Community Information

• Town of Orleans
• Orleans Massachusetts Chamber Commerce
• U.S. Gazetteer Census Data - Orleans, Massachusetts
• Yahoo! Get Local - Orleans, Massachusetts

Maps

• Yahoo! Maps and Driving Directions - Orleans, Massachusetts

Marine Info

• Cape Cod Hook Fishermen's Association - Marine Education Center

Weather

• The Weather Channel - Orleans, MA (02653)
• Weather Underground - Orleans, Massachusetts Forecast

Yacht Clubs & Marinas

• Nauset Marine East - Orleans, MA
• Orleans Yacht Club - Orleans, Massachusetts

Orleans' mooring crunch is all about parking - for cars

By Josh Delaney, Cape Cod Voice (7/4/04)
Photo by Barry A. Donahue

Orleans Harbormaster Dawson Farber gestures toward a map of town hanging on the wall of his office.

"Look at all of that water. People say, 'You could put in another 2000 boats. There's plenty of room for everybody.'"

But, really there isn't. It's not the length of shoreline, but the number and type of access points that determine how many people can get out onto the deep blue sea. Moorings are useless without corresponding ways to water, such as town landings, launch ramps, and even footpaths.

Like many neighboring communities, the crush of new residents in Orleans has made moorings a precious commodity and the typical waiting period to get a boat in the water is at least a decade.

Farber has fielded angry calls, had people storm out of his office, and all the while tried to be accommodating but firm without becoming hopelessly tangled in the issue. He is using an unusual new version of the town map to show people that while there may not be a lot of vacant moorings, there are still plenty of ways to get to the water. The real problem is where to park. . . .

The Orleans Harbormaster get involved in just about everything including patrol of the outer shoreline. Watch hurricane surf at Nauset Beach, Orleans, MA (video)