Anyone who has not heard the name Charlie Blair must be trapped beneath a barnacle or from another planet. The purpose of this letter is to illustrate the myth from the reality.

The myth: Charlie Blair and his team of harbor master professionals are only responsible for maintaining the safety of the harbor and locating mooring accommodations for a gazillion boaters who descend upon Edgartown Harbor and Katama Bay every day in the summer.

The reality: Millions of dollars flow into the harbor from the harbor master’s office. This green tide floats the economy of Edgartown during the vital summer season. If you own a restaurant, liquor store, tackle shop, clothing store, supermarket or gas station then you need to join me in thanking the yeoman efforts of Charlie Blair to put that green in your registers.

Speaking for us boaters, the reality is much greater, much appreciated and much underestimated. For example, there is a water barge to fill the H2O tanks of thirsty mariners, a pump out boat to assure that excrement is not fouling the harbor and, most importantly, the phenomenal efforts put forth to protect the harbor during a storm. I personally witnessed Charlie Blair adding line to boats and checking that anchors and other accessories were not chaffing hazards to pennants, the life line to a boat’s safety in a storm.

I stayed aboard my boat during Hermine, knowing that I was secured with two 3,000-pound blocks of cement, two sets of pennants and anchor chain from my windless directly to the mooring chain. I listened to channel 74, the harbor master frequency, and felt assured that Charlie was there if needed.

As the wind and the tide rose so did Charlie Blair who appeared as a phantom aboard the open boat Pointer. At first, I couldn’t believe my eyes, was that Blair in the heart of the storm. With a pair of high power binoculars, I could make out Charlie’s face getting slapped with wind and rain. The covered patrol boat was nearby as well, housing his assistant harbor masters. But there he was, the legend rising up from the storm. Yes, Charlie Blair is a legend but his actions are the reality upon which we give thanks.

Paul Mellen
Edgartown and Duxbury