After 27 years of building the wooden boats of other men's dreams, Nathaniel Benjamin, 60, built a boat for himself.
They christened her Charlotte under parted skies on Saturday afternoon. Hundreds of onlookers spilled onto the beach, down to the end of the dock and up to a rooftop of the boat yard. The potluck was plentiful and the beer flowed from a rowboat packed with ice. Boat launchings mean big parties at Gannon & Benjamin and this was no exception.
Vineyard Haven harbor was lit up on Saturday evening by a fully
involved boat fire. Tisbury firemen and harbor masters from two towns
responded to a blaze aboard a 30-foot Catalina sailboat called Tippy
Canoe, owned by Tyler Weggel of Port Washington, N.Y.
There were no injuries. The vessel, a total loss, now lies partially submerged, a black shell, in shallow water at the foot of Grove street.
CROTON-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. - The Mabel made it.
Manning the front lines of the Island economy, Vineyard harbor
masters often see business trends before merchants do. As summer draws
to an end, four of the five Island harbor masters told the Gazette that
a season typically busy in some regards was even busier than normal in
others.
On the Vineyard Haven waterfront you can see, smell and hear the bustle of activity.
