Manuel Swartz, the well-known boat builder, near Steamboat Wharf, has just built for Capt.
When Scott DiBiaso and his crew sailed the 65-foot schooner Juno out of Vineyard Haven harbor on Wednesday, Nov. 14, they had a single reef on the mainsail along with a fore staysail. Even with a conservative amount of sail exposed to the cold wind, the 25 knots of northeast breeze pushed the vessel from West Chop, down Vineyard Sound toward Aquinnah at a fast 12 to 13 knots. They were helped along by a three-knot current. It was cold and unlike summer sailing.
With the sale of Viking, a 40-foot fishing boat that has plied the waters off the Vineyard for three generations, the Island’s once-vibrant fleet of small wooden draggers is now at the brink of extinction.
Craig Coutinho of Vineyard Haven confirmed this week that he will sell Viking along with his fishing permits.
Tisbury police arrested two Bridgewater men this week for attempting to steal a 1,000-pound lead sailboat keel.
Corey M. Dechaine, 19 and James Carroll McFarland, 21, were apprehended in broad daylight on Monday on property off Oak Hill Road used by Gannon and Benjamin Marine Railway for the storage of boat parts.
For nearly a decade, the town of Tisbury has served as the reluctant steward of a 45-foot sailboat, rotting behind the Department of Public Works building and deserted by an owner who has been almost impossible to track down.
The town has been unable to move or destroy the boat, but that may soon change.
Recreational boat traffic in Vineyard harbors was off during the first weeks of summer, but harbor masters report that all changed last Friday, when all four harbors were suddenly full for Independence Day weekend.
“I don’t know if it is the weather, the price of gasoline and the economy,” said Dennis Jason, Chilmark harbor master. “It could be all three.”
When and If, the 63-foot John G. Alden schooner built in 1939 for the late Gen. George S. Patton that has been a familiar presence in waters from the Vineyard to Maine and beyond, is for sale.
The historic schooner was recently appraised at $680,000.
Owner Candace Ruitenberg confirmed that the boat has been placed on the market due to an impending divorce.
Mrs. Ruitenberg said she hopes someone else will now step in to give as much love and attention as she and others have already given the When and If.
