Following the die off of juvenile shellfish at the Martha's Vineyard Shellfish Group in recent weeks, there will be a summit of the minds next Wednesday at the Tisbury Town Hall. Shellfish constables, biologists, members of the Lagoon Pond Association and the Tisbury Waterways Inc. will meet at noon to talk about the next step in protecting the water quality in the pond.

It took seven hours and 43 minutes for the fastest sailboat to complete the 'Round the Island race on Saturday. Sforzando, captained by Blair Brown of the New Bedford Yacht Club, was the first to cross the finish in the Edgartown outer harbor at 3:43 p.m. The speedy Taylor 44's lap around the Island typified the pace of most sailing in the 80th annual Edgartown Yacht Club event.

Gray skies and sprightly winds launched the 80th annual Edgartown Yacht Club Regatta yesterday. A record number of 420 class sailboats turned out for the 10 a.m. start. At least 50 of these one-design sailboats crossed the line. William Roman, manager of the yacht club, said this year's regatta is clearly the year of the one-design sailboat, with record participation by young people.

Like most Island cocktail parties, the Tisbury Street Fair was slow to start. An hour into the annual town celebration though, and it was standing room only.

Johnny Hoy and the Bluefish rocked through the evening. Youngsters danced in the middle of the street in front of the band. Many of the Island's nonprofit organizations sold T-shirts, raffle tickets and plenty of food on the sidewalks.

Everything about this Fourth of July was huge. The parade was colorful and long, the fireworks overhead were grand and the crowds in downtown Edgartown were phenomenally large.

There will be plenty of boom in Friday night's Fourth of July fireworks. The Edgartown Firemen's Association is spending $25,000 or $5,000 more than a year ago.