Construction for the new U.S. Coast Guard boathouse in Menemsha will begin early next month, the Coast Guard announced on Tuesday.
According to a press release, construction on the new 5,000 square foot single-bay boathouse will start the week after Labor Day.
The 911 call came at about 6:45 p.m. that a person was in the water off Great Rock Bight and in distress. Chilmark and Aquinnah police, Coast Guard station Menemsha and Massachusetts Environmental Police all responded. Two people were pulled from the water and transported to Menemsha to waiting EMS.
Its sweeping beam has guided mariners to safety and cast long flickers of shadow and light across the westernmost edge of the Vineyard for many decades.
But now the Gay Head Light is slated for a lantern change, and in the process the beam will change from sweeping to pulsing.
Lieut. Matthew Stuck of the U.S. Coast Guard aids to navigation branch said recently that the Coast Guard plans to replace the optic rotating light with a flashing LED light sometime in the next few months. The current optic, installed in 1989, is outdated and replacement parts are scarce, Mr. Stuck said.
It takes five minutes for the crew at U.S. Coast Guard Station Menemsha to walk from main headquarters to the search and rescue vessel. Five minutes may seem like a short time, but add drysuits, anti-exposure and flotation coveralls, boating tools, supplies, artillery and sometimes protective vests, and a five-minute walk can feel like a lifetime.
Absent a boathouse where all their gear and supplies would normally be kept, Coast Guard crew members make this laden walk several times a day.
Beneath a billowing American flag and light breeze off the harbor, Buddy sat in salute at the U.S. Coast Guard Station Menemsha early Monday morning, chest proudly puffed, ready for his next treat.
The three-year-old golden retriever was sworn in as a seaman recruit by Senior Chief Jason Olsen at a special enlistment ceremony. With the duty crew standing behind him, Buddy became a rank and file member of the Menemsha team.
Coast Guard rescue crews medically evacuated a 13-year-old boy Saturday afternoon, after Martha’s Vineyard Hospital alerted the Coast Guard that no medical flight crew was available to transport the boy to a mainland hospital.
An Air Station Cape Cod MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew was launched and safely transported the injured boy to Massachusetts General Hospital. The boy was suffering from a severe groin injury.