Sports
With two weeks left in the 65th annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby, fishermen are fretting about the weather, which has been unkind to anglers. Wind — lots of it and from every direction — has been the story of September.
There are 2,400 fishermen registered in the derby. Ask any one of them how they are doing and they will likely talk about the wind — the bad wind from the east, the tough wind last week from the north, and tomorrow the forecast for high, gusty winds from the south.
On Oct. 10, runners Liza Williamson of Oaks Bluffs, Maureen Best of Vineyard Haven and Suzanne Provost Flanders of West Tisbury will be running in the 10th annual B.A.A. Half Marathon presented by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund, as members of the official Dana-Farber team.
Each team member has committed to raise at least $500 for cancer care and research at world-renowned Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The 2010 team fundraising goal is $450,000.
Sport Casting
The Martha’s Vineyard Surfcasters
are accepting nominations for their Sportsmanship Award. This annual award honors those who display the true meaning of good sportsmanship during the course of the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby.
Vineyard fishermen have joined a federal lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission over the lack of management of river herring and shad in federal waters. The lawsuit targets offshore industrial large-scale fishing boats working the Gulf of Maine and waters south of the Vineyard as culprits in the sharp decline of the fish.
Stress Reduction Class
Grinding teeth. Biting nails. Living a life rife with road rage. It’s stress you say, the price of living in the must do, must have, must see, must be everything moment in our culture. But admit it, the whole race to nowhere has got you feeling down and out.
Well, this Sunday at 7 p.m. the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center is presenting a workshop specifically designed for you.
Rahul Harpalani caught his first fish ever, a striped bass, on Tuesday. The 24-year-old active duty first lieutenant with the Army had a smile on his face like no one else on Menemsha charter captain Scott McDowell’s boat. Out fishing a mile south of Squibnocket, Mr. Harpalani was having the time of his life. “It is so serene out here,” he said.
“Now you are a fisherman,” said Joe Bennett, a 70-year-old veteran from Maine, who sat beside him.