Sports
Spirited sailors and their sleek sailboats arrive this week for the start of the 86th annual Edgartown Yacht Club Regatta. The regatta appears to be recession-proof. Sailors love to sail, no matter what appears to be going on ashore. Competition begins on Thursday and runs through Saturday. As many as 250 youths and as many people are expected to compete on the water, possibly more than a year ago.
Roughly 50 boats with captains and crew will participate in the day-long ’Round the Island Race, which starts early Saturday morning.
As a popular and sometimes controversial pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, Bill Lee, also known as the Spaceman, spoke up on just about every subject that popped into his head: Maoist China, population control, school bussing in Boston, Eastern philosophy, double-headers on Sunday and the legalization of marijuana.
It may come as a surprise to some that growing up on an Island does not always ensure access to sailing. The water is always within reach, but there have long been socio-economic barriers to Island kids interested in learning the sport.
In the early 1990s, a group of Edgartown residents teamed up to tackle the problem. Nancy Hoffman and the late Nancy Haskell spearheaded the effort to found Sail Martha’s Vineyard (now known as Sail MV), a program dedicated to helping Island kids gain access to affordable sailing instruction.
The Haitian Art Sale will be held Saturday, July 18, from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Martha’s Vineyard Resort, 111 New York avenue in Oak Bluffs, sponsored by the Martha’s Vineyard Fish Farm for Haiti Project.
There will be live music by Haitian artist Didi Jeremie, hors d’oeuvre and wine. The suggested entrance donation is $15, and the guest speaker will be Haiti’s Minister of Women’s Rights and Affairs, Marie-Laurence Jocelyn-Lassegue,
By MARK ALAN LOVEWELL
Tomorrow morning at 12:01 begins the 10th annual Fluke Fishing Tournament, hosted by the Veterans of Foreign War Post 9261. The two-day fishing contest is expected to attract more than 100 anglers.
There were 170 fishermen in last year’s contest, and with fluke in abundance, there is plenty of reason for anglers to put down the $20 entrance fee and join this year. Teenagers and seniors are charged $10. Youngsters 12 and younger are admitted for free but they must register.
A streetball rivalry was seething on the basketball courts of Oak Bluffs’ Niantic Park this past weekend. On Saturday, July 4, the Edgartown defending champions, the Cheezits, were preparing to take on the tough and much-hyped WBA, a four-man team from Boston and North Carolina.