Cape & Islands News

Man-of-Wars close Vineyard beaches, 5 swimmers stung

The Vineyard Gazette  today boosts two stories which our cape newspapers missed;

Chilmark Beaches Closed Temporarily to Swimming

By RACHEL NAVA ROHR

Chilmark town beaches Lucy Vincent and Squibnocket remain closed to swimming after droves of Portuguese man-of-war began washing up on the southern shore of the Island Monday, stinging five swimmers within minutes at Lucy Vincent. Two of the swimmers were hospitalized and released for wounds from the jellyfish-like creatures.

 "Right after that happened, we decided to close swimming," assistant supervisor to Chilmark beaches Karyn Pietruska said. "Every morning since then, we've gone out to see how many there are."

Ms. Pietruska said the beaches will remain closed to swimming until the man-of-war, with their distinctive blue bubbles and their stinging tentacles, are no longer washing up. An offshore breeze will be necessary to push the creatures away, she said... (The photo is of Squibnocket Beach and Pond on the southwest corner of Martha's Vineyard)

Read the rest of this Gazette story here, and comment below. 

And that island's weekly examines a aspect of their resident's recent theft of rare maps;

Thefts of Rare Maps Shatter The Small World of Collectors

By JAMES KINSELLA

To the modern eye, the maps are wildly out of whack.

Continents are bunched together or simply absent. California usually is in the wrong place. Major rivers wander off into mysterious voids.

But these maps, drawn up to 400 years ago, are literal touchstones in the evolution of human culture.

"It's who we are, and where we've been," said Nicholas Basbanes of Oak Bluffs, an author who's written about people passionate about rare manuscripts. "It's our history"... (You can click the map to see it full-size.)

Read the rest of this Gazette story here, and comment below.