Seven service veterans along with their families came to the Island this week to participate in the American Heroes Saltwater Challenge.

Dawn broke pink over Menemsha harbor as the water rippled softly. Aboard the fishing boat Mary Sea, Captain Jonathan Boyd drove fisherman Brian Curry and veteran Tommy Elliot out to Quick’s Hole in search of bluefish.

On Tuesday morning I sat in my truck overlooking Menemsha Harbor as heavy rain poured down, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled in the distance. I looked toward the jetties and saw fishermen walking back on the rocks at a fairly fast pace.

Ten veterans and their families are participating in the sixth annual American Heroes Saltwater Challenge, hosted by Bob and Sarah Nixon. The veterans spend their mornings at sea, afternoons golfing and surfcasting. The challenge is full of gestures both large and small from the Vineyard community.

The sun had just climbed above Squibnocket ridge when Lieut. Nathan Rimpf and Senior Airman Emanuel Thompson spotted their first catch of the day.

“Birds,” Mr. Rimpf and Mr. Thompson said simultaneously with the quiet confidence of pros. With a slight nod of the head, the two surmised that a large school of fish weren’t too far away.

The soldiers and their families will compete in the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby this week.

Last fall you published a letter from me thanking our Island community for their support of the American Heroes Fishing Challenge. Now in its fifth year and organized by the Nixon family and Beach Plum Inn, the heroes challenge is a tournament within the Annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby.

Last fall a group of nine soldiers arrived in Menemsha to compete in the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby.

Sunday afternoon was the first time Colton Wiley of Keofauqua, Iowa had ever seen the ocean. Three months ago he was shot in the legs in Afghanistan, leaving the 19 year old wheelchair bound. Now, on a beautiful September evening on Menemsha Beach, he was watching his first sunset over the Atlantic Ocean.
“It’s beautiful and completely eye opening,” he said later that night during dinner at the Beach Plum Inn.
Mr. Wiley was one of 10 wounded and recovering soldiers who visited the Island this week for the fourth annual American Heroes Saltwater Challenge.

‘Tis derby season. In just two days the Vineyard community will undergo a large transformation as the 67th annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby, the Island’s annual Olympics for fisherman, begins.