A man participating in this weekend's Oak Bluffs Monster Shark tournament was injured Friday afternoon when a blue shark bit him on the forearm.

Peter Phillips, 36, of Taunton was fishing more than 10 miles off the Island's South Shore in the boat Sea Tern when he landed a large blue shark, tournament officials said. When he attempted to bring the shark on board the boat, Mr. Phillips was struck on his outstretched forearm.

"Apparently, the shark just lunged out at him," Edgartown deputy police chief Paul Condlin said.

A Vineyard recreational fishing boat took the title in the ninth annual Oak Bluffs Monster Shark Tournament held over two days this weekend. Tom Furino of the 34 1/4 foot fishing boat Fish Finder out of Oak Bluffs won the tournament with a catch of two large sharks. On Friday Mr. Furino and his charter crew caught a 320-pound blue shark and on Saturday they caught a 302-pounder of the same species.

Founders of the Martha's Vineyard Charter School have come a long way and they candidly admit they still have a long way to go before they open the school doors in September 1996.

Martha's Vineyard was one of 21 communities across the state to be granted a charter last March by the state Executive Office of Education under the provisions of the Massachusetts Education Reform Act (ERA).

The Wasque Reservation sandplain curves downward to the dunes disappearing into the indigo waves of Katama Bay off Chappaquiddick. The white-crested breakers recede into fog above the ocean. A large pick-up truck, which has been converted to a safari vehicle, rumbles along sandy roads and onto the beach, past Wasque Point toward Drunkard’s Cove. Its riders are jostled about in the back. They bump shoulders and exchange good-natured smiles, their fingers wrapped tightly around their binoculars. Five-year-old Anna Brody thinks the ride in the safari truck is the best part of the trip.

Among the wooded knolls and winding paths of Camp Jabberwocky, tiger lilies bloom in profusion. They line the wooden cabins in memory of former camper Katie Johnson, who died two years ago at age 15. “The tiger lily’s orange blossom really symbolizes Katie,” said camper Kristin Pachico, a friend of Katie’s. “She had glowing red hair, bright blue eyes, and a fiery spirit.”

Nearly 20 years ago in his landmark Vineyard book People and Predicaments, Island psychiatrist Milton Mazer recalled the beginnings of Martha’s Vineyard Community Services. He wrote:

“The venture to provide human services for the Island was begun in 1960 by a small group of Island physicians and clergymen. Their almost daily experience with the many Islanders overwhelmed by human predicaments had led them to look for remedies, and a psychiatric service seemed a good place to begin.

The southwest view from the Gay Head Cliffs combines smooth beach and green hills, with tiny vernal pools dotting a landscape of leafy trees, wildflowers and dunes.

On the Vineyard Haven waterfront you can see, smell and hear the bustle of activity. The town's boatyards are all party to boat building and launching. Anyone who walks the shores of the town will discover a wide variety of vessels undergoing extensive work. It was a busy winter and there is evidence everywhere.

Maciel Marine, Martha's Vineyard Shipyard and Gannon and Benjamin boatyards are witness to a resurgence in interest in Island built and restored vessels.