This morning was in my sights for a long paddle from Menemsha around the Elizabeth Islands and back. The water stays warm into October, and late-summer typically produces a fair share of flat wind days like today. But when my alarm went off at 5am, I awoke to thick fog. My annual September paddle to the islands would have to wait until another day. Instead, I made the best of a beautiful morning and paddled from Menemsha to the old Brickyard and back (a four mile paddle). I put in at Menemsha Beach at 8:00am where a pair of elderly woman had just dove in; "We swim here every morning until about mid October!" I was treated to a pair of peregrine falcons on a cliff, schools of striped bass below, colorful foliage, and hordes of fishermen competing in the Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby. As they say, September is the best time to be on the Vineyard.
