| abstract | - Wepecket is trying to save an endangered species -- the artists who perform traditional American music. Wepecket Island is a real place. And it's home to several endangered species, so we thought the name was appropriate A tiny island (maybe two acres) and an even smaller pile of rocks lie 500 yards off the Western shore of Naushon Island in Buzzards Bay off the coast of Massachusetts. Some geographers consider Wepecket the smallest of eight islands in the Elizabeth archipelago. Others consider it an anomalous outcropping that is really part of Naushon Island. Fishermen have always been attracted to the spot because its combination of shoal and deep water, tumbling rocks and abundant sea vegetation and shellfish make it a great feeding and breeding ground for bass, bluefish, scup and other species of cold water fish. Fishing birds, as well, like to hunt the waters surrounding the little chunks of glacial debris. The Great Black-backed Gull is among the birds that nest there, and ospreys, once almost extinct in this region, include the pickings on and around Wepecket in their mealtime rounds. You'll also see piping plovers, cormorants, black ducks, Mergansers and several varieties of terns, including the endangered roseate (whose principal breeding ground is West by Northwest about 10 miles away on Ram Island, off the coast of Mattapoisett Neck). My wife and I sail over to the islands whenever we can, and drop a hook in the sandy cove between the island and Naushon. Except for a constant roll produced by the famous "Buzzards Bay chop," the water is comparatively still in the lee of the island, and it's a great place to swim ashore and walk carefully (Don't disturb the nesting plovers!) on the exquisite sand. We find an affinity between traditional music's homemade approach and the more gentle way of getting into the outdoors exemplified by sail and paddle power. It's also fun to stand in the cockpit of our 22-foot sloop as she flies along in a 15-knot breeze pretending to be aboard a clipper bound for China, singing "Strike the Bell, Second Mate" at the tops of our lungs and bothering no-one but a passing gull or two. And who knows, if folks buy enough of our recordings I might just trade up to a slightly bigger boat so I can start producing house concerts on board! Jack
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