Weather Basics is the topic of Sail MV's next Zoom talk, March 10, with Brian Whitely of Weather Routing Inc.
Foul weather predicted for this weekend may hinder but it won’t slow down the enthusiasts participating in the 63rd annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby. Fishing is at a fever pitch.
Sloppy seas and a prevailing east-northeast breeze made the fishing tough this week. Nevertheless, at the Wednesday night derby weigh-in, the derby got a new leader in the striped bass boat category.
Over the past year on the Vineyard, there was plenty of wind, storms for almost every season and so much summer sun there was a concern about drought.
A big ocean storm in April opened the barrier beach at Norton Point to the ocean. A northeaster on Valentine’s Day and another last month with near-hurricane winds kept reminding Vineyarders the ocean can get nasty.
In other words, it was another classic year of variable New England weather on the Island.
The remnants of Hurricane Noel lashed the Island this past Saturday, bringing down power lines, sinking at least two boats and tossing several others ashore. Although no injuries were linked to the storm, a number of Vineyard homes were without electricity for well into Sunday. Steamship Authority ferry service to the Vineyard shut down at noon Saturday and didn’t resume until Sunday morning.
How have the wind and choppy seas affected the fishing during the first week of the 61st Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby? That depends on whom you ask.
For a weekend anticipated to be a washout for fishermen, it was an
active three days at Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish
Derby headquarters in Edgartown.
Now that heavy rain and snow have arrived, last year's dry
summer is a distant memory. In fact, the Island ended up with more
rainfall than usual in 2002.
