The 208-foot ship Thomas Jefferson is surveying the bottom of Vineyard Sound and surrounding waters as part of the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration’s ongoing effort to document the oceans and inland waterways and update nautical charts.

The work is expected to finish this week.

Longtime friends and followers of the late Dorothy West gathered on Saturday afternoon in the shade on a hot August day to pay tribute to the writer, who was the last surviving member of the Harlem renaissance, and to share memories.

By MARK ALAN LOVEWELL

August can be a tough month for catching striped bass. It isn’t that the fish have gone south or disappeared, but they are certainly into their warm water August state of mind.

Two years ago this month, Larry R. Couture took a walk on the beach in Aquinnah and spotted something shining in the sand. He found a piece of clear crystal quartz the size of a tennis ball. Though he didn’t know it at the time, it was a rare find.

This summer, Mr. Couture returned to the Island carrying a 60-carat quartz crystal. The gem was cut from the stone.

Sunday’s stiff southwest wind more than made up for Saturday’s light air to make the 14th annual Edgartown Yacht Club 12-metre regatta a weekend success. Ten of the fastest sailboats in the region, contenders in past America’s Cup racing, came together on Nantucket Sound to share a moment at the start and race to the finish. Saturday had time for just one race; Sunday had three.

Jeff Randall, a 12-metre enthusiast and event chairman, said the weekend sailing will go down in the yacht club books as one of the best sailing weekends they’ve had.

A 1,500 pound, eight-foot long male leatherback turtle that had become entangled in fishing gear was rescued in Nantucket Sound on Friday by a group that included the Oak Bluffs harbor master and shellfish constable.

“I couldn’t believe the size of that thing. That is a first for me,” said harbor master Todd Alexander.