News and Events for Nantucket Island
I’ve started my days this week fishing from a bridge in Salem, MA as cars and trucks cruised by me at 30 or so MPH, scaring me to death. Yeah, this was not first choice, but at least it allowed me to catch some fish and clear my head out a bit. Another thing that it did was to help me to better appreciate the beauty of Nantucket, particularly Great Point. I’ll be home soon enough and will have some sand between my toes shortly thereafter.
We’re halfway into August, and it starts to feel a touch like fall. There’s a slight crispness to the air in the early mornings, and the humidity of July has waned. The August Blues Fishing Tournament, which I love to participate in, has me thinking about August blues—I mean the kind of feeling that has less to do with bluefish and more to do with disappointment at the end of something. Of course, I’m reading way too much into the name of a fishing tournament, but there is an element of sadness that summer might soon be coming to a close.
They don’t sip CRUcumbers at CRU or wait in line at Juice Bar, but they’re back every summer. A month ago, on Friday July 18, just in time to kick off Shark Week, a 1,653 pound great white shark pinged 50 miles east of Nantucket. Named “Contender,” he is the largest male white shark ever tagged by research group OCEARCH in the Western North Atlantic. While well offshore, his appearance is a timely reminder that sharks, too, summer on Nantucket.
“The Rainbow Fleet should sail this summer sixteen strong.” The year was 1922. Clarence Gennett, Vice-Commodore of the Nantucket Yacht Club was beginning to realize his dream. Gennett was one of three brothers who, with their father, Henry Gennett, owned the Starr Piano Company and its subsidiary, Gennett Records. The company laid the cornerstone for the recording of American jazz, blues, and country music.
American society was simply not prepared for the impact of the movie Jaws when it arrived 50 years ago. Nope, never saw it coming. Producer Steven Spielberg caught lightning in a bottle and just like that Jaws became the highest grossing movie in history (until another Spielberg flick called “Star Wars” showed up in 1977).
by Sarah Wright Watching the audience arrive to the breezy courtyard at the Nantucket Performing Arts Center on opening night, I felt happy. A palpable energy permeated the air as director Mark Shanahan rolled up on his bicycle, then mingled with several ticket holders. In the mood for laughter, everyone […]
Through August 17, Nancy Colella will be Artists Association of Nantucket’s Artist in Residence at the Visual Arts Center. This Monday, August 11, from 5:30 to 6:30 pm, Colella will present an evening discussion and slide show about her process and inspiration in AAN’s Visual Arts Center located at 24 […]
For many of us, Coatue is the sandy stretch we seek out to get away from the rest of Nantucket. Whether by boating across the harbor, kayaking, or traversing the over-sand paths by vehicle, many of us recognize that this place is special. Wild landscapes, nesting bird life, great fishing…it’s a wild place that brings us back in time. Even so, it might also be a place we sometimes take for granted. We might enjoy it for the escape, but how often do you think about how vital this barrier beach is to our island way of life?
August on Nantucket means beach days, boat rides, and backyard barbecues. But for some food-driven folks, August means one thing—local corn season.
