The main commercial centers of the Vineyard had power restored by late yesterday as Islanders began the slow process of hurricane recovery, and Commonwealth Electric Company officials said they expect 80 per cent of the power to be restored to the six towns by the weekend.
The storm of Monday was not very severe here. The surf at South Beach however, came up higher on the Plain than it was ever known to before by some two hundred feet. Quite a number of cranberry bogs around the Great Pond were completely submerged, materially damaging the fruit.
SEVERE STORM. - One of the fiercest storms of wind and rain ever known on this part of the coast, in the summer season, prevailed last Friday afternoon. The gale commenced between two and three o’clock and blew almost a hurricane until near sunset. The surf on the South Beach ran very high, many portions of the beach being entirely submerged. The boat-house of the Humane Society, located near the mouth of Mattakeeset Creek, was moved several feet from its position into the harbor by lodging against a high beach-hill. Fortunately we hear of but slight damage, or wrecks, along the coast.
The storm of Saturday was very severe. We fear that we are yet to hear of much serious loss. The ship Maritana, Williams, of Providence, from Liverpool, with a valuable cargo and 14 passengers, struck on Egg Rock, off Hull, about midnight. About 7 A.M. the ship broke in two suddenly, and immediately went to pieces. The captain was instantly killed, and 21 others also perished. Thirteen were saved; nine of them by Samuel James, of Hull, in a dory, alone.
The gale of the 10th inst, was very severe at Holmes Hole. Some thirteen vessels were driven ashore there, They were, with few exceptions, but slightly damaged, and most of them will be easily got off after discharging. Some two or three only have bilged.
Donna, the “freak” hurricane, swept the Vineyard on Monday, bringing winds of varying velocity, some hard rain-squalls, and spreading miner disaster. Miner, as to individual examples although the list of damage seemed endless. A few boats ashore, literally hundreds of trees split, twisted off and in a few cases, uprooted, and paralysis of the Island’s electrical system for hours, but not crippling the telephone system as badly.
Hurricane Edouard slowly brushed past Martha’s Vineyard yesterday, battering the coastline with fierce, gusting winds and torrential rains, causing property damage, power outages and rudely interrupting the plans of thousands of Labor Day travelers.
The Vineyard was spared the brunt of Edouard - the eye of the hurricane rumbled east of Nantucket early yesterday afternoon - but its blustery, fitful grip upon the Island was long, gloomy and occasionally intense.
The storm formerly known as Hurricane Bonnie swerved south and east of the Vineyard this weekend, passing some 120 miles away and bringing little more than a breeze and a bit of rain while the surf on South Beach roared.
The distant passage of the storm was good news to a waterfront community that had been preparing all week. As late as Friday afternoon, tired crews continued to remove boats from the water at both Edgartown Marine Associates and Martha’s Vineyard Shipyard.
Remnants of the year’s worst hurricane passed over the Vineyard last night, delivering both high winds and rain. Hurricane Floyd, a storm that formed in the tropical waters of the Atlantic, began disrupting life on the Island days before it arrived.
