For Denise Dennis and her family, the Vineyard has been a welcome annual vacation destination for more than 20 years. Back in 1996, on a sunset sail aboard the catamaran Mad Max with their close friends from Edgartown, the Naylor family, Denise snapped a photograph of her three towheaded sons, Parker, Tucker, and Oliver — ages 2, 4, and 6 — perched under the mainsail on their maiden voyage across the harbor. That picture has been one of her favorite photos, framed and hung prominently in her office.
It occurred to her this spring that it was exactly 20 years since that photo had been taken. She mentioned it briefly to her sons, suggesting that it might be be fun to recreate it. A bit to her surprise, they were in — all three of them. So, exactly two decades later on a Wednesday evening in August, Denise and her boys — now 22, 24, and 26 — returned to Edgartown Harbor to recreate that special moment on the peaceful waters of Nantucket Sound.
But first they had to pick up the requisite Black Dog sweatshirts — admittedly, this time many sizes larger. “The Black Dog salespeople were great and enthusiastic about our goal!” Denise noted. Everything was replicated as closely as possible, but this time, instead of little-boy Tevas, it was Rainbow flip-flops.
With wardrobing completed, they proceeded to the harbor to set sail on the sunset cruise as each one studied his pose meticulously to try to capture his “look.” Captain and crew aboard Mad Max were eager accomplices, and helped to stage the young men at their historically accurate positions, making sure the lighting matched and the boat was on the same port tack. Fellow guests even jumped in, making helpful suggestions, as the photos were snapped. Mission accomplished!
“This Island has such great memories for us, and I really wanted to recreate a cherished moment,” said Denise. “The boys were surprisingly eager to participate in another one of my crazy ideas! I love that they will return with us every summer for a week or two on the Vineyard, even as their own lives take them in different directions. I feel lucky that we have created such wonderful memories for our family on this Island — and we had a lot of fun pulling off this throwback!”