1.195M
4 🛏️
3 🛁
2,462 sqft
1.59 acre lot

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

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