BUZZARD BAY
Buzzards Bay, MA: One of the most challenging and satisfying bodies of water to navigate on the East Coast
From Rhode Island Sound to Cape Cod, including the Elizabeth Island chain
From Rhode Island Sound to Cape Cod, and bounded by the Elizabeth Islands chain, Buzzards Bay offers lots of charming harbors and plenty of island hopping to keep you busy. Buzzards Bay is a great destination for weekend or weeklong cruising, and despite the name, you are not likely to see any buzzards along the way. The name was given to this bay by colonists who saw a large bird that they called a buzzard near its shores. The bird was actually an osprey, and osprey continue to breed along the shores of Buzzards Bay.
Since 1914, Buzzards Bay has been connected to Cape Cod Bay by the Cape Cod Canal. In 1998 Buzzards Bay was designated an Estuary of National Significance. There are 310 miles of beautiful scenic coastline along Buzzards Bay. This total does not include the 9 miles of coastline of the Cape Cod Canal within the Buzzards Bay watershed, nor does it include an additional 40 miles of coastline on the bay-facing side of the Elizabeth Islands.
Massachusetts is one of five states* with property ownership to the low tide mark. So where do people swim? There are 13.4 miles of public beaches (municipal and state owned) in Buzzards Bay, with an additional 31.9 miles of "semi-public" beaches. Many of the semi-public areas are not open to the general public; they include some large tracts of government-owned and private conservation coastal lands where the public may have some right to use, beach association and community beaches, private pay-to use beaches, club and resort beaches, and other stretches of coastline where more than a single owner is allowed use. The rest of coastline is privately owned, generally to the low tide mark. More information on the origins of public rights in the intertidal zone in Massachusetts can be found on Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management's Public Rights Along the Shoreline page. Their background page is informative, and they offer booklets and maps with descriptions of public access sites in several coastal regions of Massachusetts, including Boston - unfortunately not in the Buzzards Bay vicinity yet.
On a boat, we can enter any one of so many lovely anchorages and enjoy the tranquility of the surroundings, or the hustle and bustle of their population centers. Therein lies an advantage to enjoying these beautiful coastal regions from the water. Eleven coastal communities share the Bay. The city of New Bedford, Massachusetts is a historically significant port, known for its role as one of the world's most successful whaling ports in the early-to mid-1800s. The town of Marion is a port of another significance, being the jumping off point for several major racing events in the northeast. And Padanarum, if you can find it, is a charming village destination.