A public information workshop and listening session will be hosted by the Chappy Ferry Steering Committee and the consultants from Fuss & O’Neill on Thursday, April 27 from 5 to 7 p.m. They are performing a study and making recommendations for adapting the Chappy Ferry landings and approaches to sea level rise. Further details are on the Edgartown town website; choose the agendas section. On the above date, you will find the report and presentation that will be discussed. Very thorough work so far.

Remember to also mark your calendar for the next two Saturdays. April 22 is Earth Day. Participate in the Chappy roadside cleanup starting at 9:30 a.m. See the Chappy Community Center website for complete information. April 29 is the spring cleanup of Mytoi garden, starting at 10 a.m. See The Trustees Of Reservations’ Mytoi website for complete information.

The next meeting of the Chappy Ferry Steering Committee is scheduled for Monday, May 8 at 5 p.m. Find the Zoom link and agenda on the town website a few days prior to the meeting date.

As long as you are sitting at your computer, here are a couple of interesting items to ponder on Google Earth. Look for solar panels across Chappy and the Vineyard. They tend to appear in neighborhood bunches. It’s as if they took encouragement from the other installations. It’s also interesting how few there are, considering the abundance of big roofs.

The historical function of Google Earth allows you to scroll through the years. Click on the clock icon. You can do your own comparative study into how the sand spit growing across the entrance to Edgartown harbor has progressed over the years.

There is a distance measuring function that allows you to figure out the actual number of feet between two points. Click on the ruler icon. A very rough summary of the narrowing of the channel reveals that in 1995 the distance across the narrowest part was about 875 feet. From 2001 through 2004 it seemed to stabilize at 800 feet. Then by 2015 it reduced by a hundred feet and as of the most recent photo in 2021, the distance was approximately 675 feet. The second most noticeable change was the widening of the spit as the beach grew eastward.

I have a photo taken in 1964 of my brothers on the base of the lighthouse with water right up to the east and south sides of the concrete.