Sometimes there is that one person who has vision and energy and steps forward to lead the way. And in the process, things get done. Gray Bryan was just such a person, and when he died three weeks ago, the Vineyard lost a great friend. Gray Mac W. Bryan Jr. died on Dec. 29 at the age of 85. He was ahead of his time, at least when it came to water quality protection on the Vineyard.

In the earliest years of astronomy, no one had a clear understanding of the magic of the stars in the skies. Twinkling stars were untouchable, yet they glowed every night. Naming the constellations after mythological creatures probably came out of an effort to both understand and remember.

At the Gannon and Benjamin Marine Railway in Vineyard Haven, shipwrights have stepped back in regional maritime history. They are building a new 28-foot 19th-century whaleboat. The boat is one of nine being built across the country for the last remaining whale ship, the Charles W. Morgan, now undergoing restoration at Mystic Seaport. The work began a month ago. Nat Benjamin, the owner of Gannon and Benjamin boatyard, calls it a great honor to be a participant. The Charles W.

The ocean is getting warmer and it is having an impact on where fish are calling home.

National Marine Fisheries Service scientists recently published a report citing that gray snapper, a fish more common in the waters off Florida, are moving north up the coast due to warming coastal waters and estuaries along the Eastern Seaboard.

A thin crescent moon hugs close to the western sky beginning in the new week. Today the moon is in the New Moon phase, and out of sight tonight.

Ted Box of Vineyard Haven hopes to launch his 70-plus-foot schooner, a scow, in June. The building of the wooden boat in full view on a vacant lot of the Boch property off Beach Road is visually arresting. The boat building project began over a year ago and is picking up pace.