In a ceremony at the Coast Guard boathouse in Menemsha Friday morning, senior chief Justin Logval moved up to master chief petty officer — the highest rank for an enlisted member in the U.S. Coast Guard.
With crisp fall air sweeping over Menemsha harbor, the U.S. Coast Guard Station Menemsha was presented Monday morning with the prestigious Sumner I. Kimball Readiness Award, one of the highest awards in the service.
“Display that with pride,” sector Southeastern New England Cmdr. John Kondratowicz said after the pennant was raised on the station’s flagpole. “It’s not just an effort of one individual; it’s a team effort overall.
Two lobstermen were rescued off Wasque early Thursday morning after their boat began taking on water.
The 44-foot lobster boat Bill B II grounded around 5 a.m. near Muskeget channel due to an unknown cause, according to Coast Guard reports. No injuries were reported.
The summer crowds and seasonal yachts have left Menemsha and were replaced this week by a 55-by-185-foot barge and crane for construction of the new U.S. Coast Guard boathouse.
The large barge arrived Tuesday night in Menemsha harbor, tugged in by the Jaguar of New Bedford and the Patrick J. Hunt of Narragansett, R.I.
“It’s finally here, which is a great thing,” said Lou Vinciguerra, project manager for the Coast Guard boathouse.
Construction for the new U.S. Coast Guard boathouse in Menemsha will begin early next month, the Coast Guard announced on Tuesday.
According to a press release, construction on the new 5,000 square foot single-bay boathouse will start the week after Labor Day.
The 911 call came at about 6:45 p.m. that a person was in the water off Great Rock Bight and in distress. Chilmark and Aquinnah police, Coast Guard station Menemsha and Massachusetts Environmental Police all responded. Two people were pulled from the water and transported to Menemsha to waiting EMS.
Its sweeping beam has guided mariners to safety and cast long flickers of shadow and light across the westernmost edge of the Vineyard for many decades.
But now the Gay Head Light is slated for a lantern change, and in the process the beam will change from sweeping to pulsing.
Lieut. Matthew Stuck of the U.S. Coast Guard aids to navigation branch said recently that the Coast Guard plans to replace the optic rotating light with a flashing LED light sometime in the next few months. The current optic, installed in 1989, is outdated and replacement parts are scarce, Mr. Stuck said.
