News and Events for Nantucket Island
• by Robert P. Barsanti • They were out there on New Year’s Day. Four white boats lined up near the eastern jetty, pulling scallops out of the water. Two men worked in each boat. They aimed the nose of the boat into the incoming tide and worked the winches. […]
• by Robert P. Barsanti • We felt the storm slip onto us from the East. The stars winked out the night before and the wind turned. By the gray light of the morning, the sky had grown hair and the wind had grown wet. Under the sound of words […]
by Robert P. Barsanti Many years ago, I put on waders, floated the basket, and walked out into the October water to rake up a few scallops. At the time, picking up scallops was not just a pastime, but the duty of an islander. We walked out into the cool […]
by Robert P. Barsanti The radio rolled out with attacks in Libya, a new iPhone in California, and a memorial service at the World Trade Centers before it muttered out the “Beach and Boating Forecast” and the tides for the day. Then I shut it off. Instead of the radio […]
by Robert P. Barsanti The last beach day came on Saturday. Hurricane Leslie was threatening Bermuda in tiny steps. Her winds had stirred the waves off of Cisco and the cold front that would keep her away was spinning off tornados in Brooklyn. Throughout most of New England, rain and […]
by Robert P. Barsanti I first came to Nantucket in the fall. I had been before. Once, when I was twelve and wearing a Campagnolo bicycle hat and a red windbreaker, I came over on the Uncatena from Oak Bluffs and saw the island briefly. Later, when I interviewed, I […]
by Robert P. Barsanti By the last weeks of August, summer is preparing the grand finale for the season at the same time that most of the visitors are washing the mildew out of the towels, emptying out the refrigerator, and making sure the kids are doing the summer reading. […]
by Robert P. Barsanti The ocean is easy in Maine. Off of Southport Island, it slips all the way out at low tide, leaving mud and seagulls, then it slowly walks itself back in. At low tide, you smell the salt, the rot, and the weeds. Then, the water lifts […]
by Robert P. Barsanti In August, the kids start to leave. Over the country, schools have broken through the Labor Day wall and call the young back for practice, or for team building, or even classes. The calendar sneaks up with a suitcase and a boat ticket. The last week […]
