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My favoreite Nantucket weekend
rutt
Registered Users Posts: 6,511 Major grins
Last weekend was the annual confluence of events that I wait for all summer. Three events allow one to see so many strata of Nantucket society from so many different perspectives that it boggles the mind. You also can't beat for photographic opportunities.
The Nantucket Demolition Derby (Demo for short) is staged by by and for the benefit of the volunteer fire department. Norman is the chief of the volunteer fire department and also the lead official of the Demo.
The Demo attracts people who are good with welding torches along with their friends and family.
Even if you aren't any good with a welding torch (like me), it's very smart to go to the Demo and chat with people. Suppose you want to get your car fixed or need a plumber in August. Chances are good the person you need is someone who was there.
Contributing a junker car to the Demo makes good economic sense. Not only is it the absolute cheapest way to get rid of an old car (free, the ferry costs more than $200), it also greases the wheels (so to speak) for getting all kinds of stuff done.
The people who drive these cars are often the sons of the families that own the plumbing, electric, auto repair, boat repair, and construction businesses here. They are people who were born here and went to the local highschool and went to work here. Some are commercial fishermen, some work at the airport.
Demo weekend would not be a good time to have a heart attack or a fire or be in a plane or car crash. A good part of the emergency equipment and the people who work it are not really available for anything other than the Demo.
The Opera Cup is at the complete other end of the social spectrum from the Demo. This is a race for classic wooden sailboats. Many boats in the race are former America's Cup challengers and even winners. The week before the race, the harbor fills up with these boats, coming from Newport, the Hamptons, &etc.
I went up onto my roof on Sunday morning and everwhere in the harbor and outside of it there were sailboats of all sizes.
I chased these sails along the shore in my jeep trying to find the best place to shoot.
Opera Cup weekend brings out lovers of sailing even if they don't have big fancy boats which qualify to race.
It brings out beautiful boats which are not racing boats as well as the thoroughbreds.
And since Nantucket Harbor is a working fishing port as well as a sailing destination for billionaires, this event has a tendency to bring together some very differnt kinds of boats...
... and people.
The Sandcastle Competition is staged by the Nantucket Island School of Design. It takes place along a couple of hundred feet of beach near town where there is rarely any surf and draws 20 or so entrants and hundreds of spactators.
This entry is "Sand Dollar":
Every year, there has to be an "Octopus's Garden":
The sandcastle competition brings together the social elements of Nantucket in a way that isn't true of the Opera Cup or the Demo. The common bond here is children, and they span economic and social classes.
You don't have to be a child to like to play in the sand. This man told me about his entry. "It's supposed to be a Sandcastle competition."
Finally, I love how this particular weekend showcases the complexity of this place. True, it has become embarrassingly glamorous during the summer months. July and August here draw the jet set and the hyper rich. But this is also a place where people live all year round. In February here, there are still kids in the public schools, the library still is open, and it's even easier to get your car fixed. For the first part of the summer, there is a lot of tension as the summer invaders bloat the population by tenfold. But by late August, the end of the summer is tangible. The local economy has done more than 1/2 its annual business in 2 months. After this weekend, the place will slowly clear out, much to the relief of anyone who is staying. Opera Cup/Demo/Sandcastle weekend is the cusp. On this weekend the various elements blend together as at no other time.
The Nantucket Demolition Derby (Demo for short) is staged by by and for the benefit of the volunteer fire department. Norman is the chief of the volunteer fire department and also the lead official of the Demo.
The Demo attracts people who are good with welding torches along with their friends and family.
Even if you aren't any good with a welding torch (like me), it's very smart to go to the Demo and chat with people. Suppose you want to get your car fixed or need a plumber in August. Chances are good the person you need is someone who was there.
Contributing a junker car to the Demo makes good economic sense. Not only is it the absolute cheapest way to get rid of an old car (free, the ferry costs more than $200), it also greases the wheels (so to speak) for getting all kinds of stuff done.
The people who drive these cars are often the sons of the families that own the plumbing, electric, auto repair, boat repair, and construction businesses here. They are people who were born here and went to the local highschool and went to work here. Some are commercial fishermen, some work at the airport.
Demo weekend would not be a good time to have a heart attack or a fire or be in a plane or car crash. A good part of the emergency equipment and the people who work it are not really available for anything other than the Demo.
The Opera Cup is at the complete other end of the social spectrum from the Demo. This is a race for classic wooden sailboats. Many boats in the race are former America's Cup challengers and even winners. The week before the race, the harbor fills up with these boats, coming from Newport, the Hamptons, &etc.
I went up onto my roof on Sunday morning and everwhere in the harbor and outside of it there were sailboats of all sizes.
I chased these sails along the shore in my jeep trying to find the best place to shoot.
Opera Cup weekend brings out lovers of sailing even if they don't have big fancy boats which qualify to race.
It brings out beautiful boats which are not racing boats as well as the thoroughbreds.
And since Nantucket Harbor is a working fishing port as well as a sailing destination for billionaires, this event has a tendency to bring together some very differnt kinds of boats...
... and people.
The Sandcastle Competition is staged by the Nantucket Island School of Design. It takes place along a couple of hundred feet of beach near town where there is rarely any surf and draws 20 or so entrants and hundreds of spactators.
This entry is "Sand Dollar":
Every year, there has to be an "Octopus's Garden":
The sandcastle competition brings together the social elements of Nantucket in a way that isn't true of the Opera Cup or the Demo. The common bond here is children, and they span economic and social classes.
You don't have to be a child to like to play in the sand. This man told me about his entry. "It's supposed to be a Sandcastle competition."
Finally, I love how this particular weekend showcases the complexity of this place. True, it has become embarrassingly glamorous during the summer months. July and August here draw the jet set and the hyper rich. But this is also a place where people live all year round. In February here, there are still kids in the public schools, the library still is open, and it's even easier to get your car fixed. For the first part of the summer, there is a lot of tension as the summer invaders bloat the population by tenfold. But by late August, the end of the summer is tangible. The local economy has done more than 1/2 its annual business in 2 months. After this weekend, the place will slowly clear out, much to the relief of anyone who is staying. Opera Cup/Demo/Sandcastle weekend is the cusp. On this weekend the various elements blend together as at no other time.
If not now, when?
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Comments
Nick
SmugMug Technical Account Manager
Travel = good. Woo, shooting!
nickwphoto
There are shots from each of the three events that are my favorite, too many to mention. If you number them I could give you the numbers. The first one is the beginning. I love the way you worked it up. The couch came out great. I love the thought of you racing along trying to get the best view of the boats, and the way you have presented them is very effective. The older man, the William F Buckley look alike making a sand castle, that has meaning for me. So many good meaningful shots! Thank you.
Before Hurricane Hugo, when the influx of the super rich began: either year around on the islands, or investment/third homes downtown, the feeling here was very much like the feeling you are describing there. Kind of. Every place has its own personality.
But oh were we glad when those tourists went home! And did we ever complain about summer traffic. Though coping became an art form.
And I can only speak for myself there and what I read. But it was a true mix, Sullivan's Island was a place for summer rentals with cheap winter rates. Small places often...........just different from now.
We have different events and landmark occasions, different..........just different. Our main one is Spoleto at the beginning of summer. The end of summer comes quietly, here............ and in stages. It is not over yet, though the schools have started.
ginger
(I would keep that thread for yourself, too. Just as it appeared here.)