Sports Highlights
HHSA completes season
The Holmes Hole Sailing Association concluded its summer season of handicap racing from Vineyard Haven Harbor with a Thursday evening race on August 28 and two harbor races on Sunday, August 31.
Weather conditions were delightful for all the races with cloudless skies and cool north or northwest 10- to 15-knot winds.
Nine boats posted for Thursday's race at red nun 6 outside the Vineyard Haven Harbor breakwater. The set course was triangular from nun 6 to nun 4 at West Chop to green can 23A at East Chop and back to nun 6. The first leg was a beat to windward, then a beam reach on the port tack to the green can and finally a broad reach on the starboard tack to the finish.
Finishing first was Jerry Goodale in Stormalong. Second was Sandy Alexander in Falcor. Then came (3) Roger Becker in Gloria, (4) Mike Loberg in Masquerade, (5) Robert Hale in Wicked, (6) Art Spielvogel in Sea Wolf, (7) Dan Culkin in Magic Time, (8) Phil Hale in Mischief, and (9) David Lott in Avanti.
The same triangular course was sailed twice around on Sunday morning.
In the A Division Roger Becker was first to complete the course in Gloria. Jerry Goodale was second in Stormalong, followed by (3) Michael Loberg in Masquerade, (4) John Amabile in Solitude and (5) Phil Hale in Mischief.
In the B Division Tom and Laurie Welch beat all in Eastaway, a Vineyard Vixen. Dan Culkin in Magic Time was second, Alan Wilson in High Tide was third, and David Lott in Avanti was fourth.
Eleven boats reported to the starting line for the Sunday afternoon race. The course took the fleet to green bell 23 near Oak Bluffs, then to buoy RW NW near East Chop, then to red bell 2 at West Chop, then to red nun 4 at West Chop and back to the finish line at red nun 6.
In the A Division, Jerry Goodale was first in Stormalong. Second was Frank Satula in Magic Twanger. Michael Loberg was third in Masquerade, fourth was John Amabile in Solitude, and fifth was Phil Hale in Mischief.
Alan Wilson in High Tide showed the way for the B Division. Tom and Laurie Welch were second in Eastaway, followed by (3) Dan Culkin in Magic Time, (4) Sandy Alexander in Falcor, (5) John and Lisa Stout in Isabella, and (6) David Lott in Avanti.
This Sunday is the prime race of the year for many, the 31st annual George Moffett Race. The warning gun will sound at 11:10 am.
Photo by Ralph Stewart
Fore!
All of the Martha's Vineyard Regional High School fall sports teams are chafing at the bit to get started on their schedules and by this time next week, all will have been launched except the football team which plays its first game at Old Rochester, Friday, Sept 12.
The golf team was first off the mark with an off Island match at Whitman Hanson, Tuesday. They lost.
The next day, Wednesday, at the friendly venue of Farm Neck, the team hosted Pembroke.
Henry Smith, shown here, was the first to tee off for the Islanders.
The Tankard 5K
The seventh annual George V. Tankard Jr. 5K Run/Walk will start at 11 am on Saturday, Sept. 13, benefit of the Martha's Vineyard NAACP.
A one-mile fun run will start at 10:30 am.
Preregister ($15) at the Wesley Hotel Friday evening, Sept. 12, 7 to 10 pm, or Saturday morning ($20) the day of the race at the hotel from 7 to 10 am.
The race, sanctioned by USA Track and Field, will start from Ocean Park.
Call Roger Wey, 508-693-7887 or Carrie Tankard, 508-683-2797, with questions.
Gigantic Atlantic
The Vineyard Football Association (the summer soccer league) ended its season early this year to accommodate college students who must return to campuses earlier than in previous years.
In the final championship game to decide bragging rights, the Atlantic Football Assn. defeated Shirley's Hardware in a well-played game, 5-3.
According to Pete Berndt, captain of the Coop deVille team and a veteran of league play, the V.F.A. was more competitive than ever and the championship game was even closer than the final score indicates.
More bridge
Nine Martha's Vineyard duplicate bridge players traveled to Nashua, N.H., for a bridge tournament last weekend. Top masterpoint winners were Patsy McCornack and Gail Farrish, who placed in several intermediate/novice events, won in Flight C in two open pair games and teamed with Dale and Sue Collinson to finish third in C in a Friday open Swiss game. The Collinsons also teamed with Dale and Sue Stricoff and Rhonda Cohen to finish second in a Flight C in a Thursday open Swiss game, as well as winning in C in a Saturday open pairs game. Deirdre Ling played on a team with friends met at another tournament to finish second in Flight B in a Saturday Swiss game. She and Eric Stricoff were fourth in Flight A in an I/N pairs game.
24th B&G tourney
The 24th annual Fall Golf Tournament at the Edgartown Golf Club, a benefit for the Martha's Vineyard Boys & Girls Club, tees off Sunday in a handicap-adjusted four-player scramble.
Registration fee is $75.
To register, call the Edgartown Golf Club, 508-627-5343.
For more information, call the Golf Club or the B&G at 508-627-3303.
Pistol packers
The Martha's Vineyard Rod & Gun Club's Pistol Championship will be determined Saturday at a shoot-out on the firing range, Saturday. Jon and Joel Cristea, the 2007 large and small caliber pistol champions will be present to defend their titles.
The event is open to R&G members and the public, but only winning members will have their names engraved on the championship trophy in the clubhouse. Non-members are eligible for prizes. Shooters will be charged a small entry fee of $15.
To sign up or for more information, call Jon Cristea at 508-627-0686 or Joel Cristea, 508-627-0768.
Bridge heads
With five tables in play at the Tisbury senior center, Saturday, Stanley Segal and Terry Blank took high Bridge Club of Martha's Vineyard honors sitting north-south. Charity Randolph and Geraldine Jones were runners-up.
At east-west the best scores belonged to Emily Robertson and Tillie Foster. Mildred Henderson and Gussie Jenkins were second.
A sports menu
High school fall sports are in full swing. By next Thursday all of the autumnal teams will have seen action.
Yesterday the golf team was home to Pembroke and the girls and boys soccer teams played at Nauset.
Tomorrow, Pembroke visits for a field hockey game. The girls soccer team is home to Oliver Ames Saturday at 11 am. Also Saturday, the boys soccer team hosts Pembroke at 1 pm.
Monday, it's golf versus Wareham here. Things really get busy on Tuesday. Girls soccer and field hockey teams are at Falmouth. Boys soccer is home to Falmouth. Golfers are at Sandwich and the cross-country teams run at Mashpee.
Figure skating
The Martha's Vineyard Figure Skating Club Fall Registration is Tuesday and Thursday, Sept. 9 and 11, from 6 to 7 pm at the Martha's Vineyard Arena. Programs range from Learn to Skate for tots, pre-school, and kindergarten and older to all levels of Freestyle.
To learn more, call 508-593-0208 or email mvskateclub@msn.com
New record for the Sullivan 5K
Of the 266 persons who ran or walked the 20th annual Sullivan 5K in Oak Bluffs on Saturday, August 23, the fastest by far was Jonevan Hornsby, 31, of Brooklyn, N.Y., who completed the run in 16:43, shaving 14 seconds off the race record set in 2005 by Derek Seber. Hornsby finished a minute and a half ahead off Chris Spinney, 48, of Arlington, Virginia, who was second at 18:16 and a minute and five seconds ahead of the 2007 winning time, 17:48, of then 31-year-old Matt Harris of Oak Bluffs.
The rest of this year's top ten runners, all male, were: (3) David Diriwachter, 39, Vineyard Haven, 18:29; (4) Steve Eick, 44, New York City, 18:45; (5) John O'Connell, Norwell, 19:02; (6) Mike Herlihy, 50, Plymouth, 19:19; (7) Chase Disher, 16, Elmsford, N.Y., 19:27; (8) Zens Estrada, 48, Mashpee, 19:34; (9) Darren Belisle, 31, Edgartown, 19:37; (10) Dana Gaines, 51, Edgartown, 19:52.
First female to finish, who was 11th overall, was Bonnie Kingsbury, 29, of Vineyard Haven. Her time was an impressive 20 minutes flat, more than a minute faster than last year's best, Rebecca Trazhel of Winchester at 21:07. The second female to complete the run this year was Emily Carter of Oak Bluffs who was 28th in 22:48. Then came (3-30) Brenda Glode, 30, Boxboro, 22:57; (4-31) Amy Harris, 33, Chilmark, 22:57; (5-33) Marissa Reichel, 17, Weston, 23:14; (6-34) Kate MacLean, 24, Oak Bluffs, 23:19; (7-36) Elizabeth Handler, 42, New Rochelle, N.Y., 23:25; (8-37) Angelyn Thomas, 43, Oakland, Calif., 23:28; (9-45) Sheryl Coye, 34, Bourne, 24:28; (10-46) Judy Woods, 47, White Plains, N.Y., 24:33.
For the most part, the walkers were not bent on beating each other to the finish line, but the fastest strutter was Marston Clough, 65, of Vineyard Haven who was clocked at 32:40, just one second ahead of Jill Zamarro of Oak Bluffs.
The third walker was 12-year-old Chris Pirosse of Southboro, well back at 37:32. The next five walkers, all in their 60s, were (4) Archie Norman, 61 of Enfield, Conn., in 37:33; (5) Louise Clough, 60, Southboro, 38:24; (6) Sandy Ray, 64, Vineyard Haven, 39:25; (7) Shirley Hall, Washington, D.C., 40:02; (8) Jeanne Jonis, 60, Oak Bluffs, 40:44.
The race's founder, Dr. Louis Sullivan, 74, of Atlanta, Ga., walked the course in one hour and two seconds.
