Passersby near the Oak Bluffs public beach were startled yesterday morning when, eerily, out of a thick morning fog, crept the bow of a large white steamer heading straight toward shore.

Thrice blessed, the motor vessel Uncatena slid down the ways at Blout's shipyard in Warren, R.I., with the high tide on Sunday evening. After her fitting out, she will arrive at Woods Hole before long to join the rest of the Steamship Authority's fleet.

The triple blessing came during the christening ceremony, when not just the customary one bottle of champagne but three were smashed against the Uncatena's bow, each wielded by an Authority member's wife, the whole process making for an excess of bubbled and splintered glass.

Governor [Foster] Furcolo signed the new Steamship Authority bill shortly before 2 p.m. on Tuesday.

Under the terms of the new law, the present Authority will be replaced Jan. 1, 1961, by a new Authority of three members, one of Dukes County - who have already persuaded Robert M. Love to accept the appointment - one named by the selectmen of Nantucket, and one by the selectmen of Falmouth. New Bedford will be responsible for 40 per cent of the deficit for 1960, but after the end of this year will have no responsibility, no representation, and no guarantee of service.

An opinion entirely favorable to the Islands has been given to Governor Furcolo by Attorney General Edward J. McCormack Jr., relative to the Steamship Authority bill. The measure was returned to the Senate once again on Tuesday and is now back on the governor’s desk for another grace period of five days within which he may sign or veto it. But this is only one of a number of bills which have been shuttled in this manner between the Senate and Governor Furcolo.

These troubled times are not the only occasion on which inhabitants of Martha's Vineyard have had difficulty obtaining passage by boat to the mainland. Ask the oldest inhabitant as to boat service, and the chances are that he will refer to the good old days when no difficulties presented themselves and life was sweet and peaceful.

Dealing with the more than 150 years-history of steamboat transportation between the Island and mainland, Mr. Love styled his talk, The Evolution of Operation, Wood Boilers to Gas Turbines. He also brought out the little-known fact that far from being a new idea, the inclusion of Hyannis in the Island boat system was carried out over a long period of years and with a high degree of success.

Steamer history is Vineyard history, even now, for the arrival of the air age has not diminished the necessity of boat service.

It is likely that regular boat service between Martha’s Vineyard and the mainland was being operated by the year 1800. This does not mean daily service, however, for in the old times the packets and even the steamboats that followed them, would run on certain days of the week. Sailings were arranged according to the time of year and the needs of traffic.