Gay Head lighthouse and a splendid afterglow to sunset

Menemsha is a village in the town of Chilmark in Aquinnah (formerly called Gay Head) which is the southwestern section of Martha’s Vineyard. Aquinnah celebrates the Wampanoag who gained federal recognition in 1987 and control nearly 500 acres of tribal lands in the area. The Wampanoag people have live here for 10,000 years; no wonder the wampum shell pieces are the best I’ve found anywhere!
The fishing industry has sustained the village since the 17th century. Even today with the devastating decline in fish supply, lobster boats and draggers line the docks in front of weathered fishing shacks. Once the village’s mainstay, sword fishing has all but disappeared. Thirty years ago boats would bring in about 200 swordfish a week, mostly using harpoons from extended bow pulpits. Then along came longlining and decimated the near-shore swordfish population so that if a fisherman lands one or two a week he’s doing well.
Menemsha was one of several island locations featured in the 1975 movie Jaws; the scenes with Quint and Orca leaving to hunt the great white were shot in Menemsha. Today, with all the seals gathering around Chatham and the Cape in general, the sharks are returning to feast. This, in turn leads to renewed interest in the movie (only the original will do thank you) and the movie is being shown weekly in Edgartown and Cuttyhunk. T-shirts sporting “I jumped off the Jaws bridge” hang in store windows and we caught a jumping event on the bus ride from Oak Bluffs to Edgartown. The sign reads “No jumping from the bridge” but hey this is Jaws after all.
Menemsha is still the best place on the island to buy off-the-boat fresh fish and lobster and even with the requisite handful of shops and eateries, the village retains an old-fashioned, salty atmosphere. Vacationers flock to the beaches, bicyclists ride through, hopping on the bicycle ferry toward the famous Aquinnah cliffs, boaters call in early to obtain dockage or get one of two inner basin moorings where rafting of up to three sailboats (under 40ft) is mandatory. But the sunsets, oh the sunsets that make Menemsha a special delight, are what the crowds stay for.

Sunset watchers on the beach wait expectantly

Once again we got lucky with the winds and were able to anchor off the beach without being rocked silly. The beach on the west side of the breakwater gave up a baggie full of wampum and sea glass. The topper was the splendid, ever-changing sunset that I tried to capture, but believe me the real event was even better than these photos.

A cloud creates a pillow for the sun

Rounding the north tip of Block with the water displaying interesting characteristics

After attending to our to-dos, Ms Rocna left her sand/mud home and by 10:45 (hey I log these details, I don’t remember them) we embarked on another motoring trip; 37nm to Cuttyhunk Island, the southernmost island in the Elizabeth Island chain. Bartholomew Gosnold was the first European to “discover” the Elizabeths in 1602. In 1863 the islands were incorporated as the Town of Gosnold, still the smallest township in Massachusetts. Gosnold is also credited with naming Martha’s Vineyard; good thing he didn’t want to name it after himself.
Our Spectra watermaker awakened from his long slumber and performed flawlessly given he’d been pickled for two months; poor guy.
Surprised to see plenty of available moorings at 4:15, but that’s why we arrived on Thursday because that time on a Friday might not yield the same result. Room to anchor gives you options but the holding is crappy so not a smart move unless the winds are low. Twenty moorings sit outside the inner harbor but that toocan berolly with boats zooming by and with north winds. We nabbed an outside ball on the NE side. The giraffe-neck style is easy for most boats but with our screecher pole and two anchors I had a fun time putting a line through; Captain Russ was spot-on though and kept us in place while I did my job.

Cuttyhunk oysters are a must even at a price I will not tell you. Freshly harvested right here and delivered by the Raw Bar boat, along with chowder and clams on the 1/2 shell. You need to get Stuffies at the store on the dock.

The owner himself and young helpers deliver the goods

Our first night feast began with oysters and chowder, aka chowda!

Scottish Highland cattle on Nashawena, a stone’s throw from Cuttyhunk

We dinghied to the outer harbor and did a double take when we looked across to Nashawena Island which is privately owned by the Forbes Family. Nashawena is 3 miles long, covers about 1,800 acres, is the second largest of the Elizabeth Islands and lies between Cuttyhunk and Pasque Islands. The island has an official permanent population of 2 persons as of the 2000 census.
These caretakers of the island live in the white farmhouse, known just as “the farmhouse on Nashawena”. This farmhouse is a popular subject for photographers and artists. See?

Doesn’t this look like a painting?

In years past, Nashawena was used for sheep farming, but many were killed when coyotes invaded the island, apparently swimming from Woods Hole as deer had done. The branch of the family that owns Nashawena now works with scientists to raise cattle in an effort to manage the vegetation.
These cattle are Scottish Highland cattle which are obviously used to a rugged nature in their native Scottish Highlands, so this weather is no big deal for them. They both graze, browse and eat plants many other cattle avoid. And they obviously love the beach!

The day we left we rounded the north end of Nashawena and found more cattle

The upside to in-season cruising is that shops, museums and eateries are open even during the week. We planned to take advantage of that and visit two places we hadn’t gotten to in all our previous 6+ visits to this slice of heaven.

Loving the old-fashioned life on the island. Lemonade and a cookie.

A walk up the main road left no doubt summer was in full swing; the food carts and shack beckoned with breakfast and lunch delights, business was brisk on the fisherman’s dock, the Corner Store (with the best t-shirts most anywhere) tempted us with sale bins and the Cuttyhunk Historical Society was open! The exhibit told primarily of the history of the two fishing clubs as well as life on the island through the years. One display was a letter describing the rescue of a ship’s crew that wrecked on the reef in bad weather. The heroics and selflessness of those courageous lifesaving folks is humbling. They used a breeches buoy, which we’d seen demonstrated at Mystic Seaport some years ago, and on the third (and final) attempt, the line reached the ship. Five hours later all were safely ashore, although nearly frozen, this being winter naturally.

I emerge from the Sea Girl shop empty handed

Russ found this next to Sea Girl

Inspiration for watching Pirates: Dead Man’s Chest

Sopranos Pizza- outside dining or take-out only

Kay’s Choice- shrimp, cheese, fresh herbs and ricotta. Fantastic crust

Surprisingly excellent meals can be found on Cuttyhunk- in season.  Sopranos not only baked a great pie, but the menu was a fun read.

Saturday morning found us walking up to the Fishing Club B&B for breakfast. A Bed and Breakfast seems the perfect second-life use for the Fishing Club and the public is welcomed for breakfast which was excellent. My International Omelet of linguicia, mushrooms, tomato, black olives and a smidgen of cheese kept me full way past lunchtime.

The Fishing Club B&B overlooks Vineyard Sound

The Cuttyhunk YC prepares for a model sailboat race