This week concludes Capt. Robert Douglas’ 50th summer skippering the Shenandoah, what amounts to the longest-running relationship between a captain and his boat he’s ever heard of.

“To my knowledge, no one has ever been tied up to the same boat, without interruption for 50 years,” he said this week on the porch outside his office in Vineyard Haven.

The 36th annual George Moffett Race, the premiere end-of-summer sailboat event, returns Saturday, Sept. 7.

The monohull race is a late morning, all afternoon handicapped contest involving sailboats of all sizes, from 16 to more than 40 feet.

Registration is $40, and must be received in the mail no later than August 30. For more information, visit the Holmes Hole Sailing Association website at holmeshole.org.

Edgartown Harbor Master Charlie Blair has just brought the Pointer skiff back to the dock and, still wrapped in his life jacket, he enters his cramped office. With his big smile and bigger presence, he seems to overflow the filled-to-the-brim room.

Fifty windsurfers representing four different countries competed in three classes of racing Friday and Saturday at the Vineyard Haven Yacht Club. Races were cancelled Sunday due to no wind, but wind conditions for the first two days were gusty, challenging all levels of racers.

A 36.5-foot sailboat that washed ashore on Norton Point July 5 is finally off the beach after a week of removal efforts, and Edgartown police reported that several people who stripped the boat of its contents have returned the items.

Edgartown police Det. Sgt. Christopher Dolby told the Gazette this week that Running Free, the sailboat belonging to Bill Heldenbrand, 67, of St. Joseph, Mo., was pulled off the beach last Friday. During an attempted transatlantic voyage, Mr. Heldenbrand encountered a severe storm and was forced to abandon his boat between Florida and Bermuda.

The fourth of July weekend began and ended with three Holmes Hole SA races that produced five different winners.

Eleven skippers and their crews opted to spend Independence Day on the water in a Thursday evening race that was close with the top five boats finishing all within a minute of each other.

Whit Hanschka’s Sally took first place honors by eight seconds in 34 minutes flat on corrected time on a beautiful evening with 12 boats on the starting line. Mo Flam on Penelope took second followed by Dan Culkin on Magic Time.