Thurs Oct 2, 2025
Hi Folks! We are anchored off the coast of Provincetown, Massachusetts today but barely made it! Last night was some of the roughest seas we’ve ever experienced and as you know, we cruise a lot. Felt like crossing the Drake Passage to Antarctica which are the roughest waters in the world!
The Captain said it was due to those pesky hurricanes out in the Atlantic but they are about 750 miles away so you know they are powerful! Thank goodness we don’t get seasick cause that ship was a rockin’!
Like I said, we are anchored today so we had to tender in to port. But before that we sort of had a morning sea day since we didn’t anchor until 11 and our excursion wasn’t until 1. So we did an enrichment talk to got educated and also got to sleep in. Sweet!
Started off listening to a talk from Bernard Gallacher, the European Rider Cup Golf Captain from ‘91, ‘93 and ‘95. The Ryder Cup is a golf tournament pitting the best golfers from the US against the best of the Europeans and happens every two years alternating locations.
He’s attended every Ryder Cup since 1969! The Ryder Cup team across the pond used to only have players from Great Britain and Ireland but from 1979 onward it expanded to includes players from across all of Europe. The first European player was Sevi Ballesteros and he explained how Sevi come from poverty to rise up to be one of the best European golfers.
1987 was the first time the Europeans won the Ryder Cup on American soil. From then on, the Europeans have won more Ryder Cups than the US but over the entire history, the US have won 27 times and the Europeans have won 16 times.
He explained how home advantage is so important. This year’s Ryder Cup was at Bethpage, NY, and 250,000 people were there which was the highest attendance ever. In two years, it will be in Ireland and Bernard said he thinks there’ll be even more people there! It was a great talk and so interesting to hear his perspective.
We then had lunch and took the tender over to the quaint, little town of Provincetown. On May 15, 1602, Bartholomew Gosnold made landfall on what is now Provincetown Harbor, naming it Cape Cod after the abundant codfish he found here. Believing the landmass was an island due to a large sound to its west, they named the sound Shoal Hope.
This expedition aboard the ship, The Concord, also led to the naming of Martha’s Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands further south. The Mayflower, carrying the Pilgrims, made landfall at Cape Cod in Nov 1620 after being blown off course while attempting to reach their intended destination in Virginia.
They anchored in Provincetown Harbor on Cape Cod, a region they had not received permission to settle. The harsh conditions, dwindling supplies, and potential mutiny led 41 men onboard to sign the Mayflower Compact, establishing a form of self-governance before they eventually moved on to establish the Plymouth Colony. Whew… that was a lot of history! Lol
Our excursion today was another trolley ride (we love trolleys!) and it took us on a narrated tour showcasing the best of Provincetown and the Cape Cod National Seashore. We traveled along the lively Commercial Street to the charming West End, passing by Pilgrim Landing. Then thru the vibrant East End Art district before concluding in the heart of town. It was a great tour and we fell in love with Provincetown. Most all of the pics are the cute houses in town. We hope to come back some day!
After that we did a little shopping and got back onboard. We then got ready for dinner. I’ll do another update later tonight. Happy Thursday to all!
The Wandering Italian 