It was the night before the big three-day Vineyard Cup and sailors and friends of sailors were out in force. But they weren’t on the water. They were at the 24th annual Seafood Buffet and Auction to benefit Sail Martha’s Vineyard.

I’d like to talk about anchoring. And I’d like to talk about garbage. The topics are related since the anchoring skills of most boaters are, um well, garbage.

On a sunny July 5, a fresh breeze brought 17 boats across to Falmouth in the Holmes Hole Sunday Sound race.

With the Fourth of July holiday and peak summer boating season under way, the U.S. Coast Guard, local police departments, and town harbor masters are pledging extra vigilance on the water, enforcing state laws to prevent life-threatening accidents.

I’ve been a delivery skipper since the late 1960s. I’m not a chicken on the water, but other people on boats scare me. I never know if that boat heading at me has a competent crew or is the local ship of fools.

In what is believed to be a June record, 19 boats gathered in Vineyard Haven on June 25 for an overcast Thursday evening Harbor Race.