More sunshine which we were particularly glad of today as we took the high-speed ferry from nearby Hyannis to the famous island of Nantucket. Jill does not like being indoors on boat trips so the warm sun meant we were comfortable on deck for the fast crossing. An hour, a coffee and a muffin later and we were coasting into photogenic Nantucket Harbour.

To do Nantucket justice probably requires an overnight stop and some form of transport other than our walking sandals so we decided to explore just the Nantucket Harbour area for our day trip. Our on-board snack meant we weren't hungry for lunch on arrival so we made for the Whaling Museum we'd been recommended to way back in Maine. Why whaling? Well around 1800 nearly half the world's whaling was undertaken by the fleet from Nantucket and nearby Martha's Vineyard. The local ships sailed round Cape Horn and on into the North Pacific, even reaching and trading with the Far East.

The museum was established in an old factory that made candles from whale oil before the fleet was largely destroyed in the American Civil War. Whatever we think of whaling now, 200 years ago the whale fishermen were brave, greedy, bonkers, or all three! The exhibits explained that the sailing ships would let down rowing boats, only half the size of the whales they hunted and the crew would try to row close enough to these "leviathans" to throw their harpoons with rope attached. Once harpooned the whale would fight for its life pulling the boat along (the famous "Nantucket sleigh-ride") until exhausted. The whales often smashed the flimsy boats in the melee and it wasn't uncommon for a third of whalers not to return to their homes in Nantucket. Bizarrely a 46 foot sperm whale beached and died on Nantucket in 1998. It was investigated thoroughly by scientists and the skeleton now provided an impressive centre-piece for the museum (see photo).

Saddened by the whale carnage yet in awe of the early whalers we headed back to the wharf area to pick up enormous sandwiches (American portion sizes again!) and then walked round to Brant Point Lighthouse (see photo) and beach where we ate lunch and caught some sun. Next we decided to follow some of the historical trail we found in a guide book. This took us along cobbled streets of mostly unpainted, shingle-covered buildings. The whole area was very picturesque although views and the wandering would have been improved if some streets were pedestrianised but no, the Americans need to drive from shop to shop it seems.

We were lucky to arrive at Jethro Coffin House, the oldest in Nantucket being built in 1686, at a quite moment and had a personal tour from one of the knowledgeable and enthusiastic volunteers from the local Historical Association. Every nook and cranny had a purpose and all were explained. Later on the route we visited Murray's Toggery Shop, allegedly an island institution, but no family discount was offered and anyway they seemed to specialise in pink shorts for men - not a look Jill thought was quite right for Dave.

We were about historied out so wandered back to the wharf area for delicious watermelon lemonade and wonderful Crantucket ice-cream (that's vanilla with dark chocolate covered cranberries) at which point Dave discovered he had a wallet with a cash-flow problem! The bill came to $14, cash only, leaving Dave with $1, he'd not realised that the notes he had were mostly $1 not $10s or $20s. We had to find an ATM to make sure we had cash to pay for our parking back on the mainland. Fortunately the Nantucket Bank provided and we were solvent again before our return sailing. The 6pm boat was a good choice as we could enjoy the sunset as we sailed out of Nantucket Harbour and catch evening light on the photogenic Brant Point Lighthouse.