With picture-postcard summer weather and teeming crowds, by most accounts the Fourth of July on the Vineyard went off with hardly a hitch.
Visitors arrived by air and by sea to celebrate Independence Day, Island style. Martha’s Vineyard Airport manager Ann Crook said 472 private airplanes landed over the weekend, 66 more than last year.
“It’s nice to know that more people are coming to visit,” she said. “I think part of it was the holiday on Monday made it easier for people to take the weekend off.”
Business began to pick up on Thursday she said, with a flurry of arrivals continuing into Saturday, before departures began in earnest on the holiday Monday.
Traffic numbers from the Steamship Authority were still incomplete. But in an email to the Gazette Thursday, SSA general manager Wayne Lamson said it was an extremely busy weekend, partly because the holiday fell on a Monday. The last time that happened was 2011, he said. “When we compared the period from Thursday through Monday this year with Wednesday through Sunday last year, the number of cars parked in all of our various offsite lots was up about 1,000 vehicles, a 19 per cent increase,” Mr. Lamson wrote. “We also noticed a lot of the boats were full of passengers returning from the Vineyard on Tuesday.”
In Vineyard Haven, merchants said business was brisk on Saturday and Sunday mornings, before people headed off to the beaches. Sarah York, president of the Tisbury Business Association and manager at CB Stark Jewelers, said she always sees July 4 as the start of the season, and this year was on par with previous ones.
“The Fourth itself is always never anything crazy because everyone goes to Edgartown, but the weekend itself was very strong,” Ms. York said. An extended Saturday Stroll over the weekend also drew a crowd to Main street. Along with the regular buskers and extended store hours, Mike Benjamin Band, a clown and a photo booth all made an appearance at the stroll.
“We had one of the busiest Saturdays personally at my store,” Ms. York said.
Oak Bluffs business owners reported busy days on Saturday and Sunday.
“It was one of those great weekends,” said Dennis daRosa, president of the Oak Bluffs Association and owner of daRosa’s Printing. “With the Fourth on Monday, it sort of died out . . . but it was a work day the next day.”
The weekend was cloudless and hot with a breeze that picked up on Monday. The ocean was calm and clear; water temperatures in Edgartown harbor reached 81 degrees on Monday. Beaches managed by The Trustees of Reservations filled up early nearly every day, superintendent Chris Kennedy said.
“We probably had one of the busiest days on Chappy between beaches and over-sand vehicle trails,” he said.
On July 4, Norton Point beach was at capacity for over-sand vehicles by 8:30 a.m., with 122 vehicles on the beach. The beach stayed full until 3 p.m. despite an uninvited guest, the carcass of a fin whale that washed ashore. Mr. Kennedy said the odor was strong, but people were committed to their holiday picnics. “They had to get up bright and early to get a spot at the beach, they were real troopers,” he said. “Things went very well, people were all in a good mood, except people who wanted to get to Norton Point and couldn’t. A lot of those people went to Long Point, South Beach or Chappy. If they wanted to get to the beach, they found the beach.”
At Long Point Reservation in West Tisbury, also owned by the Trustees, the parking lot was full by 11 a.m. every day except Saturday, Mr. Kennedy said.
Despite the crowds, he said the weekend was mostly problem-free.
“We didn’t have any incidents and it was a little unusual, usually we have people drinking or speeding and we really didn’t have any of that, I was really pleased,” Mr. Kennedy said.
The West Tisbury town beach parking lot at Lambert’s Cove also filled quickly, according to Peggy Stone from the town parks and recreation office. She too said there were no incidents.
Out on the water, harbor masters also observed smooth sailing.
Edgartown harbor master Charles Blair said there were no serious accidents, just a few fender benders in his harbor.
“We had a record volume of boats in the harbor, perfect weather and great fireworks with no incidents after or before — so it was a winner for me,” he said.
In Menemsha, the only mishap occurred when an unattended vehicle rolled into the creek on July 4. The inner harbor was completely booked, as it usually is, assistant harbor master Richard Steves said.
“Menemsha itself, it was a destination, not just for boaters but for people coming to take in the sunset and look at the harbor,” he said. “It was chockablock full.” Many boaters who dock in Menemsha are repeat visitors, he said. “The people all seem to know each other, they all take their vacation at the same time every year.”
In Edgartown, a second-story deck that collapsed during a party, injuring eight people, was the biggest mishap of the holiday. Otherwise the annual Fourth of July parade wound through the downtown area without a hitch as marchers tossed candy to the swelling crowds.
Tisbury police reported only a few drunken-driving arrests and an inch-thick stack of parking tickets from the weekend. A car accident on Saturday saw minor injuries, Sgt. Timothy Stobie said. An extra policeman was assigned to the day shift on Saturday and Sunday in anticipation of crowds.
“There are more cars around, so there will be more parking tickets,” Mr. Stobie said. “Especially when people can’t find a place to park, so they decide to make one.”
The Vineyard is in high gear for summer.
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