The long, slender vessel with the mast towering high above Edgartown is one part sailboat and one part floating workshop.

On the deck, old saw horses and scraps of faded wood are scattered around the stern, and multicolored patches of epoxy and resin stain the fiberglass. The coaming around the cockpit is under construction, and the scarred and sun-bleached wood around it suggests it has been that way for years. Rough plywood cutouts act as temporary hatches; they are shaded by the looming mast, fastened by thousands of gleaming rivets.

The Bird's Nest is not a house quickly forgotten.

Built in the Highlands section of East Chop 130 years ago, around
the time that the United States was celebrating its first century, the
whimsical cottage is painted green and embellished with Victorian
architectural details such as corbels, St. Andrew's crosses and a
three-story tower. An octagonal cottage sits out back.

County Boards Collide Again

Two Resignations Are Tendered, Two Appointments Rescinded on Airport
Commission; Confusion Now Reigns

By JAMES KINSELLA
Gazette Senior Writer

Resignations and rescinded appointments Tuesday shattered the
fragile peace between the Dukes County Commission and the Martha's
Vineyard Airport commission.

Airport Commission Appointments Spark Resignation, Sharp Allegations

By JAMES KINSELLA
Gazette Senior Writer

Concern over actions by the Martha\'s Vineyard Airport
commission has spurred a former airport commissioner to call for an
investigation by the Massachusetts attorney general.

Concern over actions by the Martha's Vineyard Airport
commission has spurred a former airport commissioner to call for an
investigation by the Massachusetts attorney general.

West Tisbury Voters Convene Tuesday

By IAN FEIN

Two months after receiving a sharp rebuke from town voters, West
Tisbury selectmen will go back to the well on Tuesday for another
special town meeting to take up many of the same issues.

Front and center will be $170,000 in legal bills from the costly tax
case against town assessors, which a record turnout of voters rejected
at the special town meeting in November.

Town Finance Board Sharpens Opposition to Tax Case Bills

By IAN FEIN

On the eve of a pivotal town meeting, the West Tisbury finance
committee this week sharpened its opposition to payment of legal bills
linked to the Graham property tax case amid a widening swath of
questions about the roles and responsibilities of town assessors and
selectmen.

On a calm day, ocean waves lap on the beach less than 20 feet from
East Chop Drive in Oak Bluffs. The edge of the road is already breaking
up.

In a record-setting sale for the Vineyard, the waterfront Waggaman property on Tower Hill in Edgartown has sold for a total of $22.5 million.

The deal, which closed last Friday, is the single largest residential real estate sale in Island history. The buyer is known only as Edgartown Harbor LLC, which lists an address of an Edgartown law office.

Adele Harman Waggaman, a longtime Edgartown summer resident, held title to the two parcels involved in the transaction, which together cover about 10 acres. The land previously had been owned by her maiden family.

Boat Line Board Names Fast Ferry After Sachem

By JAMES KINSELLA

The Steamship Authority's new fast ferry will carry the name
Iyanough, the Cummaquid sachem for whom Hyannis is named.

The boat line board of governors Tuesday decided to bestow the name
on the vessel, scheduled to go into service on the Hyannis-Nantucket
route about a year from now.

The $9.5 million ferry will replace the Flying Cloud, the first fast
ferry built by the SSA for the route. The four-engine vessel has a
passenger capacity of 350.