An English travel photographer visits Nantucket Island

Nantucket has a special place in my heart – for reasons about to be revealed. I’ve got some extraordinary tales for you, so I hope you’ll stay ’til the end.

Nantucket is a 14 mile long sandy island, 30 miles off the Massachusetts coast, with wonderful beaches. It has tremendous appeal, for a whole host of reasons.

It’s also known as the Gray Lady, on account of the mists that occasionally blow in from the sea.

There’s a holiday vibe in Nantucket. It’s pretty laid back. While there’s an exclusive feel, it’s more beach chic than showy. It’s very casual. Everyone’s friendly and welcoming.

We visited the island at the beginning of June, before the summer crowds arrived. Outside of the summer season, the number of people on the island is about 14,000. In the summer that number swells to more like 80,000! If you visit in mid-summer, don’t bother bringing a car across on the ferry. The island can become grid-locked. We flew in from JFK. If you can, stay in the middle of Nantucket town, so you can walk, or cycle, to most of the important places. There’s a regular bus service around the island called Wave, with a rack for your bike. Some of the taxi drivers do private tours of the island. So you don’t really need a car.

Of course, you must take your camera. Nantucket is a photographer’s paradise. I took my Fujifilm cameras and lenses (which are very compact, ideal for travel), and my extremely pocketable Ricoh GR III (so much technology packed into a tiny camera), and of course the trusty iPhone.

Nantucket used to be the whaling capital of the world. Pretty much everyone on the planet these days wants to save the whales, but back in the day, during the two hundred years roughly between the mid-17th century and the mid-19th century, the mindset was to survive and make a living, or in some cases a fortune, hunting whales. I dare say that no-one at that time ever thought that whales might become endangered.

Nantucket is the place that inspired Herman Melville to write Moby Dick. And inspired Nathaniel Philbrick to write In the Heart of the Sea, a true tale of shipwreck, survival and … dare I say it … cannibalism.

So, if you go to Nantucket you must visit the Whaling Museum, and also the Shipwreck and Lifesaving Museum. The latter is some way out of town, but there’s a free shuttle bus that runs from the Nantucket Visitor Centre.

Whale oil used to light the streets of London, and many other places around the globe. But when whale oil was no longer in demand, the whaling industry worldwide pretty much collapsed. The Civil War was the last straw for Nantucket, with Confederate blockades and seizures of ships (despite the Quaker community on Nantucket doing its best to remain neutral and pacifist).

Happily though, after so many people left to earn a living elsewhere, those who had the power and the money to do so preserved the buildings and heritage, at a time when otherwise it might all have fallen into disrepair.

Almost every house is clad with cedar shingles (thanks to a local ordinance).

There are streets paved with cobblestones that have travelled to pretty much every corner of the world as whaling ship ballast.

Make sure to visit the lighthouses. In 2007 the Sankaty Head lighthouse was moved 400 feet back from the cliff edge, because of coastal erosion. This is a big problem in Nantucket. They say the whole island will disappear beneath the waves within 300 years.

By the way, there are a lot of cute dogs in town.

I happen to be descended from many of the first English settlers who lived and worked on the island back in the day.

It’s a rare thing for an Englishman to visit the United States to discover his roots. Let’s face it, it’s often the other way around. Apparently I travelled 3612 miles (each way). But that’s nothing compared to a single whaling voyage that might have covered 12,000 miles or more (each way). Halfway around the globe and back, propelled only by the wind.

When the 1810 Nantucket census was taken, one of my ancestors, let’s call him John (as that was his name) had been gone whaling for six years.

This mansion belonged to my 4th cousin, 4 times removed, who was born in 1754. He was a shipowner, and clearly he was doing quite well for himself. But his wife got bored and moved to Boston. It’s a hotel now, called Jared Coffin House, and was one of the places where we stayed. Very comfortable and they throw in a continental breakfast and free use of bikes to ride around town on.

We also stayed at the delightful Carlisle House Inn.

Here’s the house of my 3rd cousin, 5 times removed, who was born in 1663. It’s the oldest house still standing on the island.

Houses here change hands for millions of dollars. Sadly none of my distant relatives left any property in trust for me. (Very thoughtless of them.)

The Nantucket Historical Association has identified over 1,000 Nantucket seafarers who were lost at sea between 1724 and 1896. Sometimes whole crews were lost. In 1780 almost 70 men died at sea.

In 1812, one of my great great great great grandfathers was on a whaling ship on its way back to Nantucket “on a passage from the South seas laden with Sperm Oil”. They were only a few days’ sail (200 miles) from home, where no doubt the crew’s families were eagerly awaiting their return. A gale blew up and the ship was flipped onto its side by the force of the wind and the waves (at 38°00’00.0″N 69°00’00.0″W, in case you want to see the location in your favourite online mapping app). Those who survived that initial disaster managed to grab some food and water from the hold, and clung on to the only part of the ship that was still sticking out of the sea after the ship capsized, which was the bowsprit. After 35 days they caught some fish. Ultimately most of crew succumbed to the waves. The few who survived were rescued by a passing ship on the 45th day. Sadly my great great great great grandfather was not one of them.

Another ancestor, another 4 times great grandfather, whose name was Peleg, was captured by the French around 1801, possibly while delivering whale oil to London, or possibly following seizure of his ship and being pressed into service with the English Royal Navy (the fate of many American mariners at that time), and subsequent capture of the English warship by the French. England and France were at war at that time. All friends of England (including pressed foreign seamen) were regarded as enemies of France. Peleg and the rest of the crew were force marched 250 miles to Verdun in France and imprisoned. Five years later he died in that prison, over 3,000 miles from home and his family. Pretty grim.

A number of my ancestors are buried in this cemetery. I spent a couple of hours finding their graves.

You must visit Sconset. It’s a former artist and actor colony and still has a very relaxed feel. Some of the houses date back hundreds of years. You can see the whole place on foot. If you happen to run into a great guy called Rick at the bus stop then take his tour. You won’t regret it.

We enjoyed some fabulous food while visiting Nantucket. We particularly enjoyed Galley Beach (where Robert De Niro, Steven Tyler, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and President Clinton are all reputed to have dined), where you can sit inside or out, with great views over the beach to the sea. Nautilus (where you can get amazing seafood and cocktails) and The Proprietors were two other favourites. If possible, it’s best to book as far in advance as possible, preferably months in advance.

Also you must try the lobster rolls at Walters, which is a takeout deli. The rolls are toasted and are stuffed full with half a pound of lobster in a delicious sauce. We kept going back for more (even though they were $35 each).