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Provincetown Low-Tide Clamming, & Rennie Jason’s Haul – Slideshow

Clamming in Provincetown with Rennie Jason
Written by Brian Tarcy

PROVINCETOWN – It did not take Rennie Jason long to get his allotted 10 quarts of clams when digging off the breakwater in the west end of Provincetown.

In about two hours around low tide, Jason got his allowed amount and then he helped a friend get half of theirs. He also socialized with some of the 30 or so other folks who were clamming on Friday afternoon, and he kept his eyes out for coyotes.



”If you go off the breakwater, there’s an old trail out there and you’ll see coyotes as big as German shepherds. I had one follow me back [towards land] one time.”

“Usually if there’s people out there, there’s coyotes looking for some free food,” he said.

On this chilly day, Jason estimated between 30 and 40 people were clamming. “I’ve seen up to 100 out there on a really nice day,” he said.

Clamming in Provincetown with Rennie Jason

“I’ve been digging them my whole life.” – Rennie Jason CAPE COD WAVE PHOTO

When the tide is low, people go out. “But when the tide comes in, you want to get out of there or you’ll be swimming,” said Jason.

Jason, who lives in Plainville, Connecticut, grew up in Provincetown and lived here for 55 years. He remembered his father piling him and his five siblings in his truck and they’d go clamming. “I’ve been digging them my whole life,” he said.

He moved to Connecticut eight years ago but he still comes back here specifically to go clamming.

He planned to bring the clams back to Connecticut and eat them steamed with linguica and onions. He planned to feed himself, his girlfriend and two other friends, he said. The clams are a treat for folks in Connecticut, he said.

“You can’t get clams like this,” he said. “You go to the Stop and Shop and you won’t get clams like this.”

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About the author

Brian Tarcy

Brian Tarcy is co-founder of Cape Cod Wave. He is a longtime journalist who has written for the Boston Globe, Boston magazine, the Cape Cod Times and several other publications. He is the author of "YOU CAN'T SELL RIGHT FIELD; A Cape Cod Novel." He is also the author or co-author of more than a dozen mostly non-fiction books, including books with celebrity athletes Cam Neely, Tom Glavine and Joe Theisman. His previous book was, "ALMOST: 12 Electric Months Chasing A Silicon Valley Dream" with Hap Klopp,who created the iconic brand, The North Face.
For more information, see Briantarcy.com
Brian is a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan with a long-running NFL predictions/political satire column connecting weekly world events to the fate of his favorite team, now at Whatsgonnahappen.com.

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