This is a case of good news/bad news. The good news is that we are getting the repairs to the Chappy slip done before things fall apart. The bad news is that the next phase of the repair work will cause quite an inconvenience to ferry travelers.

The next Chappy potluck is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 3, hosted by Marvene and Bob O’Rourke. Please bring a dish for six. We start filling up on the appetizers at 6 p.m. The atmosphere is very cozy in the community center this time of year with the couches pulled up to the crackling fire.

One day last week the Steamship Authority cancelled most of the trips between the Islands and the mainland due to high winds. There was a rumor going around that the Chappy ferry would be closing down. I can understand why folks would find that plausible. If the wind was so strong that the big ferries were having trouble then why wouldn’t the little ferries also have trouble?

Last week I mentioned that the breach was staying firmly closed. But by the time the Gazette went to print The Trustees of Reservations staff had already closed Norton Point to through-traffic.

After the hubbub of two holiday weekends in a row it suddenly seems like the dead of winter. Not much to report. The breach is staying firmly closed. The highway department has been taking down dead trees along the main roads. The newly-seeded grass started to grow on the shoulders down at the ferry point. It’s pretty quiet around here.

On New Year’s Day the Chappy ferry operates on the normal winter schedule. If you believe that you are up to staying out after midnight talk to Captain Bob on your way to the party.

Folks have been asking about the Chappy ferry service for Christmas Day. The operating schedule for that day is steeped in tradition.

My Chappy column partner Brad and his family have headed west nearly halfway around the world to spend the winter in the warmer climes of the Philippine Sea. Arlene has island roots of her own. They will be away for about four months so Brad is entrusting me with the honor of keeping our readership enthralled until his return.

For a little over a month the ferryboat On Time III has been hauled out of the water in Vineyard Haven for maintenance and Coast Guard inspection. If the weather cooperates, she will be relaunched by the end of this week and she will make the voyage back to Edgartown over the weekend and return to service on Monday.

I was chatting with ferry captain Liz on a recent trip to town (we chat quickly, but still rarely finish our topic before the chain goes down) about who we are, or more accurately who people think we are: Witness Protection clients. Why else, folks wonder, would we choose to isolate ourselves on Chappy when we could do so almost equally as well in Edgartown?