After a moment of remembrance in honor of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Roy Langley opened the weigh station Sunday morning and the 71st Martha’s Vineyard Bass and Bluefish Derby got underway.

Steve McCarthy and his regional high school football team take the field Friday night under the lights, marking the first time in 28 years that someone other than Don Herman will be standing on the sidelines.

At 12:01 a.m., the first minute of Sunday morning, the lines will zip off reels and lures will plop softly in the water. The 71st Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby begins.

There is a certain serendipity to Venture’s long voyage. For most of her 106 years the wooden gaff-rigged sloop was simply a part of Vineyard Haven Harbor, fitting into the seascape as much as Shenandoah or the town dock.

After a summer of frustrating traffic backups, contractors are wrapping up work on the Lagoon Pond drawbridge.