With crisp fall air sweeping over Menemsha harbor, the U.S. Coast Guard Station Menemsha was presented Monday morning with the prestigious Sumner I. Kimball Readiness Award, one of the highest awards in the service.
“Display that with pride,” sector Southeastern New England Cmdr. John Kondratowicz said after the pennant was raised on the station’s flagpole. “It’s not just an effort of one individual; it’s a team effort overall.

The summer crowds and seasonal yachts have left Menemsha and were replaced this week by a 55-by-185-foot barge and crane for construction of the new U.S. Coast Guard boathouse.

The large barge arrived Tuesday night in Menemsha harbor, tugged in by the Jaguar of New Bedford and the Patrick J. Hunt of Narragansett, R.I.

“It’s finally here, which is a great thing,” said Lou Vinciguerra, project manager for the Coast Guard boathouse.

The sea was rough on the night of Dec. 17, when David McConky went out in the Menemsha Coast Guard 41-foot utility boat and tried to rescue a fishing boat presumed sunk south of Noman's Land. Waves off Gay Head were anywhere from 10 to 15 feet high, and he had to turn back.

Fortunately a Coast Guard helicopter rescued the three men who were already ashore on the deserted island.