(1976)
Measured mile, west targets.
Maritime trials continued for decades off Provincetown, which — ideally for such purposes — offered deep seas close to shore. A measured mile course ran from Wood End to Long Point: three pairs of “target” towers which, when visually aligned, offered navigators a fix on the beginning, middle and end of a nautical mile. (Herring Cove had a measured mile and measured half-mile course.) For years, beachgoers could watch some of the newest submarines, including, in 1959, the nuclear-powered U.S.S. Skipjack. Among the naval officers who have seen duty in the submarine proving grounds off Wood End was a future president, Lieut. Jimmy Carter, aboard the U.S.S. K-1, in 1951.
¶ Last updated on 23 April 2017. ¶ Image from Provincetown Harbor (1976), by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.