From the July 24, 1973 edition of the Vineyard Gazette:
You can still waltz in Oak Bluffs’ nightspots, and you can still hear some good piano, but from now on you won’t be able to boogie or rock and roll in drinking places. Loud rock bands are banned henceforth in Oak Bluffs bars and lounges.
Not an attempt to discriminate against taste in music, the new regulation, promulgated by the Oak Bluffs selectmen with the agreement of the town bar owners after meeting in a long Sunday afternoon session, is aimed at lowering the decibel count of nighttime activities in the popular community. Also it aimed at cooling the ire of Oak Bluffs residents who are furious over the noise, confusion, and the unruliness that have become a part of the Circuit Avenue scene.
Saturday night the selectmen rescinded entertainment licenses which had been issued to the Ocean View co*cktail Lounge and to the Sea View because of unreasonably loud music in both nightspots. The selectmen also conducted an unscheduled tour of the town’s bars.
After Sunday’s meeting, the licenses were reinstated when agreements were reached by the owners and the selectmen.
Peter Martel, who runs the Lamp Post, said the bar owners are as anxious as the selectmen to improve the situation and satisfy the disturbed neighbors.
Following their meeting Thursday night, the Oak Bluffs selectmen sent a letter to the bar owners warning them that “less profanity and less noise” would have to be the rule if the bars were to remain open.
The letter apparently brought the bar owners and the selectmen together. As one result of the Sunday meeting, one bar owner is to be present at each weekly meeting of the selectmen to maintain lines of close communication between the operators of the places and the town officials.
The edict concerning live music apparently will not affect small groups or individual entertainers playing music less raucous than rock.
Peter Williamson, Oak Bluffs police chief, said yesterday he hoped the new arrangement would solve the problems that have been plaguing the town and his force of officers.
“If it doesn’t,” he added, “I’m going to ask to have the bars close at midnight.”
The 50th Edgartown Yacht Club Regatta which promised to be exciting certainly was.
The winds for Friday were great. It was a big boat day, and they blew WSW at 20 m.p.h. for the start of Class A. This first class came out of the eventual mish-mash pretty well unscathed but what followed was quite another story.
The trouble seems to have been due to a change in the racing circulars which most skippers didn’t read and those who did, didn’t understand. In extra large letters the circular said: “Special note for all Divisions: There will be no signal for reverse courses as all marks are to be rounded on the same hand as the starting mark. Code Flag T attached to course number or class letter signifies twice around.” As the boats crossed the starting line the mark was on the starboard side and this meant that the turn marks would also be left to starboard so that course I H should have been sailed H I. Some boats did, but some didn’t, and there seemed to have been several boats which sailed I J in that order and managed to leave the marks to starboard by doing contortions or loop-the-loops around them.
Apparently there were other skippers who thought that the committee boat at the other end of the starting line was the mark rather than the stake boat, and this to their reasoning then put the mark to port, so that all other marks to port.
Anyway, no matter why they did it, half the boats sailed the course one way, and half sailed it the other, meeting in the middle where they passed each other with self-satisfied smiles because everyone thought that he was doing the right thing.
Things were better for the Saturday regatta, the only confusion was, “To race or not to race,” because the day dawned pretty stinky. One crew member said he felt as if Katama Bay had just been overturned on his head.
Torrents came down all morning and it was not until just before the first gun that the rain stopped, if only temporarily. In fact it stopped so near the gun that one skipper made up his mind to race after the preparatory, so he dropped his mooring and dashed for the start with only a three-man crew. He made it over the starting line with his class, but no one is mentioning the finish.
Unfortunately, the Ocean Race proved a fizzle, no air being the problem. When the fleet of F4 boats hit the end of Muskeget Channel what wind there was, suddenly wasn’t and the tide turned against them. The only thing to do was anchor and then came the fog and gong.
Regardless of the windlessness and the rain and half the fleet taking the wrong course, and Saturday’s race not having a windward leg, the regatta was its usual success, and all the participants seemed happy they had come and were threatening to return next year, proving that there are still some who really like to sail.
Compiled by Hilary Wallcox.
library@vineyardgazette.com.
