Chilmark selectmen are working to iron out the kinks in a free shuttle service between Tabor House Road and Menemsha that began in July. The service offers an alternative for drivers to park off site and away from the congested harbor area.

When the sun rises in Menemsha it comes up over a swordfish. The fishing village remains a mix of old and new, but the soul of the place is the ocean, and what comes from it.

Four years ago this week, Menemsha harbor was a chaotic scene. Dark smoke from the west dock billowed out to sea and burning embers floated on the water. The wooden Coast Guard boathouse built in 1938 was completely consumed before the first fire truck arrived. A wooden pier and a wooden road leading to the boathouse, along with a truck and at least one boat, were also destroyed.

Chilmark selectmen are hoping to provide some relief for drivers looking to park in Menemsha. A free shuttle service between a parking lot on Tabor House Road and Menemsha harbor will begin August 1.

New pilings for Menemsha harbor, a new office for the harbor master and a new wood floor for the Chilmark Community Center are all decisions for voters. The meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Community Center.

Some came straight from the beach with sandy feet, while others had just emerged from a nighttime bath, but the children who attended the Chilmark selectmen’s meeting Tuesday had a single message: don’t close Crab Corner.

Lines form at the Galley restaurant on warm summer evenings as people of all ages stand shoulder to shoulder for swordfish sandwiches and soft-serve ice cream cones. Around the corner at the Bite, the smell of fried clams hangs in the air. Down on the docks charter fishermen steam in from somewhere off Noman’s, their holds full of freshly caught striped bass and bluefish. And when the sun sinks into the western horizon, crowds form on the beach, as they have for so many years, to gaze across the water, look for the green flash and cheer the end of another day.

Reverend Arlene Bodge of Chilmark Community Church opened the start of the summer boating season with the annual blessing of the fleet ceremony on the Menemsha waterfront.

A vast harbor improvement plan in Menemsha is largely complete after five months of work in the harbor. Chilmark executive secretary Tim Carroll said minor adjustments still need to be made, including replacing of some lightbulbs in bombards, finishing electrical work and securing the water line.
“The seagulls are already dropping lobster and crab claws on the docks,” Mr. Carroll said.

Normally, the Coast Guard is on the lookout for mariners in distress. But on Sunday crew members aboard a 270-foot cutter stationed in Portsmouth, Va. spotted a more welcome sight: two right whales swimming northwest of Menemsha in Vineyard Sound.

The sighting was made at 9 a.m. Sunday.