Sports
The forecast was for Friday's high westerly winds to continue through the weekend. Fortunately, yesterday was far better than expected. The winds were lighter, more west southwest.
Still the boat fishermen had to look for places to stay out of the rising seas. That meant they fished close to the shore, near Menemsha, the North Shore, East Chop, East Beach.
Ed Jerome was the weigh master yesterday morning and a frustrated angler.
At the derby station this morning Ed Jerome, president of the 63rd annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby, was not happy about the weekend forecast.
“It could blow up to 35 knots,” Mr. Jerome said.
Last weekend the anglers were discouraged by heavy rain. This weekend, there is a serious concern about high wind.
For boat fishermen that is not only tough it could be dangerous. Shore fishermen will flock to the lee side of the Island to get out of the wind.
Students from University of Massachusetts Medical and Nursing School (Rural Health Rotation) will be surveying Islanders who attend the Friday Conversation meeting today, Oct. 3, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at the Oak Bluffs Senior Center. Their topic is the need for accident prevention plans for elders in a rural or Island setting. Their project is sponsored by the Elder Services Committee of the Dukes County Health Council. Bring your friends and neighbors.
Following last weekend’s foul weather, Island anglers have jumped back into fishing with a new urgency. This is the start of the third week of the 63rd annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby and with two weeks to go, a lot can happen — and is happening.
A shifting on the leader board took place on Tuesday, before the past weekend’s storm clouds and the big waves had settled.
As a nurse, Jean Hagerty Francis has accumulated over 40 years of memories associated with the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. She remembers the early years in the 1960s when the hospital was a small but essential part of the Island community. It was a cottage hospital then and is a much bigger place now, with a new $50 million building under construction.
Mrs. Francis, who retired last month, began working at the hospital in 1964 at the age of 21.
The boys’ and girls’ cross country teams are continuing a tradition of excellence this season, with the boys sporting a 5-0 record and the girls a 4-0 record. For coach Joe Schroeder’s Vineyard team, this year’s impressive run is just the latest in a recent string of dominance.
Last Thursday, both the boys’ and girls’ teams overwhelmed Bishop Connolly in Fall River, each winning the top five slots. Megan Dreyer took first for the girls and Robbie Osmers led the boys.