Martha’s Vineyard
This morning we headed south through the Cape Cod Canal into Buzzard’s Bay. In 1928 the government purchased this waterway and decided to expand its size to ease navigation and decrease the chance of accidents. We made our way around the Elizabeth Islands up the Vineyard Sound to our anchorage off the town of Oak Bluff on Martha’s Vineyard. In colonial times, Vineyard Sound was one of the busiest waterways in the world, second only to the English Channel. In those times, the island was also full of windmills and thousands of sheep which provided a huge source of fleece and wool for the surrounding areas. Agriculture, fishing and scalloping have also all been large industries for the island, but currently tourism overshadows them all.
The island of Martha’s Vineyard is approximately 100 square miles with more than 120 miles of tidal shoreline. Roughly triangular in shape, it is the largest island on the northeast coast and lies seven miles off the coast of Cape Cod. While the year round population is only about 17,000 people, numbers can grow to over 120,000 visitors in the summer months. Of the six towns on the island, two are ‘wet’, meaning they allow alcohol, while the other four are ‘dry’. Oak Bluffs was founded by Methodists and is known for its ‘gingerbread’ houses. Constructed after the civil war, these houses took advantage of a new invention, the jigsaw, which made intricate, repeat-pattern woodwork more affordable.
We also visited Edgartown, with streets lined with white board houses, manicured gardens and wonderful public art. Passing by the Edgartown Lighthouse, we stopped to take a walk on the beach and look out across Katama Bay. Our visit to the island was full of fascinating cultural history and natural beauty.
This morning we headed south through the Cape Cod Canal into Buzzard’s Bay. In 1928 the government purchased this waterway and decided to expand its size to ease navigation and decrease the chance of accidents. We made our way around the Elizabeth Islands up the Vineyard Sound to our anchorage off the town of Oak Bluff on Martha’s Vineyard. In colonial times, Vineyard Sound was one of the busiest waterways in the world, second only to the English Channel. In those times, the island was also full of windmills and thousands of sheep which provided a huge source of fleece and wool for the surrounding areas. Agriculture, fishing and scalloping have also all been large industries for the island, but currently tourism overshadows them all.
The island of Martha’s Vineyard is approximately 100 square miles with more than 120 miles of tidal shoreline. Roughly triangular in shape, it is the largest island on the northeast coast and lies seven miles off the coast of Cape Cod. While the year round population is only about 17,000 people, numbers can grow to over 120,000 visitors in the summer months. Of the six towns on the island, two are ‘wet’, meaning they allow alcohol, while the other four are ‘dry’. Oak Bluffs was founded by Methodists and is known for its ‘gingerbread’ houses. Constructed after the civil war, these houses took advantage of a new invention, the jigsaw, which made intricate, repeat-pattern woodwork more affordable.
We also visited Edgartown, with streets lined with white board houses, manicured gardens and wonderful public art. Passing by the Edgartown Lighthouse, we stopped to take a walk on the beach and look out across Katama Bay. Our visit to the island was full of fascinating cultural history and natural beauty.
