For Phil Hale, winning the Walter Cronkite Award from SailMV this summer was an honor that came with extra meaning. The longtime owner of Martha’s Vineyard Shipyard, Mr. Hale was personally acquainted with the late broadcast journalist, a devoted sailor who summered in Edgartown for decades.

Sailing is for everyone.

The encroaching dark and cold drizzle in Vineyard Sound provided the perfect backdrop Wednesday evening for a lecture on the mid-water depths of the ocean, a place called the Twilight Zone.

For Andrew Nutton, sailing is more than a lifelong love and vocation. The newly appointed executive director of Sail Martha’s Vineyard credits it with his very life.

Andrew Nutton began sailing when he was three years old living in England. Now, after 30 years as a sailing coach, he has been named executive director of Sail MV.

Sail MV will host a U.S. Coast Guard licensing course, beginning with an orientation on Jan. 20.