Potlucks at the Chappy Community Center are back! The next one is on Wednesday, Oct. 19 from 6 to 8 p.m. Thereafter, they are scheduled on the third Wednesday of the month, all the way through June. Everyone is welcome. Bring a dish to serve six.

Contact the center if you are interested in hosting a dinner. Hosts are responsible for hors d’oeuvres for 20, beverages, set up and clean up. That sounds like a lot of work but it’s really actually fun. Folks will stick around afterwards to help with the clean up. The annual captains appreciation dinner will be on Dec. 21.

A team of engineers and environmental consultants from the firm of Fuss & O’Neill visited the island on Tuesday. They have been hired by the town to figure out how to adapt the Chappy Ferry and approaches to rising sea levels.

Their questions indicated that they are experienced in waterfront and transportation issues. The team of four showed great interest in the workings of the ferry slips and ramps. They drove up to the Caleb’s Pond overwash area as well. It was a fortunate coincidence that it was stormy. I showed them photos of flooding on the Chappy Point parking lot and on Dock street, which elicited sympathetic gasps.

The Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby will end on Saturday, Oct. 15. Larry’s Tackle Shop is once again hosting OctoberFish. The tournament began on the first and runs for the entire month with an awards celebration in November. During the Derby, bring your weigh-in slip or fish to Larry’s to participate. Slips or fish must be received within 24 hours of Derby weigh-in or of having caught the fish if you are weighing fish at the store.

After Oct. 15, Larry’s is the official weigh-in station for the tournament. Larry’s is open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. except on Sunday when closing is at 4 p,m.

The Chappy Ferry has traditionally stayed on the summer schedule until the end of the Derby. When it ends, the winter schedule begins. Therefore, on Sunday, Oct. 16, the ferry will begin running continuously from 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. and then from 11:00 to 11:15 p.m.

The next day, the On Time II departs for Vineyard Haven to be hauled out of the water for its biennial maintenance and Coast Guard inspection. Depending on what issues we and the Coast Guard discover upon inspecting the hull of the ferryboat, it could be out of the water anywhere from two to six weeks. During that time, only one ferry will be in service.

Luckily, this year, it is the longer of the two ferryboats that will remain here to carry all of the traffic alone. Expect delays during the usual busy times. Try to avoid them if possible but give yourself plenty of extra leeway if you can’t.