Sports
Volunteer Edgartown shellfishermen worked the tides last week to transfer young bay scallops out of harm’s way at Cape Pogue Pond, after an algae bloom seen a year ago returned.
Cochlodinium polykrikoides, a single-cell dinoflagellate, staged a late-summer comeback in the large, pristine bay that lies north of the Dike Bridge on Chappaquiddick. The algae is not harmful to humans but can be toxic to shellfish.
Menhaden were back in Cuttyhunk harbor this summer, and that was good news to Capt. Bruce Borges. Pogies, as they are called, make great bait for catching striped bass. As a lobsterman, Captain Borges, 74, hasn’t seen much good news along the waterfront in recent years. There are fish out there but it’s a different story for lobsters, and that has made this summer especially challenging for Mr. Borges, who calls himself the last lobsterman on Cuttyhunk.
The girls of the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School soccer team were on their practice field, arranged in a circle and doing leg lifts while holding a soccer ball between their feet. Beyond the trees at the far end of the field, the sun crept into the sky, casting a warm orange light on the team. With what seemed like a collective exhale, the team finished the warm-up exercise and prepared for the next one.
Oar and Paddle Again
Due to the strong winds last weekend, the Oar and Paddle Regatta was postponed until this coming Sunday, Sept. 4.
For those who missed last weekend’s announcement this is the annual kayak, canoe, and rowboat race to raise money for the Friends of Sengekontacket.
The race and registration begin at the Little Bridge in Oak Bluffs. Registration is from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. with the two-mile race beginning at 10 a.m.
The Holmes Hole Sailing Association continued its summer season of handicap sailboat racing from Vineyard Haven harbor with a night race on August 18 and two harbor races on August 21.
Thursday night was a nice summer evening with a 12 to 15 knot southwest wind. Fifteen boats posted for the 6 p.m. start at red nun 6. The course took the fleet to green can 23a at East Chop, then to red nun 4 at West Chop, and back to nun 6. The first leg was a broad reach on the port tack.
An Aquinnah resident caught two bluefish by hand at the end of the day last Saturday. Wilde Whitcomb, 31, was out walking with his sister, Gabrielle Whitcombe, in front of Zacks Cliffs at about 6 p.m., when they noticed a bluefish swimming in the surf.
Mr. Whitcomb stepped into the water and grabbed the fish by the tail. They continued to walk along the beach and found another. Mr. Whitcomb grabbed that, too.