Sports
A familiar face on the Vineyard Haven waterfront, Steve Besse, 60, of Vineyard Haven and Guilford, Conn., was this year’s winner of the 32nd annual George Moffett Race on Saturday. Forty sailboats raced off East Chop in Nantucket Sound.
Mr. Besse sailed a 40-foot boat called Apres, a J/120. He was not just the first, but in a handicap race, he also was the first to cross the line. Mr. Besse is noted for being the first and last windsurfer to sail around the Island.
Are you happy? is the title of a daylong meditation retreat with Ed Hardy on Saturday, Sept. 19 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Society Chapel on Main street in Vineyard Haven
This retreat, sponsored by the Insight Meditation community of Martha’s Vineyard, will include meditation, sitting, walking and guided meditations as well as yoniso manasikara — the practice of “wise apprehension” directed towards the liberation of happiness.
Sports of every kind were front and center across the Vineyard this week — from bars and living rooms where people watched the New England Patriots win the season opener and the Boston Red Sox inch closer to a postseason berth, to the high school athletic fields where several teams started their seasons with big wins.
More fishermen are coming: the Vineyard community, sportsmen and local businesses are pooling their resources to greet the Monday arrival of five men and two women who were recently seriously injured during military service. The veterans are coming to fish the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby, now entering its second week.
What better opportunity to bring out the best of the Vineyard than to share a local passion with those who have served their country?
25 Years of Charity Golf
The 25th annual Martha’s Vineyard Boys’ and Girls’ Club fall golf tournament raised $8,000. The tournament was held at the Edgartown Golf Club on Saturday, Sept. 12, and included 22 teams of four golfers. Participants were treated to a cookout between the morning and afternoon double shotgun starts.
More than $300,000 in prizes are stashed and ready for the 64th annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby, which begins at 12:01 Sunday morning and runs until 10 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17.
And this year if you catch a big one, watch for the tweets. Derby chairman Greg Skomal confirmed yesterday that updates will be sent out on Twitter this year. Yesterday’s tweet? “Windy, windy windy . . . but reports of albies in THICK. Boats hooking dozens/day. Final weigh station setup Sat. Derby starts @ 12:01 AM Sun!!”