Martha's Vineyard Sports
Edgartown leads in volleyball
The Tisbury volleyball team edged Oak Bluffs on the Vineyard Haven court, Wednesday, three games to two.
The Tigers won the first game, 25-18. The Blazers answered, 25-21 in the second. Game three was a Tisbury blowout, 25-7. Oak Bluffs evened the count again, taking the fourth contest, 25-20.
The final abbreviated game went Tisbury's way, 15-5.
Photos by Ralph Stewart
The Oak Bluffs junior varsity team won both of their games with the Tisbury jayvees.
Monday, the West Tisbury Hawks served a shutout at Oak Bluffs, winning the first game in a walk, 25-4. Jacob Lawrence served the final 10 points for WesTiz, six of which were aces. The second game was closer but not close, West Tisbury 25, Oak Bluffs 9.
The Blazers led most of the way in the third varsity contest but with the Blazers up, 21-19, Lawrence rotated to the line and served out, 25-21.
The West Tisbury jayvees were also successful, winning the first two of their three game series: 25-13 and coming from behind 14-19 to take the second contest 25-19. Kevin Burchill served the final 10 points, seven of which were aced.
At Edgartown, also Monday, the Eagles flew above the Tigers, the varsity winning three of the four games played and the jayvees taking two of three. The final JV contest went into "extra innings" (a team must win by at least two points) before Edgartown claimed, 17-15.
The unbeaten Edgartown varsity, 3-0, leads the interscholastic parade.
Gaines and Grace
Ocean Shell rower Dana Gaines of Edgartown and the crew of the Pilot Gig Grace - Wendy Gray, Tamar Russell, Jane Paquet, Cindy Trish, Katherine Grant, and Meredith Courier, with Coxwain Malcolm Boyd - braved windy conditions and choppy seas to compete in the 2008 Head of the Weir regatta at Hull on Saturday.
Boats were rowed or paddled 5.5 miles from West Corner on the Hingham/Hull/Cohasset line across Hull Bay to the Windmill Point boathouse at Hull Gut.
Photo by Wendy Gray
Boats started the race in one-minute intervals.
Dana finished second of the six single ocean shells. He rowed the course in 45.13 minutes, less than a minute behind the winning shell powered by his friend Ray Panek of Rye, N.H.
Grace was eighth of the ten Pilot Gigs in the race, finishing in 1:00.27. Cassie, the other Martha's Vineyard Pilot Gig was also in the race rowed by Team Saquich in the men's race.
As well as ocean shells and gigs, the race attracted single and double liveries, workboats, currachs, kayaks, and canoes.
Sunday, Dana rowed the serpentine 3-mile up-river course in the Head of the Charles regatta, this time finishing ahead of Panek, his friendly foe from the Granite State.
Photo by Ralph Stewart
Weekend cut short for Island racer
Chris Magee of Vineyard Haven had every reason to be confident of running up front at last weekend's World Series of Speedway Racing at Thompson International Speedway in Thompson, Conn., after posting a top-five finish on the .625-mile paved oval last month.
Unfortunately, Magee's number 71 pro stock 2008 Dodge Charger suffered a broken engine part during the second testing session on Friday.
That part, a valve stem hardened cap, is the size of an eraser on a pencil, but was troublesome enough to end any chance for Chris to qualify for Sunday's 30-lap feature race.
Looking ahead to the 2009 season, Chris intends to compete in the season-opening Ice Breaker next April at the Thompson Speedway.
