At 3 a.m. on Wednesday morning, Marlene DiStefano thought she might have to change her flight home. Her son, Jesse Sylvia, was nine hours into the 2012 World Series of Poker main event in Las Vegas, and the competition was still going strong.

“We were like, this is never going to end,” said Ms. DiStefano in a phone interview.

If they were motorists, they’d surely be ticketed. Going over 45 miles per hour on the Vineyard is illegal.

But the dozen world-class athletes who competed in the second annual North American Speed Sailing Invitational attain their formidable speeds not on paved roads but on water. They raced on Sengekontacket Pond, Cape Pogue Bay and Katama Bay, depending on the wind conditions of each location. During the competition, which ended on Tuesday, the high-flying kites became familiar sights.

Football plays its second-to-last home game of the season tonight at 6:30 p.m., taking on Eastern Athletic Conference opponent Bishop Stang.

The field hockey squad took on Plymouth South in its first post-season game on Thursday afternoon. Game coverage is available online at www.mvgazette.com

Boys’ soccer plays its first tournament game in an away game against Scituate Sunday at 3:30 p.m., and the varsity cross country runners compete in the Coaches’ Invitational this Saturday in Wrentham.

With one game left in the regular season, the U-14 girls’ squad of Martha’s Vineyard United remains undefeated. Last Saturday, the team played Stoughton in an away match, Whitney Schroeder notched the first Vineyard goal five minutes into the first half, but both defenses stepped up their play afterwards to keep the score 1-0 until the final portion of the game. Adelaine Keene scored with 15 minutes left in the game to give the team a 2-0 win and preserve the girls’ streak. The U-14s now hold an 8-0 record as they head into Saturday’s game against Dartmouth.

Fred Murphy and his crew and schooner Ishmael were a top winner in the annual Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race, held late last month. The 48-foot schooner from Vineyard Haven received a first place in her class. There were four classes. The schooner won the Michelob Chesapeake Bay Challenge Trophy for having the best corrected time at Windmill Point of 16 hours, two minutes and six seconds.

“Our strategy was to win our class, and we won fourth overall, on corrected time,” said Mr. Murphy.

A week ago more than 100 people from around the world beganarriving on the Vineyard. Most looked like regular folks, bearded or not, wearing jeans or skirts, sneakers and shoes. They could have been leaf peepers who took a wrong turn on their way to the Berkshires. But some wore flowing crimson robes, a visible sign that this group was up to something different.

More telling, though, was that they appeared more relaxed than most people. They didn’t pack as much stuff either.