by Capt. James Lodge

The moon is waxing, increasing, and when full on August 16th,  it will be known as the Sturgeon Moon.  The name originates from fishing tribes around the Great Lakes who caught many of these fish at this time of year. It is also known as the Red Moon,  because of how it often rises red.

Sturgeons are large, sorta ugly, fish caught in most coastal waters and the Great  Lakes.  They are anadromous,meaning they are bred in fresh water.Once grown, they  generally head to the ocean, though some of the many species live their whole lives in fresh water. Sturgeon might be the largest of fresh water fish, and possibly the longest lived… known to have lived over 100 years! Russian sturgeon is prized for its caviar.

 It  Was This Big!!!
When I was a lad, a fishing boat caught a sturgeon out by Squash Meadow, a shoal ½ mile east of Oak Bluffs harbor.  I remember the crowd of locals scrutinizing this 7 foot long carcass hanging from the boat’s spar. The fish had a strange mouth, without teeth,  which it used to stir up the bottom. Not many had ever seen one, nor have I since. Worldwide, they are a threatened species.

 

A Sailor's Life for Me.
Equally rare these days are the many masts of sailing ships that filled  Vineyard Haven harbor, once called Holmes Hole. Before the Cape Cod Canal as built, up to 2,000 boats per year would pass through Vineyard and Nantucket Sounds. Vineyard Haven was refuge for many travel-weary sailors, and lore tells us that Tisbury became a dry town because those coming ashore for respite were more easily controlled sober than stewed. When ashore, their wild reputation may have been deserved  but when working the ship, sailors had very demanding and rigorous duties, including climbing towering masts, standing grueling watch schedules, and hauling burdensome weighted lines and sails. They were often self-educated, as much off watch time would be spent reading. Making colorful and intricately shell strewn ‘sailors Valentines’, ‘Nantucket baskets’ and decoratively woven rope macramé were other pastimes

 
Holmes Hole - a Place of Refuge
Masters and crew of multi-masted sailing ships would rather pass through our local waters instead of sailing around Nantucket Shoals, 50 miles off Nantucket  Island. In plying their coastal trades, these vessels made Vineyard and Nantucket Sounds the second busiest waterway in the world after the English Channel. Many ships (all sail until 100 years ago) would anchor in Vineyard Haven harbor to ride out a passing storm, or await favorable currents to make passage up or down the sounds. The prevailing wind being from the southwest, these ships would have to tack into the wind, when heading toward Newport or New York, thus heading “up” and into it.

Up-Island Explained
Longitudinally, heading west also is increasing geographically. Thus Maine is called “Down East”, because it is mostly downwind from everywhere, and has the lowest and easternmost longitude of the Continental United States. Similarly, our terms of ‘up island’ comes from heading west, and ‘down island’, heading east; yet, as children, we thought it meant going uphill all the way to the Gay Head Cliffs.

The Headlands on the Horizon
These Cliffs were so named because they could be recognized from far away by ships as ”the gaily colored cliffs at the head of the Island”, shortened to Gay Head. When heading west toward Long Island Sound and New York, ship navigators would next look for Clay Head, 40 miles away on the eastern coast of Block Island, RI. In future writings, we will talk more of those men who were pilots thru local waters, and simple coastal navigation techniques for all.

 
 Capt. James Lodge owns and operates Atta Boy Charters and is a contributor to MVOL.com