Sports
With the 62nd annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby now at full speed, two events are running along on the side.
One is for youngsters. The other is a kayak fishing contest. Both start on Sunday.
While plenty of big fish were caught by grown adults in this first week of the derby, attention shifts Sunday morning to the youngest of anglers. Soon after sunrise, as many as 200 young children will gather for the Mini Kids’ Day Derby at the Steamship Authority wharf in Oak Bluffs.
Opening day at the 2007 Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby was a smash, including the recording of a first day grand slam by Capt. Tom Langman of Menemsha, likely a first day record. Derby president Ed Jerome said of the slam: “We don’t keep records for that but I don’t ever remember it happening on the first day. Certainly we’ve had one-day grand slams before but they are rare.”
Aquinnah has opened its heart and its parking spots to derby fishermen.
The Aquinnah selectmen on Friday voted at a hastily called special meeting to open resident-only parking lots to derby fisherman for the duration of the derby after learning that contestants have been avoiding Aquinnah fishing spots for several years because they feared tickets or tows.
It wasn’t a score-fest like Sunday’s game between the New England Patriots and New York Jets, but the regional high school football team’s 7-0 win over Old Rochester in the home opener Friday was equally impressive.
The Vineyarders’ defense shut down the potent Bulldogs attack, while the offense did not turn the ball over all game.
A 42-foot wooden schooner called Phra Luang won the 30th annual George Moffett Memorial Sailboat Race on Saturday.
The captain, Jeffrey A. Robinson of Vineyard Haven, was jubilant at the news. He built the schooner in Bangkok in 1984, and has sailed in Moffett Races since 1986.
Winds from the southwest were as high as 30 m.p.h. and there were a few sailors at the awards ceremony at the Vineyard Haven Yacht Club who thought it blew higher. Wind and waves and the course favored big boats with great reaching capability.
With two wins already under their belt, the high school golf team is off to a fast start.
Anchored by Tony Grillo, arguably the best young golfer in the state, who recently won his second consecutive Massachusetts junior championship, many already are calling the team a lock to make the state tournament.
But in the match-play style of high school golf, even the most talented player cannot carry a team alone.
According to coach Doug DeBettencourt, young Grillo won’t have to.