September 2025

Harborfront Estate

52 Monomoy Road

Commanding one of the most coveted harborfront locations on Nantucket, this extraordinary 1.25-acre estate offers truly unparalleled harborfront views and an unmatched coastal living experience. With sweeping, panoramic vistas stretching from Town across the harbor to Brant Point and Coatue, the property delivers a front-row seat to the island’s most iconic scenery. Enjoy sunsets over the water, sailboats gliding through the harbor, and fireworks lighting up the sky throughout the season. At the heart of the estate is a seven bedroom, six and a half bath main residence. It is slightly elevated allowing for breathtaking views from every floor. The main house is complemented by a spacious two-car garage with guest accommodations above. Additionally, a charming boat house sits on the water’s edge. Offering approximately 175 feet of direct waterfront and a gently sloping drive leading to a private sandy beach, this rare offering blends luxury, comfort, and natural beauty in a way few properties can. This estate could never be duplicated. There is a boathouse bordering the water that is a pre-existing, nonconforming use. It is essentially built right on the coastal bank, which today would require a 75-foot setback. The existing house is approximately 35 feet high, allowing for a full third floor—seven feet higher than what the HDC currently permits. These nonconformities have been grandfathered in and will never be permitted again. This is truly an incredibly rare opportunity and arguably the best location on Nantucket.

photo by Wendy Mills

Photo credit to Bill Hoenk & Georgie Morley

MARTHA STEWART & BILL RAVEIS

WENDY BEAULIEU, JENNY GIFFORD, BILL RAVEIS, & ANDREA BESSE

WILLIAM RAVEIS NANTUCKET OFFICE

CARL & SARAH LINDVALL

Smarter homes = simpler lives

Jobe Systems fully integrates cutting-edge technology that automates, elevates, and illuminates your life.

10640 Fife Avenue

3 OR 4 BEDS | 4 FULL AND 1 HALF BATHS | $4,250,000

This charming Village residence boasts a flexible floor plan and is just steps from all sporting amenities. With two entries, one off Fife Avenue and the other off Wittington Avenue, this home offers ultimate privacy. Spacious bedrooms feature deep covered porches and enjoy some of Windsor’s most spectacular views.

Situated in Nantucket’s esteemed Eel Point area, this exceptional estate, completed in 2017, exudes luxury and sophistication. Nestled on three acres of pristine land, the home masterfully combines modern elegance with classic historic charm, showcasing impeccable craftsmanship and meticulous attention to detail.

YOUR NEXT HOME AWAITS AT SANDPIPER PLACE II

The Landing is the neighborhood retreat designed for residents, offering a resort style atmosphere creating community and connection. Located in the heart of the neighborhood, The Landing raises the mast with island influenced serenity and thoughtfully planned curated spaces for time with family, friends, and community enjoyment. The clubhouse is both a retreat and an extended backyard for gatherings, among residents. Designed and furnished bringing resort style amenities to a cozy neighborhood setting. 3

$18,000,000

$35,000,000

Presenting two must-see blockbusters. Set in a world of luxury, privacy and timeless beauty, each property stars in its own stunning story—one that will move you. To get a closer look at these breathtaking estates, call Gail and Ed at Coldwell Banker Realty’s #2 team for their size, worldwide. 617-844-2712 • gailroberts.com

INTERIORS

Easy Street, #B | Commercial/Residential/Land | Town | $2,850,000

Prime Commercial/Residential Lot with Stunning Water Views. Located in a highly desirable in Town location, this buildable lot offers an exceptional opportunity for both residential and commercial use. The sale includes HDC approved plans for a versatile building design: the first floor is set up for one or two commercial spaces, while the upper levels feature a two-bedroom, 1175 square foot apartment with beautiful water views of Easy Street Basin. The design also allows for two tandem parking spots, providing added convenience. Image of building is a rendering.

CONTRIBUTORS

Meet the talented group of writers and photographers who helped make this issue possible.

BY THE NUMBERS

A numerical snapshot of Nantucket this fall.

N TOP TEN

All the places you need to be and see.

NECESSITIES

Put these items on your autumn wish list.

Elegance at the Beach

KID’N AROUND

How to keep your kiddos entertained this fall.

NBUZZ

All the news, tidbits and scuttlebutt that’s fit to print, courtesy of the Nantucket Current.

NEED TO READ

Tim Ehrenberg gives his autumn reading list.

SWIMSUIT: MURRAY’S TOGGERY SHOP JACKET: REMY JEWELRY: THE VAULT

NDEPTH

The First Experimental Airplane Built on Nantucket.

Top Sports Radio Host Mike Felger. Drummer Corky Laing at the Dreamland.

Nantucket One Design Celebrates 100 Years on the Water.

The Nantucket Book Foundation Brings Authors to Schools.

NVESTIGATE

Preserving Nantucket’s Night Sky

‘Lead or Leave’: Nantucket’s Demands for Vineyard Wind.

NSPIRE

Ashley Klatt on the Whalers Football Team.

How Mah-Jongg Swept Nantucket.

Nantucket License Plates Raise Over $1 Million.

NDESIGN

Olson Twombly’s Home Outside of Town.

NVOGUE

Elegance at the Beach. 116

NHA

Nantucket’s Working Waterfront. 129

FOGGY SHEET

A recap of the island’s hottest events. 134 110

Nantucket's night sky over Great Point Lighthouse.

NUPTIALS

Alex Bukovac and Austin Torres tie the knot. 142

Photo by Scott Pilla

Interior design by Olson Twombly.

Olson Twombly’s Home Outside of Town.

PUBLISHER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Bruce A. Percelay

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Brian Bushard

ART DIRECTOR

Paulette Chevalier

DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING & PARTNERSHIPS

Emme Duncan

CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER

Kit Noble

FASHION PHOTOGRAPHER

Brian Sager

ADVERTISING COORDINATOR

Lola Piuggi

NANTUCKET CURRENT

Jason Graziadei, Editor in Chief

David Creed, Sports Editor

JohnCarl McGrady, News Reporter

CONTRIBUTORS

Darya Afshari Gault

Jurgita Budaite

Tim Ehrenberg

Mary Haft

Petra Hoffmann

Abby Jones

Katherine Jones

Jen Laskey

Stacey Marcus

Anne-Carter Riggs

Wendy Rouillard

John Stanielon

John Stanton

Elle Wentworth

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Charity Grace Mofsen

Chris Tran

Janette Vohs

PUBLISHER

CHAIRMAN: Bruce A. Percelay

RIGHT DIRECTION Heading in the

Every community has its own set of unique problems, but Nantucket has over the years demonstrated a unique capability to solve issues that often seem unsolvable. In 2015, N Magazine first published an article called “Hungry and Homeless on Nantucket,” and since that time, we have written numerous pieces about food insecurity, an issue that impacts 21% of the island’s year-round population.

Thanks to Nourish Nantucket, an initiative launched this summer, significant progress is being made toward building an organization to support the various food insecurity agencies on the island. Given the trajectory of the organization’s success, it is expected to make a major dent in the hunger issue on Nantucket in the coming year.

Another issue that Nantucket has faced in the recent past has been Vineyard Wind, which has come with serious environmental consequences. N Magazine, along with other voices on Nantucket, have spoken out in opposition to this project. Despite frustration about the speed of a resolution, the town is now beginning to gain serious traction for both reparations for damages done to our shoreline, as well as possible further litigation for other damages.

Another issue on Nantucket is the housing crisis, which has played a major role in the food insecurity problem and has forced many islanders to search for housing elsewhere. The acute shortage of rental properties has forced major Nantucket organizations to build their own staff units, including Nantucket Cottage Hospital and the Boys and Girls Club.

For the first time, the Land Bank has begun to publicly express a willingness to work toward

addressing the housing problem, and while alterations to the Land Bank’s charter would require state approval, the organization now recognizes its potential role in helping solve this critical issue.

A. PERCELAY Publisher

Additionally, the town has recently approved 57 new affordable rental units, which is a positive sign.

Nantucket’s population is hardly passive and becomes dogged in its determination to resolve problems that impact daily life on the island. Anyone attending one of the Select Board meetings about the wind farm would understand how passionate people are when Nantucket is wronged.

While solving the hunger issue, the wind farm travails and the housing shortage are far from resolved, notable progress is being made on all three fronts due to the determination of Nantucketers, both year-round and summer residents. The generosity of people on this island is in no small part responsible for the progress on some of these issues, along with a deeply caring community that makes the kind of progress that might overwhelm other communities.

Publisher

BRUCE

David CREED

David Creed moved to Nantucket in 2018 shortly after graduating from Bridgewater State University and has been a part of the N Magazine team since 2021. Creed is also the senior reporter and sports editor for the Nantucket Current, the island’s most-read news source. In his spare time, Creed loves long walks, following the Boston Bruins and grabbing a mudslide at the Gazebo. For this issue of N Magazine, he writes a profile on Nantucket Whalers football player Ashley Klatt.

Mary HAFT

Mary Haft is a writer and producer, and is the founder of Haft Productions, a company developing works across a creative spectrum of books, articles and video production. Haft is also a co-founder of the Nantucket Book Festival and the Nantucket Book Foundation, which runs a range of programs for island students developed in partnership with the Nantucket Public Schools. Haft also serves as director emeritus of the PEN/ Faulkner Foundation. She is the author of Nantucket: Portrait of an American Town, and is, at heart, an islander.

Jurgita BUDAITE

Born and raised in Lithuania, Jurgita Budaite has lived on Nantucket since 2014, after meeting a man who convinced her to marry him and live the island lifestyle. Budaite, the founder and owner of Island Glow, is a fully licensed aesthetician with a certificate from the Spa Tech Institute of Massachusetts. She has worked with N Magazine since 2020, and is in charge of makeup styling for NVogue.

nantucket by the numbers

The amount raised at the 13th annual Swim Across America open-water swim on July 26, setting a fundraising record for cancer care and research at Nantucket Cottage Hospital and Palliative and Supportive Care of Nantucket.

600

1 Pounds

The weight of a massive tuna hauled in 30 miles offshore after a two-hour battle in July— purchased by Straight Wharf Fish.

58

The time posted by Nantucket native Beau Garufi for his fifth straight win at the Nantucket Triathlon on July 20.

1 Million $ Minutes, 10 Seconds

100

The number of years since the Nantucket One Design sailboat design was first conceived—a classic 21-foot boat built specifically for Nantucket.

3

The number of bomb threats outside Ralph Lauren on Main Street, shutting down a portion of town for three nights this summer.

1,653 Pounds

The weight, in pounds, of Contender, a record-breaking great white shark tagged offshore on July 18—measuring an astonishing 13 feet 9 inches.

3Million $

The reported amount raised during a GOP fundraiser headlined by Vice President JD Vance at a private Nantucket residence.

38

The number of local nonprofits that received a share of the record-breaking $1 million in Nantucket Fund grants awarded by the Community Foundation for Nantucket.

The drought level on Nantucket this summer, prompting islandwide watering restrictions.

10.5 Million $

The settlement Nantucket received from GE Vernova, the manufacturer of Vineyard Wind’s turbine blades, one year after a blade collapse.

Events for Autumn 10

MARIA MITCHELL AND THE

DARING DAUGHTERS OF NANTUCKET

From the curator of the Maria Mitchell House comes a walking tour of the lives of Maria Mitchell and other famous Nantucket women—as well as some women whose stories have been forgotten. On this tour, visitors will get to know the lives these women led, and the unique experiences they had on Nantucket. mariamitchell.org

9/8

NANTUCKET

COTTAGE HOSPITAL

SANKATY SWING

Sankaty Head Golf Club

Come play a round of golf at the Sankaty Head Golf Club. With cocktails and a barbeque included, and a beautiful Nantucket fall for scenery, this golf tournament is a lovely time to get outside and support the island’s non-profit hospital. nantuckethospital.org

9/10-10/5

SILVIA AT THEATRE

WORKSHOP OF NANTUCKET

Bennett Hall

Relationships are tested when empty-nesters Greg and Kate adopt a dog, Sylvia, in Theatre Workshop’s fall play, Sylvia. As Greg bonds with the new dog, Kate finds herself competing for her husband’s affection. theatrenantucket.org

9/27

CROSS ISLAND HIKE

Pack a bag and join the Land Bank for a 21mile exploration of the island from Sconset to Madaket, through Nantucket’s beautiful openspace properties. Come for the full day or hike a few miles along the recently marked Coast to Coast trail. nantucketlandbank.org

9/28

RACE FOR RECOVERY

Bartlett’s Farm

With the choice of a 5K or a one-mile walk, the annual Race for Recovery is open to all in support of Addiction Solutions of Nantucket, offering medication-assisted treatment for islanders suffering from opioid and alcohol dependence. Kids race for free. addictionsolutionsnantucket.org

10/3

NANTUCKET

SHELLFISH ASSOCIATION

SCALLOPERS BALL

Nantucket Yacht Club

10/11

NANTUCKET SHORTS FESTIVAL

Dreamland Theater

Since 2013, NCTV’s signature Nantucket Shorts Festival has shined a spotlight on local filmmakers, with a wide selection of comedy, drama and nonfiction films shot on Nantucket and inspired by the island. nantucketshorts.com

10/12

NANTUCKET HALF MARATHON AND 10K

Bartlett’s Farm

Nantucket Shellfish Association’s annual Scallopers Ball at the Nantucket Yacht Club is the best night of the year to celebrate, protect and learn more about Nantucket’s harbors, water quality and shellfishing nantucketshellfish.org

10/10-13

COBBLESTONE AND CRANBERRIES

It’s time to shop locally—and win some prizes. To participate, grab a shopping bingo card from participating stores or from the Chamber of Commerce. For every $10 spent at participating stores, you receive a chance to win prizes, including in-store promotions and giveaways. nantucketchamber.org

Starting and ending at Bartlett’s Farm, the annual half marathon is a fall favorite. With a quarter-mile race for kids under 12, everyone can get involved. nantuckethalfmarathon.com

10/26

FALL FESTIVAL & BATACULAR BIKE RACE

The Nantucket Conservation Foundation’s Fall Festival brings islanders together for a day of hay rides, games, live music and more. Come for the music or bike through the Middle Moors—the festival is a great way to get into the Halloween spirit. nantucketconservation.org

D ionis Waterfront

Eel Point Road

Welcome to your dream beachfront home! This stunning property features an expansive open-concept living space that seamlessly integrates the kitchen, dining, and living areas, perfect for both entertaining and relaxing. Elegant French doors open to a generous patio with direct access to a private walkway leading to the beach, offering unparalleled views and immediate access to the oceanfront. The first floor boasts a luxurious primary suite with a spacious ensuite bathroom, a beautifully designed walk-in closet, and a built-in vanity. Additionally, a charming twin room with its own ensuite bathroom is located off the mud/laundry room, complete with a private exterior exit and an outdoor shower. An adjacent office with a half bathroom provides a versatile space for work or leisure. The second floor includes a serene queen bedroom with a private ensuite bathroom, a cozy living space with a balcony overlooking the beach and ocean, and another balcony at the front of the house with scenic views of the lush yard and conservation land across the street. A full bedroom and a charming twin room share a well-appointed hall bathroom. The partially finished basement offers ample storage space and potential for future expansion, while the finished gym room is ready for your workouts, ensuring you stay fit and healthy without leaving home. Experience the perfect blend of luxury and functionality in this exceptional coastal property, where every detail is designed for your comfort and enjoyment.

NODDE SEAU BAG

Formed by two interwoven leather pieces, this chic bucket bag can be worn as a handbag, shoulder bag, or cross body bag. And with a name inspired by the French word for knot, it gives off the illusion of continuous interlacing for a unique and eye-catching shape.

POLÈNE

@polene_paris eng.polene-paris.com

FIELD SWEATER

Knit with a blend of cotton, linen and nylon, the Field Sweater from Norwegian brand Amundsen Sports—and carried at Murray’s Toggery Shop—strikes a balance between warmth and breathability. The seed stitch gives this sweater its rich texture, making it an ideal layering piece for autumn.

SHELL PENDANT

Where ocean meets opulence. This one-of-a-kind Conus janus shell pendant is accented with pearls and 18k yellow gold, making it the perfect wearable treasure from the sea.

SEAMAN SCHEPPS

@seamanschepps seamanschepps.com

BRUT GOLD CHAMPAGNE

The first release from Champagne Armand de Brignac, the Brut Gold remains the most iconic cuvée in the range. Rich with the oldworld tradition of champagne blending, it is a trio of vintages from some of the most lauded terroirs of the region, resulting in a cuvée expressing vibrant and fresh fruit character with a soft texture.

ARMAND DE BRIGNAC @armanddebrignac armanddebrignac.com

FALL FAVORITES

CHARLIE CABIN SAUNA

BRASS BUTLER TRAY STAND & CLASSIC TRAY BY AERIN

Perfect for dining room tableside service or a glamorous home bar setup, entertaining at home has never looked better. With integrated brass handles and clean-lined design, it’s as functional as it is stylish.

CENTRE POINTE @centrepointenantucket 28centrepointe.com

Bring sauna therapy to your daily lifestyle with the Charlie Cabin, crafted by the Amish with room for up to four people. With its cabin shape comprised of western red cedar, there is virtually no maintenance, making it ideal for those looking for a long-lasting product.

SISU

@sisu_sauna • sisulifestyle.com/discount/N-magazine

Steps from the sand, minutes from Main Street.

FALL EXPLORATION WITH THE THE MARIA MITCHELL ASSOCIATION

Take a trip back in time to the 1800’s and learn about Nantucket’s first female astronomer, Maria Mitchell, during one of the island’s must-do activities this fall at the historic Maria Mitchell House on Vestal Street. The historic property contains many items from Mitchell’s stunning astronomical collection of 19th century artifacts, including her Dollond telescope, as well as opera glasses, beer mugs and a remarkably preserved faux-wood grain painting dating to the 1850’s. The Maria Mitchell Association’s Maria Mitchell House, Washington Street Aquarium, Hinchman House Natural Science Museum and Loines Observatory are open to the public. mariamitchell. org, @maria_mitchell_association.

MAKE AND CREATE AT BARNABY’S TOY AND ART

Barnaby’s Toy and Art Studio is celebrating its fifth season with more than 100 imaginative, hands-on art classes for children of all ages. Every class is led by professional artists and educators in a warm, welcoming space in the heart of downtown Nantucket, at 12 Oak Street. Children can also drop-in and create daily, with no appointment needed. In addition to its in-studio offerings, Barnaby’s features a thoughtfully curated collection of to-go art kits and toys—perfect for creative fun at home or on the beach. This season, Barnaby’s is proud to introduce Barnaby’s Cares, a charitable foundation delivering free art kits

to children in hospitals, shelters and medically supported summer camps. Each art kit is designed to bring joy, comfort and creativity to children facing life-altering diagnoses. To support Barnaby’s Cares, please visit www.barnabys.giving. barnabysworld. com, @barnabystoyandart.

FALL FAVORITES AT PEACHTREE KIDS

Peachtree Kids is one of Nantucket’s favorite children’s shops located at the foot of cobblestoned Main Street. Carrying timeless classics and the latest fashions for infants and children through size 14, including clothing, shoes, accessories, toys and the iconic “Nantucket” Rollneck Sweater. Peachtree Kids supports small, women-owned and sustainable brands such as Sammy + Nat, Nanducket, Petit Peony, Joy Street Kids, Maddie & Connor Co., Brown

DISCOVER AT THE NANTUCKET HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION

This fall, explore and play at the Whaling Museum’s Discovery Center. Start your adventure with the organization’s new family guide, filled with activities for all ages to enjoy while exploring the museum. While you’re there, be sure not to miss the NHA’s featured exhibition, Behind the Seams: Clothing and Textiles on Nantucket—on display through November 2—as well as one of their daily programs, such as Life Aboard a Whaleship and the Essex Gam, about the infamous disaster of the whaleship that inspired Moby-Dick. These presentations are led by NHA museum guides and are both fun and informative for the whole family. Island families enjoy free admission year-round. nha.org, @ackhistory.

CLIPPING HIS WINGS:

PILOT

NANTUCKET HITS

LEVEL 1

BANNED FROM AIRPORT

INN TROUBLE: SUMMER HOUSE DROUGHT STAFF SUED BY SERVER

For over two months, Massachusetts officials have declared Nantucket at a Level 1 drought across the island, a classification that led to the cancellation of the July 4 water fight on Main Street and has meant outdoor watering restrictions throughout the summer. Since mid-June, those restrictions have limited lawn irrigation to two days per week, between 5 p.m.-9a.m., with no lawn irrigation on Fridays, Saturdays or Sundays. According to Wannacomet Water Company Director Mark Willett, the drought is a culmination of several consecutive dry summers that have brought the town’s water tanks to a point lower than they have been in recent history. Summer heat waves and dry spells haven’t helped, either. Total rainfall on Nantucket in June and July totalled less than one inch, Willett said, well below average for the island.

Bob Walsh, an island homeowner and longtime pilot, has been permanently banned from flying in and out of Nantucket Memorial Airport, following a ruling by Nantucket Superior Court Judge Maureen Hogan in August. The ruling brought an end to a multi-year dispute between Walsh and the airport, which accused Walsh of “unauthorized activity” and repeatedly violating criminal trespass orders. The ruling follows a lawsuit filed by the Nantucket Airport Commission in February 2022, accusing Walsh of “dangerous escalation” that it said endangered travelers utilizing the airport and “diverted airport resources and personnel away from other pressing matters.” From the beginning of the dispute, Walsh had argued that the airport was operating outside of its jurisdiction with its attempts to ban him from the airfield. He denied many of the allegations in the complaint filed against him.

A former Summer House worker filed a lawsuit in July in Nantucket Superior Court accusing multiple employees at the ’Sconset inn of sexual harassment in the summer of 2022. The plaintiff alleged she was the victim of discrimination, retaliation and wrongful termination, and claimed some co-workers created a hostile work environment by refusing to feed her, providing illegal housing in an inadequate living space, wrongfully terminating her after she refused to continue working alongside a co-worker who allegedly played pornographic videos in front of her—and withholding pay.

The defendants are The Summer House, Inc., Andre Associates, Inc., and Andre Partners, LLC. All three entities were managed at the time by the owner of The Summer House, Danielle deBenedictis. DeBenedictis’ attorney Jim Merberg told the Current he was in communication with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, an independent state agency that enforces state anti-discrimination laws, for three years. Merberg said the defendants have had hearings with the alleged victim and her counsel, but nothing resulted from those meetings.

CRIMINAL CHARGES

AGAINST CISCO TREE CUTTER DEMOLITION APPEALED IN

A Nantucket homeowner made national headlines this summer after he allegedly trespassed on his neighbor’s yard, chopping down a stand of 50-year-old trees to give him a clear view of the ocean.

The Cisco homeowner will be arraigned on charges of vandalizing property, a misdemeanor charge of cutting trees and trespassing.

The homeowner, Jonathan Jacoby, was initially sued by his neighbor for $1.4 million in damages. Jacoby, who subsequently listed his property for sale for nearly $10 million while touting its “sweeping ocean views,” did not respond to a Current inquiry, but told the Boston Globe: “I wasn’t trespassing, I was clearing out her crappy trees.”

In a suit against Jacoby, his neighbor Patricia Belford claimed the trees Jacoby cut—including cedar, Leyland cypress and cherry trees— had served as a natural buffer and as privacy between her yard and abutting properties. Many of them were over 30 feet tall and decades old, Belford said.

NOT SO FAST: NANTUCKET ELECTRIC

CASE NO ENFORCEMENT

SHORT-TERM

RENTAL

Less than a month after the Historic District Commission’s split vote approving the demolition of the former Nantucket Electric Company building on New Whale Street behind the downtown Stop & Shop, the Nantucket Preservation Trust issued an appeal, hoping to keep the brick building in place. The appeal alleges that the commission was “arbitrary and capricious” in allowing the demolition of the historic building on the downtown waterfront, one of the last relics of a more industrial era. The appeal begs the question of whether demolition by neglect is an appropriate reason to tear down a building, and at what point a building is no longer able to be restored. While the commission initially blocked the proposal to tear down the building, it eventually approved the motion in a 3-2 vote, citing among other factors, the state of the building, which was built in 1927 and had been used as a processing plant for coal gasification. It was gutted in 1996 following the laying of the first undersea electric cable to the mainland, and is now empty and unused, with large cracks in its walls and holes in its roof.

In the face of mounting pressure from a state land court judge, West Dover Street homeowners Peter and Linda Grape have agreed to not short-term rent their home while the town appeals a momentous land court ruling—a back-and-forth legal battle in the midst of an even larger debate over shortterm vacation rentals. The land court judge had ruled earlier this summer in favor of the Grapes’ neighbor, Cathy Ward, who had sued the Grapes and the Nantucket Zoning Board of Appeals, claiming short-term rentals were an illegal commercial use in a residential zoning district. In that ruling, Judge Michael Vhay declared the town zoning law does not permit rentals of primary dwellings shorter than 31 days in the Old Historic District, with the exception of single-room rentals in “an owner-occupied dwelling unit.” The Grapes’ agreement not to short-term rent their home relieves the immediate pressure on the Zoning Board of Appeals to enforce the ruling, while also granting Ward much of what she sought in her lawsuit.

Tim Ehrenberg of “Tim Talks Books” gives you his top novels for the Fall Reading season!

SCAN HERE to connect with @TimTalksBooks

For even more book recommendations follow @timtalksbooks on Instagram. All books are available at Mitchell’s Book Corner and Nantucket Bookworks or online at nantucketbookpartners.com.

SEDUCTION THEORY BY EMILY ADRIAN WHAT HAPPENED TO LUCY VALE BY LAUREN OLIVER

If you loved The Academy and you are looking for more campus novels for the back-to-school season this month, check out Seduction Theory and What Happened to Lucy Vale. Seduction Theory introduces two married professors who tiptoe around infidelity. It’s dark academia at its finest with enough campus satire, classroom intrigue and great writing to keep you turning the pages. What Happened to Lucy Vale is addictively fun. Lucy, the new girl in school, moves into the Faraday House, where 16 years ago, Nina Faraday vanished without a trace. Now, Lucy is nowhere to be found, setting in motion another mystery to be investigated and solved two decades later. These dual timelines, multiple suspicions and secrets—along with generations of mystery and small-town gossip—make for the perfect autumn page-turner. You’ll never guess what happened to Lucy Vale.

THE LOVER BY LILY KING THE WIDOW BY JOHN GRISHAM TWICE BY MITCH ALBOM

October is turning into one of my favorite months on Nantucket and the same can be said for the publishing world. It’s a month for some of the most anticipated reads you don’t want to miss and the perfect time to get lost in a good book. Lily King is an auto-buy author for me and she gives us the gift of Heart the Lover this year. Lily is a writer’s writer, and this is a strikingly intimate novel about the lasting impact of first love. Fans of Writers & Lovers are in for a real treat. The Widow by John Grisham is coming October 21 and it’s his first whodunnit. Small-town lawyer Simon Latch is accused of murder and it’s up to him to find the real killer to clear his name. All rise for the honorable John Grisham, master of the legal thriller and now legal mystery. And don’t miss Twice by Mitch Albom, available October 25. The heart of Albom’s new novel asks: “What if you got to do everything in your life again?” I loved this short and sweet story so much that, you guessed it, I read it twice.

HEART

THE ACADEMY BY ELIN HILDERBRAND AND SHELBY CUNNINGHAM

Let’s get back to school this month with my podcast co-host, friend and Queen of Nantucket beach reads, Elin Hilderbrand, who is back on shelves with The Academy, a novel co-written with her daughter, Shelby Cunningham. Welcome to Tiffin Academy, a New England boarding school with just as much juicy drama, memorable characters and dreamy details as any of Hilderbrand’s Nantucket novels. Everything you love about her books is packed into these pages. Campus novels are some of my favorites: The Secret History, Prep, I Am Charlotte Simmons, Skippy Dies, The Art of Fielding, I Have Some Questions for You. Hilderbrand and Cunningham move to “head of the class” in the genre with this new novel, and have built a whole world to get lost in from various perspectives, from the students to the teachers, the parents and the school’s chef. By page six, you’ll feel so attached to the Tiffin “Thoroughbreds,” it’s as if you’re reading about your own alma mater. Cliffhangers abound by the last page, but have no fear— a sequel is in the works. Available September 16. Order an autographed copy with exclusive gift and bookmark from nantucketbookpartners.com. Listen to Elin, Shelby and I discuss the writing of the novel on our podcast Books, Beach & Beyond.

BUCKEYE

BY PATRICK RYAN

Buckeye just might turn out to be my favorite book of the year. If you don’t trust me, my two favorite literary Ann’s (Ann Patchett and Ann Napolitano) loved it, too. It’s my favorite type of novel—a multigenerational epic from World War II to the late 20th century. Think of the very best of John Irving.We meet Cal Jenkins on the very first page: “Born in the spring of 1920 with one leg shorter than the other.”

From this introduction come dozens of loveable characters who struggle against the backdrop of some of our most transformative decades in history.

I read this 500-page saga in almost one sitting because I needed to know how everything turned out for all the residents of Bonhomie, Ohio. One or two times a year a book touches my heart in such a special way, almost unexplainable, and Buckeye did that in such a way that I’m almost at a loss for words. I hope it does the same for you. Look out for Patrick Ryan at the 2026 Nantucket Book Festival. Available September 2.

THE WILDERNESS BY ANGELA FLOURNOY

Some books you read and love for the characters, some for the fast-paced plot, and others for the setting. I recommend The Wilderness for the voice. Written in a memorable third-person, this is an era-defining novel about five Black women over the course of their 20-year friendship. There is something about a decades-long friend, someone who knows you better than you know yourself. That complexity of relationships is explored in these pages, and their friendship becomes a sixth character all on its own. The five friends must figure out what they mean to one another as they find their way through the wilderness, that period of life we all face when becoming an adult sinks in. Available September 16.

At the end of this month, I will co-host the first ever Aspen Literary Festival along with The New York Times Book Review editor Gilbert Cruz and broadcast journalist Alisyn Camerota from September 26-28, where I will interview Angela Flournoy, as well as authors Kevin Kwan, Jess Walter, Nathan Hill, Jane Hamilton, Adriana Trigiani and many more.

THE LONELINESS OF SONIA AND SUNNY

BY KIRAN DESAI

Long-listed for the Booker Prize, and from the same author who won the Booker for The Inheritance of Loss in 2006, The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny is that book. The 700-page tome that will sit on your shelf beckoning you, making you ask the question, “Do I want to commit the time?” The answer is a resounding yes. It’s a colder season novel in that you want to have a cup of coffee and a blanket to curl up with to sink into the story for hours and hours. We meet Sonia and Sunny and follow their love story, as well as the interconnected stories of their two families. It might sound like a simple premise, one that has been done many times before, but this is more a novel of ideas, an epic of love and family, India and America, tradition and modernity. It’s a true reader’s novel, one that will have you daydreaming of the characters and the plot and reflecting on your own human connections, the life you are living, and the people you are loving. Available September 23.

WHAT WE CAN KNOW BY IAN MCEWAN

What I know is this: Ian McEwan, the celebrated author of Atonement, has delivered yet another masterpiece. As a history aficionado, I am fascinated by digging into the past and weaving together threads to understand those who lived before us. This book, however, begins in the year 2119, as much of the Western World is underwater after a nuclear catastrophe. A lonely scholar is fascinated by the years 1990-2030, specifically a dinner party in 2014 where a famous poet reads a new composition aloud for his wife’s birthday to a group of friends. The poem goes missing and for a century, people will speculate about what exactly happened to the lost piece and the people who heard it read aloud. By using social media posts, emails, journals and digital information from the ’90s through the 2030s, the scholar hunts down and pieces together the words left behind to tell the full story. This is a literary mystery of the first order, one that is looking at the modern age from the future. We see how people living a century later will view our tastes, beliefs and stories. It also vividly explores the idea of what can ever be truly known across time and history. Available September 23.

THE ELEMENTS

BY JOHN BOYNE

The first book I ever recommended in this magazine nine years ago was The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne, still one of my favorite novels of all time. Boyne is back with The Elements, a masterful quartet of four interconnected short stories: Water, Earth, Fire and Air. I was blown away by this gripping exploration of guilt, trauma and the human capacity for redemption. Each story represents a different perspective on crime: the enabler, the accomplice, the perpetrator and the victim. How each story is connected to the next and when and where characters from one of the narratives appear and intersect in the others was so expertly crafted. Trigger warnings of sexual assault are important to mention, but this book challenges readers to look at guilt and innocence on every page, what you would do when faced with the unimaginable, and how stories and characters, even the worst of humanity, can get under your skin and stay with you. Available September 9.

OVERLOOKING

BOSTON HARBOR

THE RITZ-CARLTON RESIDENCES AT BOSTON'S SOUTH STATION TOWER

Wrapped in glass and overlooking the city and Boston Harbor, these distinctive residences, ranging from junior one-bedrooms to duplex penthouses, deliver high-touch design and modern convenience. From the 36th to the 51st floor of the tower, every inch is devoted to a life well-lived. Renowned design firm Jeffrey Beers International has crafted sophisticated spaces for effortless living among the clouds.

1

Two styles of kitchens allow owners to choose between a dark or a light scheme, both of which incorporate solid core engineered European white oak floors and custom cabinetry, Calacatta Gold marble counters and backsplashes in generous kitchens designed for entertaining.

2

Primary bathrooms feature Kallista polished nickel fixtures including a rain shower, Bianco Dolomiti marble tile floors and walls, a deep soaking tub, a Calacatta Cielo marble double vanity and polished-nickel-finished medicine cabinets with built-in lighting.

3

The Views

Starting at an elevation of 450 feet, The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Boston, South Station Tower boast sweeping panoramic views from high above the city, giving owners awe-inspiring perspectives and varying dramatic backdrops: Back Bay and Beacon Hill to the west, Downtown Boston and the Waterfront to the north, the Seaport and Boston Harbor to the east and, to the south, Fort Point Channel and South Boston.

4

Set on floors 50 and 51, The Penthouses are remarkably expansive residences, some featuring double-height duplexes, all with breathtaking views, and most graced with deep, wide terraces for outdoor entertaining in the sky.

4

WRITTEN

BY

ANNE-CARTER RIGGS

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIT NOBLE

Òran Mór’s truffle beet salad

he turning of seasons means a turning of flavors. At Òran Mór, that means truffle beet salad. The combination of truffle vinaigrette with black truffle honey creates a bold flavor accompanied by the earthy aroma of the beets. The signature dish came about when chef/owner Edwin Claflin and his crew made a dedicated effort to be more mindful in using all the available components of their ingredients. “We try to be utilitarian with our products and cross utilize things as much as possible.” One ingredient Claflin realized was going to waste was the peelings from Australian black truffles, which he made into black truffle vinaigrette, a keystone to his popular truffle beet salad and a product for sale at Òran Mór's sister store, Mór Wine.

Òran Mór head chef Edwin Claflin

TRUFFLE BEET SALAD

INGREDIENTS

• 2-3 beets

• 1 tablespoon kosher salt

• 3 ounces seasoned whipped ricotta

• 2 teaspoons black truffle honey (available at Mór Wine)

• Beet chips, sliced thin and air-fried with olive oil (or grocery store parsnip or sweet potato chips)

TRUFFLE VINAIGRETTE

(as an alternative to vinaigrette, drizzle extra truffle oil on beets)

• 4 ounces black truffle peelings in Champagne vinegar

• 4 ounces black truffle oil

• 4 ounces extra virgin olive oil

• 1 teaspoon mustard powder

• ¼ teaspoon sugar

• Salt (fleur de sel if available) and freshly cracked black pepper

PISTOU

(French pesto without cheese)

• 1 cup roasted pistachios

• 1 quart fresh arugula

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

• 4 ounces garlic confit or 1 small fresh clove if using raw garlic

• 1 teaspoon chili oil

• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil

• Salt (fleur de sel if available) and freshly cracked black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Add the beets and a pinch of salt to a pressure cooker, along with equal parts water and white vinegar (about one inch each). Cook on high for 22 minutes. Release the steam slowly, and let beets cool. (Alternatively, season beets, sprinkling with vinegar, wrap tightly in tin foil, and roast in oven at 320 degrees Fahrenheit until tender, about two hours.)

To make truffle vinaigrette, blend truffle peelings, truffle oil, mustard powder, sugar, salt and pepper together. While mixture is blending, slowly add in the olive oil.

3

4 5 6 1

To make the pistou, blend roasted pistachios, arugula, lemon juice, garlic, chili oil, olive oil, salt and pepper in a food processor or in mortar and pestle. Save some arugula and chopped pistachio for garnish.

Peel and cube the beets, and dress with 2 teaspoons of black truffle honey per cup of cooked beets. Season with salt and pepper.

Plate beets on top of seasoned whipped ricotta with 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil per cup of ricotta. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

Top with root chips, arugula, chopped pistachios and arugula pistou. Finish with truffle vinaigrette. Enjoy.

SEPTEMBER SIPPERS

WRITTEN BY JEN LASKEY

Six drinks to celebrate the end of summer.

Summer’s end is often bittersweet, but the arrival of September (always quicker than we expect) is like a tonic for the spirit. As the beaches empty, the superyachts leave the harbor and the crowds thin downtown, islanders can reclaim their favorite spots—and even enjoy dinner and drinks without a waitlist. Whether your ideal September sipper is an autumn-inspired riff on a classic gin cocktail, a bottle of Burgundy’s other crisp and delicious white wine or a glass of something layered with flavor but without alcohol, Nantucket bartenders and sommeliers are ready with the perfect pour to help you settle into the slower rhythms of the shoulder season. Happy hour is calling.

DARVIOT-PERRIN BOURGOGNE ALIGOTÉ, 2020 ($108/bottle at Ethos)

Recommended by EMILY DUSSEAU, co-owner, Ethos

It may be considered the underdog to Burgundy’s Chardonnay, but the high-acid, terroir-driven Aligoté from France’s Bourgogne appellation can be a very alluring alternative to the region’s most prized white wine. “We love this wine from the lesser-known Aligoté grape,” said Emily Dusseau, who co-owns Ethos with Gracie Schadt and Zachary Hotter. “Chardonnay usually gets all the attention in Burgundy, but we find that the zesty mineral backbone of this wine is irresistible.” Like Chardonnay, Aligoté is foodfriendly, so consider enjoying it with a late-summer meal. “You could drink this wine on its own with friends,” said Hotter, adding that it’s also “the perfect accompaniment to oysters and fresh seafood.”

MURI,

PASSING CLOUDS, FADE TO BLACK, YAMILÉ AND KOJI RICE SERIES 1, Non-Alcoholic, NV, ($30-45/bottle)

If you’re looking for a nonalcoholic tipple that offers some of the most compelling characteristics of wine—depth of flavor, complexity, lively acidity and structure—try a bottle of Muri. This Copenhagen, Denmark-based producer crafts adult beverages with an intriguing array of natural ingredients, such as fermented fruits, herbs, kefir, tea and Japanese koji—the fermented culture used to make miso and soy sauce. Produced through a series of carbonic maceration, lacto-fermentation, toasting and woodsmoking, these drinks boast a deliciously satisfying sipping experience.

Passing Clouds is a citrusy, floral, bright and spritzy white wine alternative made with fermented gooseberries and white currants, quince kefir, jasmine tea, geranium and woodruff kvass (a cloudy cereal-based fermented liquid). Fade to Black,

meanwhile, is a sparkling cuvée of fermented red and black currants, chamomile kefir, and caramel malt kvass infused with fig leaves and pine needles. Yamilé is a sparkling chillable red produced with carbonic raspberry and gooseberry mead, smoked lacto-fermented rhubarb, goldenrod and pink peppercorn kefir. It’s like the fruity lovechild of sparkling dry Lambrusco and smoky black tea—but better. The Koji Rice Series 1 is a still, nonalcoholic koji rice wine infused with mahleb (a Mediterranean and Middle Eastern baking spice) and blended with lavender kefir smoked over beechwood. It’s unfiltered with a silky texture and umami-rich salty, savory and earthy flavors.

KõYõ FIZZ ($22 AT O BAR)

Recommended by BRIAN PATRICK CLEARY, bar manager, O Bar and Bar Yoshi

In Japanese, the word kōyō refers to the phenomenon of autumn leaves changing color. “It also refers to the act of enjoying this seasonal change,” said Brian Patrick Cleary, bar manager at O Bar and Bar Yoshi. As bright red as an autumn maple leaf, O Bar’s Kōyō Fizz cocktail is a tangy twist on the classic gin fizz, and it has a little kick. Hibiscus brings floral notes and tart brightness, while ginger adds

INGREDIENTS

• 2 ounces Roku Gin

• ½ ounce hibiscus and ginger syrup*

• ½ ounce fresh lemon juice

• Club soda

• Candied hibiscus flower (garnish)

zing. “It’s refreshing, yet grounding, floral and spicy, bright and soulful—the kind of drink you’d enjoy on a breezy late-afternoon patio or the first night you bring a sweater out,” Cleary said. Cleary suggested sipping the Kōyō Fizz with yellowtail sashimi or tuna tataki. “The clean and delicate flavor of the yellowtail blends great with the botanical notes in the drink,” he said. “The smoky edge of the tuna goes great with the ginger and complexity of the Japanese gin.” Both are perfect pairings for September on Nantucket “when the weather is fresh and cool, there are fewer crowds, and the island feels more peaceful and quaint.”

INSTRUCTIONS

• Combine gin, hibiscus syrup and lemon juice in a shaker with ice.

• Shake hard and double-strain into a coupe.

• Top with club soda.

• Garnish with a candied hibiscus flower.

*FOR HIBISCUS & GINGER SYRUP:

Combine 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar with ¼ cup sliced fresh ginger and ¼ cup dried hibiscus flowers. Simmer, cool and strain out the solids.

THE UKRAINIAN CHEF

WRITTEN BY BRIAN BUSHARD

PHOTOGRAPHY OF KIT NOBLE

Ivan Bondar Escapes Ukraine For Nantucket

For Ivan Bondar, the move to Nantucket could not have been more stark. Every morning, before he goes to work as a chef at Yummy, Bondar checks social media for news from his hometown in Ukraine, where his parents and two brothers still live. Just one day before he sat down with N Magazine, his hometown was pounded by over 300 drones, the result of a Russian aerial attack that left one person dead and a pile of rubble where a residential apartment once stood.

Even on Nantucket, the war in Ukraine still follows him—three years after he left the country for a shot at a better life in the U.S. “My brother is a doctor at the military hospital, and he will send videos from Ukraine that are absolutely horrible,” Bondar said. “They’re more horrifying than what you would see in a horror movie.”

Chef Ivan Bondar

Bondar made his way to Nantucket in the summer of 2022 on a work visa for the job at Yummy. He’s also made the rounds from restaurant to restaurant, a winding path that’s taken him places as close as the Great Harbor Yacht Club, and as far as Alaska, where he worked for a time at a seafood processing factory outside of Anchorage. At one point, he took a job in the kitchen of a restaurant in Jupiter, Florida, and then with two luxury cruise lines, which ended up taking him around the world. This summer, he is back for a fourth season at Yummy, where his coworker happens to be from Russia of all places—though the two are friends.

A big part of coming to Nantucket was to raise enough money to make regular donations to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Bondar likes to say he’s still able to fight from afar one plate at a time, even after moving to America. “It’s important to support my family and support the army,” he said. “I’m not joining the army, but at the same

time, I want to do something for my country, because it’s crazy what’s going on over there.”

“Leaving my parents and brothers was a hard decision,” the 32-year-old added. “I keep calling my mom every day to talk about what’s going on. She also wants to leave the country too, but she doesn’t

“[The videos from Ukraine] are more horrifying than what you would see in a horror movie.”

– Ivan Bondar

want to leave my brothers and father, even when our city is bombarded every day. Yesterday, there were two big buildings shot at and destroyed. The mall I grew up shopping at was destroyed.”

The longer the war plods along, the more donations Bondar makes—though he’s also made an effort to push himself as a chef at the same time. Last fall, he

wrote a cookbook. It was a modern take on the Ukrainian cuisine he learned from his family combined with a zero-waste philosophy, meaning he uses every part of the fruits and vegetables he cooks, roots to leaves. The idea is not only to practice sustainability in the kitchen, but to honor traditional Ukrainian cuisine. When the lunch line at Yummy cools off this fall, Bondar is thinking of adding some Ukrainian staples like borscht and dumplings to the menu’s local lunch staples like tuna sandwiches, cheeseburgers and spicy fried chicken sandwiches and wraps.

“Ukrainian cuisine has always been more than just food to me,” he writes in his book, called Sustainable Ukrainian Cuisine: Zero-Waste Recipes from the Heart of Ukraine. “It is a story, a culture, and the warmth of home, passed down through generations. In every spoonful of borscht, in every bite of varenyky, there is an entire world filled with memories of childhood, celebrations, and shared meals with loved ones.”

Bondar checks in with his family every morning before heading to Yummy, where he is the head chef.

Eliza Steadman Executive Director, Nantucket S.T.A.R.

The Nantucket Golf Club Foundation has been a supporter of S.T.A.R. since its inception. We are incredibly grateful for the dedication they have shown to our organization over the past 23 years. The Foundation gave us our inaugural grant back in 2003 and has continued to support our programming, our mission, and our goals as we continue to grow.

41 Nantucket Scholars since 2006

67 Professional Scholarship recipients since 2018

65 institutions of higher education attended Grants to 97 Island organizations

892 grant requests – 777 grants funded Largest grant of $1M

Through the generous support of the members of the Nantucket Golf Club and their guests, the Nantucket Golf Club Foundation has raised over $50 million in the last 23 years for the benefit of Nantucket youth.

photo: Taylor Murphy Fasci

SEEING STARS

WRITTEN BY BRIAN BUSHARD

TBY

CHARITY GRACE MOFSEN

Preserving Nantucket’s Night Sky

here was a time not that long ago Gail Walker remembers easily seeing the Milky Way Galaxy on a clear night from just about anywhere on Nantucket. But that clear view of the night sky is fading, to the point where four in five people in North America can’t see the Milky Way Galaxy in the night sky, according to a global atlas of light pollution. Even on Nantucket— isolated from the so-called light pollution that has illuminated cities, strip malls and manufacturing hubs with a non-stop glare—a clear night sky in town comes once in a blue moon.

In many ways, Nantucket is nothing without its night sky: Maria Mitchell identified a comet from her rooftop on Main Street, while the organization that bears her name now brings in astronomers from around the country. But that view has even faded on Nantucket. “Seeing the Milky Way is almost a human right,” said Walker, the founder of Nantucket Lights, an organization dedicated to preserving the night sky. “To me, it’s just so amazing to be able to see it and it would be a tragedy to lose it, like most of the developed world has.”

On Nantucket, the worst light pollution is centered in town and mid-island, down Old South Road to the airport, with better visibility farther from town and some of the best viewing in places like Madaket, Cisco, Tom Nevers and Wauwinet. While it’s not as bad as the mainland, Nantucket has lost the clear view of the Milky Way it once had. Nighttime light pollution observations

from June 2022 to November 2024 at eight sites around the island show that as a whole, Nantucket can barely see the Milky Way, with the average nighttime visibility on the island only slightly above the threshold where the galaxy is no longer visible with the naked eye.

In 2023, Walker proposed a change to the town’s outdoor lighting bylaw at Annual Town Meeting, requiring lights of 600 lumens or more (slightly dimmer than a 60 watt incandescent bulb) to be shielded, with the exception of string lights, temporary holiday lights, lights on flags and lighting for sports activities. The proposal passed overwhelmingly, and since then, Nantucket Lights has observed the light pollution is not getting worse, though it’s not getting any better, either. “The more houses that are built, the more businesses, there’s potential for it to get worse, especially if they don’t comply with the bylaw. I was encouraged by the fact that they stayed stable, but I would love to see it get better.”

Nantucket’s outdoor lighting bylaw now requires the color temperature—or saturation of a light—not to exceed 2,700 Kelvin (the saturation of a slightly yellow hue similar to an incandescent bulb). It also requires that lights be turned off between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., or one hour after a business closes to one hour before it opens, with some exceptions for security and sports lighting. The town’s code carries a $100 penalty for first violations, and up to $300 for subsequent violations.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Milky Way over Sankat Head Lighthouse. Photo by Charity Grace Mofsen.

Before the Industrial Revolution, the Milky Way was visible from nearly every place on Earth. For sailors, the night sky was an integral tool to navigate after sunset. For animals, it can be an essential for annual migration. On New Year’s Eve in 1879, Thomas Edison’s incandescent light bulb first illuminated a street in Menlo Park, New Jersey, an invention that would forever change humans’ view of the night sky. As technology advanced and the worldwide population skyrocketed, the galaxy became harder and harder to see. Satellite data shows that from 1992 to 2017, global light emissions increased by nearly 50%

For humans, that can have direct health effects. Nighttime exposure to artificial light—particularly blue light emission from LED lighting— can disrupt humans’ circadian rhythm and suppress melatonin production, making it harder to fall

the National Park Service considers dark skies a natural resource. “When we look up at the night sky, there’s obviously the aesthetic value, but there’s much more to it,” said Sarah Bois, director of research and education at the Linda Loring Nature Foundation.

asleep at night and stay asleep. Studies have also linked decreased melatonin levels to a higher risk of breast and prostate cancers. Research also shows light pollution has wide-ranging effects on animals, including migratory patterns and breeding cycles—so much so that

Nantucket Lights’ latest endeavor is to certify Nantucket as an International Dark Sky Community, a designation by DarkSky International intended to “foster increased tourism and local economic activity.” As it stands, no community in New England has earned that recognition. The organization has also started to inventory all townowned light fixtures on Nantucket, to determine whether the town needs to update its lighting. “For us, we never want to shame anybody because often it’s done without intention, so we’re just trying to get people to put more thought into it and be mindful,” Walker said.

Vineyard Wind's turbines on the horizon, from Cisco Beach. Photo by Charity Grace Mofsen

Madeline Malenfant, the daughter of retired Steamship Authority Captain Bruce Malenfant and Town Moderator Sarah Alger, competed on the latest season of Project Runway. Photo by Disney/Heidi Gutman

TO

DRESS IMPRESS

INTERVIEW BY BRIAN BUSHARD

Nantucket’s Madeline Malenfant competes on Project Runway.

Madeline Malenfant did not start sewing until she had graduated from college, which might come as a surprise to anyone who’s seen her compete on the most recent season of Project Runway. But over the past few years, Malenfant—the daughter of retired Steamship Authority Captain Bruce Malenfant and Nantucket Town Moderator Sarah Alger—has made a fashion statement

in a big way. In 2021, she launched her own clothing brand, and is the head designer of the lifestyle brand Cult of Individuality. And as one of 12 contestants on Heidi Klum’s longtime fashion competition series Project Runway, she was competing this season for a grand prize of $200,000, a spread in Elle magazine and a six-month representation with Agentry PR.

Malenfant (center) with fellow contestants on Project Runway. Photo by Disney/Spencer Pazer

“I definitely look toward the past in my brand.”

– Madeline Malenfant

You grew up surrounded by island clothing institutions and boutiques. Did they shape your fashion sense?

The thing that shaped me the most—more than the clothes I’m surrounded by—is the history of the place. It’s the preserved architecture and the beauty that we all try to maintain and work so tirelessly to do. Growing up with Sarah Alger as my mom, I spent lots of time that I probably shouldn’t have outside of school, very bored at [Historic District Commission] meetings. What I gathered from that was that this island really values history and beauty, and I think that those things are really integral to my design ethos.

Are there certain eras of Nantucket style that might be underappreciated or lost in time?

My brother and I do a lot of research on the fashion history of Nantucket, because we’ve often toyed with the idea of making our own brand here. There are a couple of things we’ve been trying to figure out via vintage photos—these pants that sailors used to wear, and I don’t know if they doctored the pants themselves but they have these red fabric as patches on their pants. They’re bright white deckhand pants with these red patches, probably to cover up holes from lots of work, and those seem to be forgotten. I would also say madras is definitely falling short these days. It’s such a crazy textile, it’s really hard to get right, and it’s really hard to get it to look good, but it’s a really cool idea.

Did you grow up watching Project Runway?

I indeed did. I had season two on DVD and probably watched it six times through.

Did you ever think you would compete on the show?

I definitely didn’t. I didn’t start sewing until I was 22 and I was in college. Until that point, resources felt limited on Nantucket—it felt like I couldn’t find a place to learn how to sew, and maybe I was limiting myself, and I think I carried that belief into my 20s. I would watch [the contestants] and be completely amazed at what they were doing on TV and think to myself, “How in the world are you capable of doing this in that short amount of time?”

What career did you initially pursue?

I studied visual arts with a focus in sculpture. The career was as an artist, always, not necessarily in the fashion industry. I felt that because fashion was a commodity, it was going to be a lot easier to go into that field. That’s what maybe initially made me pivot.

How do you define your approach to fashion? Is there a core philosophy you adhere to?

I think the core philosophy is quite simple. I try to work on it every day. I try to think about it every day. I truly believe that if you want to do something creative, you really, really have to work. You have to spend the time doing it. That’s not to say that I don’t spend a lot of time moping around. I take days off. It’s really hard to succeed as a creative. My goal is to just keep pushing and pushing, and if you end up putting enough time into it, something will work out. And thus far, at least, it’s worked out.

One of Malenfant’s looks on the runway. Photo by Disney/Rankin

On Project Runway, you’re always up against the clock. How does that compare to your usual work?

I talk a lot about trial and error, and I realized on the show that that’s a part of my process. Those are the things that you learn under a time crunch—your creative process doesn't necessarily work all the time.

What was your experience working with Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia and Law Roach, or celebrity guest judges like Tyra Banks, Sofia Vergara and Nikki Glaser?

Insane. I was definitely starstruck by Heidi Klum. But more than being starstruck, they were actually really valuable. I like to think that I really listened to them and took their feedback. There are moments when you feel like you’re on TV

Tell us about your clothing brand you created.

My brand has a fascination with historical and vintage eras with a modern twist. There’s a big emphasis on the Renaissance era. I take a lot of inspiration from that era, mainly because I studied it a lot in costume design school [at the London College of Fashion], but I take inspiration from all eras. I worked on a collection that mainly focused on 1950s Dior silhouettes. Anything is fair game for me, but I definitely look toward the past in my brand.

Nantucket style is often thought of as preppy, but to you, what is Nantucket style?

Nantucket style, like anything Nantucket, lives in two worlds. There’s the yearround community, and there’s a summer community. They’re both doing very

Instagram—the island is changing quite a bit, but so is fashion. We’re almost homogenizing a little bit, and maybe not in a bad way. It seems like people have a lot of access to the same thing and similar things and dupes to things if you want to get them cheaper.

What is your take on Nantucket Reds?

I do love a Nantucket Red, and it must come from Murray’s if it comes from anywhere. To me, the idea is that you have something red that’s been sunbleached, and I think that’s kind of a cool idea as an island textile. The things that you wear change over time, and the color may fade, but it impresses time and history into it.

Where do you see Nantucket fashion headed in the next five to 10 years?

body?” Then you realize that they’re obviously real people giving you real advice and listening to you and taking the time to look at your work, critique it and give you a thoughtful response about it.

machine. I also appreciate the grunginess and the sort of outdoorsy nature of the year-round community. In general, all style is changing. At one point it was very Ralph Lauren, Murray’s and J. Crew. Now—I think because of

nautical side of things. I love sailor uniforms. I love uniforms in general. I would hope that things go toward heavyduty canvas—things that you can wear for ages. As you wear them, age gives them a new life and a new meaning.

Judges on Project Runway include Heidi Klum and Law Roach.

Photo by Disney/Rankin.

$8,995,000

CLEARED FOR TAKEOFF

WRITTEN BY BRIAN BUSHARD

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIT NOBLE

Julian Joffe builds his own airplane.

Julian Joffe’s hangar at Nantucket Memorial Airport is more of a workshop, if anything. For the past three summers, Joffe, a Nantucket summer resident and former CEO of a Vermont-based manufacturing company, has been meticulously assembling the thousands of pieces that came in a box the day he decided to build his own airplane. While he might just be one of dozens of amateur pilots on the island, he’s the only one who has gone the extra mile of building his own plane, a tedious project that completely transformed not only his hangar, but his approach to aviation. It’s the first experimental airplane built on Nantucket in decades.

Julian and Kerry Joffe

“I fly because I want to keep my hand in aviation until the day I die, which hopefully won’t be at the hands of an airplane.”

– Julian Joffe

Some people do this because it’s a less expensive way to get into flying, but for me, I’m retired, I love building s**t, and so I did it,” he said. “When you choose a plane, you have to decide what your vision is. Do you take people on angel flights across the country, do you fly for business all over the place, do you buzz around or do you fly for the fun of it? I fly because I want to keep my hand in aviation until the day I die, which hopefully won’t be at the hands of an airplane.”

The project took Joffe one and a half years to complete, divided over three summers, almost exclusively inside his hangar. Every piece of the plane arrived in a wooden crate, from the wings to the propeller to the landing gear. Except for the fuselage, every part of the airplane was at some point sitting on the shelf, with checkpoints marked on an owner’s manual and parts listed in an internal numerical system Joffe devised specifically for the project. Being a manager at an engineering company and logging 3,000 hours as a pilot turned out to be enough practice to build an airplane.

Joffe spent three summers assembling his Carbon Cub at a hangar at Nantucket Memorial Airport.

He wasn’t flying by the seat of his pants. “I’m very mechanical,” he said.

In some ways, flying has taken Joffe to new heights. It’s also nearly cost him his life. Just a few days before Easter in 2015, Joffe couldn’t help but notice the storm system making its way through upstate New York. Joffe had been planning on flying his Beechcraft Bonanza A36 aircraft with his wife to visit their children in Georgia for the holiday, but looking at the forecast, he thought better of flying the singlepropeller plane into the oncoming storm, so he left one day early. It was a decision that saved his life.

Only 45 minutes into the flight, just as Joffe had passed over Albany airspace, he heard an unusual thumping sound that made his stomach drop. “Suddenly the engine sounded like a washer-dryer on

this was a sunny day, and in those six minutes, he searched desperately for a safe place to land.

“With no visibility, if you’re coming down without an engine and you don’t know where you’re going, you’re probably going to crash into something very hard and die,” he said. “But this way, I was able to find a valley. I looked down, saw narrow roads and trees. And then close by was a big open field tucked into a valley. I left the gear up so I could land without flipping over, and it was a perfect landing. I could have had my seatbelt off.”

Joffe’s Beechcraft Bonanza skidded for about a quarter mile in a field in the Catskills before coming to a

tumble dry, just ‘thump, thump,’” Joffe said. “I had about six minutes to figure out what we were going to do.” Had the engine failure happened one day later— the day he had planned on flying—he would have been sent spiraling downward in a storm with near-zero visibility. But

the first thing I thought was, ‘Are we in heaven?’” Kerry Joffe said.

Julian Joffe purchased another plane after the Beechcraft crash—a six-seat Piper Meridian M500 turboprop that was too wide to fit in his hangar at Nantucket Memorial Airport. But he didn’t end up getting much use out of it—he assures me it wasn’t because of the plane crash just years earlier. At a certain point,

stop in front of a group of three dozen grazing deer. Neither Joffe or his wife, Kerry Joffe, were injured in the crash. The couple walked away from the plane without so much as a scratch. The cause of the crash was later determined to be a loose lug nut. “The sun came out and

“The more you read or the more videos you watch, the more you learn about the art of flying. It’s not a science at all.”

– Julian Joffe

Joffe—an engineer by practice and a lifetime aviation enthusiast—decided it was time to take flying into his own hands in a completely new way. So in 2022, he purchased the pieces to a brand-new 23-foot Carbon Cub that he would assemble himself in the hangar.

The ribs of the plane’s wings (right) are attached with a durable fabric. Photos courtesy of Kerry Joffe.

“Flying this plane is special, if you can achieve something as challenging as this.”

– Julian Joffe

I’m not into cars. Building a car is not something I ever entertained doing. Plus, the challenge of flying a [back-heavy] tail dragger was something I wanted to achieve. Flying this plane is much more intense than flying any other plane,” Joffe said. “Flying is not a physical thing. It’s not like surfing; there’s no muscle memory. It’s all about understanding what’s happening in the plane, and the more you read or the more videos you watch, the more you learn about the art of flying. It’s not a science at all.”

Three summers later, Joffe estimates the project is 99.99% completed. After driving the plane on the taxiway, all he has left is a final registration and

inspection through the Federal Aviation Administration, as well as a flight by a test pilot, before he can take it in the air. Once he’s airborne, he can hit a maximum cruising speed of 140 mph and a maximum altitude of 14,000 feet for a 700-mile trip on 35 gallons of fuel. And if there was any fear of crashing, Joffe can rest assured he’s in control of every piece of the plane, down to the last lug nut. “If I get scared, I just get focused,” he said. “When you panic, your brain goes into a neutral mode and you don’t think, and instincts take over. But flying is a fun thing to do. Flying this plane is special, if you can achieve something as challenging as this. This plane is a different ballgame.”

After a final certification, Joffe will be ready to fly the Carbon Cub, the plane he built down to the very last nut and bolt.

Sconset

West of Town

Michele Kelsey

Madaket

CALLING THE SHOTS

INTERVIEW BY BRIAN BUSHARD

MPHOTOGRAPHY BY KIT NOBLE

Top-rated Boston sports radio host Mike Felger

ike Felger might be the most influential person in Boston, at least according to the Boston Globe. Felger, a former Boston Herald sports reporter, is the co-host of Felger & Mazz on 98.5 The Sports Hub, the highest-rated radio show in Boston. On the air, he’s become well known for his passionate and sometimes controversial opinions and criticisms, not only of Boston sports, but of seemingly everything around New England. Off the air, he’s an easy-going Boston sports guy who’s been vacationing to Nantucket since 1993, and who’s lived on the island with his wife—Boston 25 news anchor Sara Underwood—since 2008.

What brought you to Nantucket?

My roommate out of college had a place in Wauwinet where they had been for decades. In the early ’90s, he started taking me and our other roommate to Nantucket, and I fell in love with it like everybody else. I don’t know how you couldn’t. When I met my wife, the first place I took her to was Nantucket. It’s been a big part of our family for over 30 years.

You’ve seen your fair share of sports titles in Boston, including the Celtics’ win last year. How confident are you in the Celtics’ new ownership group?

I’m not. That’s not to say they’re bad people or that they're going to drive a franchise into the ground. I'm not saying that, but I don't know. What assurances would any fan have based on their actions so far based on what [Bill Chisholm] does for a living? The whole model of private equity shouldn't fill you with confidence. It's healthy to approach everything with a natural bit of skepticism, and that applies here.

I think anyone has to prove themself, and he has to prove himself. Until he does, I would be concerned about the direction of the team.

That ownership group paid $6.1 million for the Celtics, and yet they’re the one of only a handful of teams in the NBA that doesn’t own its own arena. Was that too much money?

Absolutely. Fans don't realize it, but because of that situation, the Celtics are closer to a mid-market team than a big-market team. Their franchise valuations are high,

even though they don't own the building, they still got a great number for their franchise, and it's valued high, but in terms of day-in, day-out revenue, they're closer to a mid market than a big market because of that stadium situation. I think that's a factor. When they started loading up and signing all these salaries, I remember saying three years ago they can't afford this. They're not Steve Ballmer and the Clippers. They're not the Warriors with all those amazing revenues. There's no way they're going to be able to afford that.

Turning to the Patriots, how do you rank Drake Maye among NFL quarterbacks? Is there a chance he’ll be a top 10 quarterback?

He better be. If not, I think there’s trouble. He has absolutely all the natural ability to be a top 10 quarterback in the league. I don't think anyone can dispute that. His level of greatness is going to come down to a lot of the intangibles—his head, his heart, his football intelligence, his leadership, his toughness, his ability in clutch situations. All of those things that don't show up in a scouting report. That's what it's going to come down to. Mac Jones did not have the arm talent. He didn't have the natural physical ability. But I think Mike Vrabel is a good guy for [Maye], because I think he’s a good motivator, and he gets it.

What’s your season prediction for the Patriots?

I have them at seven to nine wins. To me, if they are anything less than seven wins, they failed. If they have less than seven wins, something went wrong. I know the roster is still in the bottom third of the league, but they

Mike Felger, the co-host of top-rated Boston sports radio show Felger & Mazz, has been coming to Nantucket since the '90s.

at UNC. I would love to see him come back to the NFL. I would love to see him win again at a high level. That would be a great story, and would flip the narrative one more time, so I hope he does it.

The Red Sox also have the number-one prospect in baseball (Roman Anthony) and a potential Cy Young winner (Garrett Crochet) in their rotation. What are their chances of winning this year?

Baseball has shown that unless you're really willing to spend at a high level, it can be fleeting. Baltimore was supposed to be in

“I think Belichick’s legacy took a hit with what happened post-Brady.”

– Mike Felger

have an easy schedule, and if Maye is good, they have to be at least average. There are very few bad teams with good quarterbacks. It just doesn't work that way. If you have a good quarterback, you're at least middle of the pack, and that's what I expect.

Can you definitely say whether it was Brady or Belichick? Does Belichick’s legacy hinge on his success at UNC?

It’s not even close. It was Brady. I think Belichick’s legacy took a hit with what happened post-Brady. After Brady left, Brady won and Bill didn’t, and not only did he not win, he didn’t come close. Belichick is still going to be in the Hall of Fame. He's still going to be considered one of the greatest coaches of all time, and as we get further on in history, people will look back and he'll be considered one of the greats, so maybe this stuff here at the end won't even be considered. But here and now, he's taking a hit. But make no mistake, I am rooting for him. I would love to see Bill have success

that spot too, and they've fallen right off. Something tells me it's because maybe they relied too much on what they had, and they're not spending enough and not bringing outside talent. If you have a good young roster, which Boston does, there’s a chance. But is John Henry willing to spend like he used to?

Will they spend like they used to, or have they become a small-market team?

About 20 years ago, they prioritized the Red Sox. They cared about winning championships and beating the Yankees. Somewhere around 2018 I think they became more like a business. Their sports portfolio grew. It's kind of easy to see. They bought [Liverpool FC], they bought the racing team, they bought the Pittsburgh Penguins. They really want to diversify that portfolio. Having an English Premier League champion is a pretty sexy deal. That's a pretty big deal internationally. If John Henry is more interested in Liverpool than the Red Sox, it’s hard to blame him from that standpoint. That’s what's happened, and I don't see how it changes. I don't see Henry looking at the Red Sox like he did when he first bought the team.

Mike Felger, Tony Massarotti and Jim Murray

Felger & Mazz at a live broadcast from Faregrounds Restaurant in August.

Are you optimistic at all about the Bruins?

No. I'm not sure what there is to be optimistic about. They’re starting from the bottom third of the league here. They're going to have some high draft picks here, but their system has been so depleted for so long. I do not think it's a strength of [Bruins general manager] Don Sweeney, and now this is how they're rebuilding. His draft picks have not been stellar, and now we're going to turn around and say he has to hit on all these picks.

With the millionaires tax in Massachusetts, has it become harder to attract athletes?

Maybe a small factor in a very few cases. I don't want to say it's a zero factor, but it's not nearly the factor that some people think. If that were the case, how do the Dodgers land free agent after free agent after free agent, because their taxes in California are worse than ours. If you want to bring in an athlete, you can pay him a little bit more to make up for what he was going to lose in taxes if he signed in Massachusetts versus Texas, so you could just pay a premium for the player.

From a consumer’s perspective, what do you make of the streaming wars that have forced fans to purchase more than a handful of streaming platforms? It's getting to the point that I almost want the government to look at it. The consumer has been done such a disservice by what's going on with streaming in general, but specifically

“To me, if the [Patriots] are anything less than seven wins, they failed.”

– Mike Felger

the sports fan for the cost of it, the complexity of it and the confusion of it. We have been screwed so badly by what's going on here by the streaming services, that it's consumer fraud. If this were another industry selling another product, and the consumer was put through the ringer the way sports have been put through the ringer, I think there would be a congressional hearing on it.

How do you balance being a fan and having a healthy skepticism in a sports team?

There isn't much of a balance. We're very rarely homers, so we’re not that balanced. I think sports radio is at its best when it's critical and people are complaining or critiquing. I think that's the DNA of the medium, it’s just how we're wired. Tony and I both worked at the Boston Herald

25 years ago, which was a scrappy, controversial, critical talking tabloid, and I think Tony and I bring that to the radio. That's really what it's about. For me, it's easy. I'm not from here, and while I do want the teams to win, they're not my teams. I'm not a traditional fan of them. I don't lose any sleep when they lose. So it's easy for me to find that place.

Felger with his wife, Fox 25 news host Sarah Underwood, and daughters on Nantucket.

THE LAST DRUMMER STANDING

WRITTEN BY JOHN STANTON

It is both island lore and rock history that on one hot summer night in 1969, at the legendary Nantucket night club Thirty Acres, a power outage meant that the band on stage had only one instrument that could still make music because it was not electrified, the drums. The 21-year-old drummer, who had wandered down from Montreal with a band made up of his childhood pals and found a gig as the summertime house band, kept up the beat. Seeing one of his friends dancing with a beautiful woman to that solo beat on that hot summer evening, the young drummer could not stop himself from adding some impromptu lyrics.

PHOTOGRAPHY OF JANETTE VOHS

Rock drummer Corky Laing plays the Dreamland.

The drummer was Corky Laing. The rock radio staple “Mississippi Queen” had just been born. “We were playing someplace in Massachusetts and we got a call from our agent,” he said. “He said, ‘There’s a place called Nantucket. You have to get there by boat. There is a club that’s firing the band that is there now, and they have to replace them by next week.’”

The gig lasted two summers. Thirty Acres fired him when he started playing original songs. The friend, artist Roy Bailey, and the woman who inspired Laing’s lyrics, Carole Webster, have both passed. Thirty Acres is now just the name on a street sign. But Laing, now 77, still gets behind the drums every day.

If you turned on your car radio in the early 1970s, or spent time thumbing through albums in a record store, you knew Mountain. A hard blues power trio, the band released their first album, Mountain Climbing!, in March 1970, and it spent 39 weeks on the Billboard 200 charts, rising as high as number 17. The album earned a gold record that year.

Laing made it when he was young. He had his moment of fame when he received his first gold record at only 22. He has been a really good drummer for a really long time now. Laing went from Energy, the band playing on that long ago summer night, to Mountain, joining Leslie West on guitar and Felix Pappalardi on bass.

“I had my rough times; fell off the wagon, was miserable. But as soon as I sit behind the drum set everything is okay again.”

Laing returned to Nantucket for a show at the Dreamland Theater that he called “Corky Laing’s rock Review,” which he performed with several musicians from the Finnish bands he now plays in, as well as Nantucket musicians Floyd Kellogg, Jake Vohs and Jeff Ross.

“This is the third time I’ve been invited back to play Nantucket,” Laing said. “I grew up with my audience here. I don’t have Jersey like Springsteen does, but to me the soundtrack for my life is in Nantucket. And it’s the same for a lot of the people who come to my shows. It’s a real wonderful feeling.”

– Corky Laing

“It’s a great journey— brilliant,” Laing said. “I had my rough times; fell off the wagon, was miserable. But as soon as I sit behind the drum set everything is okay again,” he said. “I’m just trying to get better. One of these days I’m going to be a really good drummer.”

The 1970s and early 1980s were powered by heavy drummers like The Who’s Keith Moon, Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham, and Ginger Baker, who played with a number of bands including Cream and Blind Faith. All three have died. Laing’s old bandmates West and Pappalardi are also gone. In many ways, Laing is the last great rock drummer from those days. ountain never became a legendary

Top: Nicky Ferrentella, George Gardos, Francie Laing, Corky Laing.

Bottom:

The cottages where Laing stayed his first year on Nantucket.

Courtesy of George Gardos and Corky Laing.

“I never thought I’d be close to 80 years old playing songs I wrote and played when I was 21 years old.”

– Corky Laing

rock band like Led Zeppelin or The Who. But music ran through his veins, and he kept playing and found a way to make it work, playing with Mountain as well as joining with West and bassist Jack Bruce to form another band that helped define the hard blues vibe of the early 1970s—West, Bruce and Laing. It was a sort of musical coincidence that Bruce also played bass and sang for the legendary band Cream, alongside Eric Clapton on guitar and Ginger Baker on drums. Cream’s first record, Disraeli Gears, was

produced by Pappalardi.

“It was all just coincidental. I knew Leslie and Felix, and when Energy got fired from Nantucket, we went to New York with our tails between our legs,” Laing said. “Felix had this loft where bands practiced and he let us sleep there. It was the summer of ’69. To me it is luck. I was lucky to be able to play with the very top-of-the-line rockers,” he said. “All I ever did was try to keep up.”

As soon as Mountain began making money,

Laing bought a house on the island and made it into his refuge from life on the road. He lived on the island until the early 1990s. “Nantucket always had a lot to do with my inspiration,” he said. “It still does. Now I travel around playing Nantucket Sleighride and explaining to people in Lithuania what it means.”

“I never thought I’d be close to 80 years old playing songs I wrote and played when I was 21 years old,” he added.

“It’s great when you think of it. The sad part is, I seem to be the only one around from those days. I feel like the last man standing, but the music, the repertoire, is still there. It is what it is.”

Laing could make the drums rock as hard as any of them, playing so hard he often broke his sticks and simply tossed them into the audience and picked up a new pair to keep the beat going. Sixty

the same thrill. It’s not even really me; it’s the songs. Plenty of people in Finland, in those audiences, don’t even speak English, but they love the music.”

These days Laing tours Europe with a band called Corky Laing’s Mountain. “They play about a dozen Mountain and West, Bruce and Laing songs,” Laing said. “They’re in Italy and I’m going over next month to tour Italy with them. Then maybe Germany

years later he is still making his way through life by banging on those drums.

“Performing hasn’t changed. When I’m on the stage in Nantucket, I am 18 years old again. The people in Scandinavia give me

and Austria while we are there. We just drive around in a van, like an old-school tour.”

Is it tough for him to be on the road at his age, well past the days of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll?

“Was it Dizzy Gillespie who once said he didn’t get paid to play, he got paid to travel? I’ll play for free if I don’t have to go anywhere,” he said.

Corky Laing seems to be having a great time doing what he has always done. “If you love playing music, you will keep playing music. You might not pay for the house or the car with it, but I’ve learned that really isn’t the point,” he said. “I’m lucky because I always made a living.”

Laing performing on stage at the Dreamland.

EVEN KEEL

INTERVIEW BY ANNE-CARTER RIGGS

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIT NOBLE

The Nantucket One Design at 100 Years

To sail competitively is to accept a certain level of discomfort. Damp clothes, cold wind and the strange positions sailors contort into— all of these factors are pillars of the sport. Even in a modern age of sailing, there might not be a more uncomfortable boat than the Nantucket One Design, a small skiff better known as an Indian that is celebrating 100 years on the water this year. Almost exclusively sailed in Nantucket Harbor, the Indian holds more than just sailing in its design— it holds history. “I think the people who do join the Indian fleet are not doing it purely because they love racing or because they love sailing, but they love Nantucket and they want to be a part of something that is associated with the history of the island,” fleet captain Anthony Schweizer said.

The Nantucket One Design, better known as the Indian, celebrates 100 years on the harbor.

The Indian’s hull, with the tall centerboard trunk and low boom, forces its sailors to squeeze through a small gap when tacking. The gunwale pokes out and is directly where the sailors sit, giving sailors dark bruises on their thighs. Despite the discomfort, the sailors of the Indian fleet have been competing weekly every summer since its creation in 1926. The boats bear Wampanoag names: Capaum, Dionis, Madequecham, Nippanoose, Polpis, Quaise and Sachem. Each 21-footlong hull is a distinct color, manned by two to four people, and each boat’s wide main sail is topped with two feathers.

As all old wooden things do, the boats began to fall apart, and by 1986, the fleet had dwindled to two boats, helmed by George Constable and Vladi Kagan. Even with just two boats, the fleet’s competitive nature was still alive and well. “It came down to the last day of the year, to see who got to win the season,” Constable’s son, Bobby, said. “Apparently it was such a big deal that a whole lot of spectators went out just to watch the race because they knew it was these two old legends battling it out.”

“They want to be a part of something that is associated with the history of the island.”

– Anthony Schweizer

The Nantucket One Design fleet heads out of Nantucket Yacht Club for a day of racing.

The tenacity and uniqueness of the fleet, even with its aging boats, caught the eye of the late Alan Newhouse. He took it upon himself to revive the fleet and, with the help of Dan Avoures in Florida, took the wooden hull of one boat, Nippanoose, and made a fiberglass mold. One by one, Alan and his wife, Virginia, would tow the newly built Indians from Tampa to Nantucket. He ensured these boats went to good homes, making people promise to race them and that they would never take them off the island. In the end, approximately 20 boats were personally delivered by him just in time to race in the summer of 1987. His daughter, Nancy Newhouse, has a photo of her father wearing a shirt that says: “There is nothing—absolutely nothing—half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.”

The One Design subsequently made a comeback. On some nights, known fondly as Moonlight Madness, the fleet would sail to the Head of the Harbor at sunset, returning under the light of the moon. One summer, the fog shrouded the harbor, so they anchored in the fog, only able to hear one another. Nancy Newhouse’s son, also named Alan, came to rescue the crew, but “we said no,” Nancy recalled. “I don’t know why we said no. Those were the things that we just

loved to do.” They only returned at six in the morning. The fleet also participates in traditions like the Constable Cup, a three-day regatta that includes a skit as a mandatory aspect of the competition as well as a yearly sail to the beach for a picnic, both of which get non-racers involved in the fleet. By drawing in the sailors’ families, the Indian fleet has become more than just competitors— they are friends.

Whether the sailors grew up on these uncomfortable boats or were invited to race later on—the fleet has prospered because all its members have a fierce love for it. West Riggs, chairman of the Race Committee at the Nantucket Yacht Club, became an Indian sailor at 20 years old because Vladi Kagan needed another crew member. Schweizer began sailing when he was 10 years old, invited by George Constable who was “appalled” that he had never been on one. Both now own their own Nantucket One Designs and have passed down their love for the fleet to their children. “Nothing endures for that long without bringing joy” Schweizer said.

©Brian Sager Photography

Urgent Access at Nantucket Cottage Hospital provides walk-in medical care for non-life-threatening conditions.

Urgent Access is located in the Anderson Building on the hospital campus at 57 Prospect Street. Visit nantuckethospital.org/urgentaccess for hours and more information.

Brittany Packard, Lead LPN, Jayne Culkins, PA-C, and Steven Kohler, MD.

BOOK

SMART

WRITTEN BY MARY HAFT PHOTOGRAPHY OF KIT NOBLE

Exposing Nantucket’s youth to bestselling authors

When Meg Medina greets the crowd of seven- and eight-year-olds packed into the Nantucket High School auditorium, she gets a much louder response to “Buenos días,” than she does when she says, “Good morning.” Medina, an award-winning children’s book author of Cuban descent, writes in both English and Spanish— something that’s become increasingly appealing on the island, where nearly two in five students at Nantucket Public Schools identify as Hispanic or Latino.

“Having representation is vitally important, certainly for the Latino kids who feel seen in these moments. It’s also really important for the kids who are not Latino, who live on the island, with this notion of how inclusive the world really is.” - Meg Medina

“I think encouraging people to read widely, to read stories that feel very familiar to them, and also stories that feel really unfamiliar about places and people and ways of seeing the world that are very different, are important to just open their eyes to the world,” said Medina, a former Library of Congress National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature.

Nantucket has a rich and deeply textured community of people from all over the globe—Eastern Europe, Latin America, Nepal, Jamaica—and all across the United States. Today, the island has one of the most socioeconomically and culturally diverse populations in Massachusetts, a fact most island visitors rarely see or understand. At the public schools, the student body is majority-minority, and it has become increasingly diverse over the last few decades. It’s this complex world that teachers and librarians now grapple with, and are inspired by, to enlarge their students’ worlds beyond the borders of the island.

One of the anchors of their work is the nearly 15year partnership with the Nantucket Book Foundation in creating the Visiting Authors in Schools program, which drew inspiration from the PEN/Faulkner Foundation Writers in Schools program and reaches every child from kindergarten to 12th grade on Nantucket, including the island’s two independent

Author Jason Reynolds speaking at Nantucket High School Auditorium

“When

I show up to their schools and they get to see that I’m a real person, that this isn’t an act. It wasn’t just sort of the manipulation of words on the page.”

– Jason Reynolds

schools. There are lessons learned beyond the classroom. Bringing world-renowned authors who are writing the books that children want to read and who themselves represent a broad range of backgrounds, views and cultures, inspires and empowers children to understand that they have agency over their own lives.

“The Visiting Authors program at NHS has been a game changer for our entire school community,” said NBF board member Jill Surprenant, a librarian and Spanish teacher herself. “I’ve witnessed a culture shift as we consistently host award-winning, intellectually stimulating professional writers to speak to our students. Their inspirational stories and tales of struggle and

persistence not only resonate with our young people, but ultimately plant needed seeds of hope and resilience in their hearts and minds.” Librarian and NBF board member Rebecca Hickman added: “Introducing these amazing and wildly popular authors to island students is a powerful way to ignite a lifelong love of reading, inspire creativity and foster a deeper understanding of diverse perspectives.” These author visits infuse the school community with fresh energy and a sense of renewed purpose, as well as the gift of stories that children carry home to their own families.

Recent visiting authors have included Medina, as well as K.A. Holt, Kwame Alexander, Jacqueline Woodson, Gordon Korman and many others. Two more will visit the island this fall: Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin, the co-authors of The Bletchley Riddle, inspired by the real-life codebreakers during World War II. Sepetys and Sheinkin have long understood the uniquely bonding experience that sharing stories allows. “We’re all in this together: teachers, librarians and students,” Sheinkin said. These threads connect in the exploration of history and story, sparking curiosity and interest. “When we share our stories and stories of the past, we allow others to better understand us,” Sepetys said.

Jason Reynolds, a New York Times bestselling author, has also spoken on the island through the Visiting Authors in Schools program. He said he likes to walk into those talks with an open heart and an open mind.

In 2019, Reynolds—who grew up in Washington, D.C.—told N Magazine he found reading boring as a child and only turned to reading and writing through listening to rap music, which he said “saved [his] life.”

“I just know that young people are craving something honest,” Reynolds said this summer. “They’re craving to be challenged, to step up to the plate or to rise to the level to have complex conversations. I’ll figure out a way to communicate very honestly about the world in which we live, and I would do so from a human space first, before I think about how many years you have been on this Earth.”

Empowering students to take hold of their own lives and futures matters. They don’t have to aspire to be a writer; learning to communicate can further their goals in whatever direction they’re headed. Helping each child build a better version of themselves helps to build a better world. “I say to kids that there were moments that I found growing up that were excruciating —there were also joyous moments, but there were very hard ones, and we get through those,” Medina said. “Because I write for young people, that feels like the urgent message to me now—that they can persevere and hang on.”

Reynolds at Nantucket High School

Authors Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin will participate in the Visiting Authors program this fall.

Introducing Nourish Nantucket

The fact that Hunger exists for 1 out of 5 year-round residents on Nantucket is hard to comprehend. The high cost of housing on Nantucket often impacts the ability to buy food and other necessities.

Nourish Nantucket was created to coordinate the various food agencies on the island into a single source

fundraising and coordination. Having 21% of island residents food insecure is a problem we can solve together with your support.

For further information on how to donate, please go to www.nourishnantucket.org or call us at 508-901-9201 .

Caution to the

WIND Throwing

WRITTEN BY BRIAN BUSHARD

PHOTOGRAPHY OF KIT NOBLE

Is it time the town sues Vineyard Wind?

Gaven Norton was one of the first people to see the little green pieces of styrofoam as they started washing up at Nobadeer Beach. It was the early morning, before Norton typically opens his surf school. Out on the beach and in the water, he saw what looked at first like massive hunks of seaweed, like a red tide approaching the shoreline. “I was one of the first people to see it, just piles and piles of green debris,” Norton said. “I was walking down the beach, throwing the stuff up the beach and realized it was an uphill battle.”

Norton, the owner of ACK Surf School, directed his staff to avoid the shards in the water when he saw perhaps one of the biggest pieces, a 20-foot shard of fiberglass. It wasn’t long after that lifeguards shut down the beach to swimming, which meant Norton would have to close up shop— on one of the busiest weeks of the summer. “I was shut down for three days, but there was a prolonged effect of people seeing the story and they didn’t show up to lessons because they’re hearing it’s extremely dangerous to swim on the south shore,” he said.

It’s been just over a year since Vineyard Wind’s blade failure littered Nantucket’s beaches with thousands of pieces of green styrofoam and fiberglass shards. In some ways, the story has been resolved.

“When confronted about these failures, Vineyard Wind has pointed a finger at everyone but themselves.”

— Select Board member Brooke Mohr

Beaches from Madaket to Sconset have been cleaned for months, and Norton’s surf school is back to operating in full swing. The town has even agreed to a $10.5 million settlement with GE Vernova, a $150 billion company that manufactured the turbine blades, as compensation for the blade failure. (The settlement also absolved Vineyard Wind from responsibility for the blade break.) But even as Nantucket’s South Shore returns to normal, some key questions remain unanswered, and islanders are pressing Vineyard Wind for answers—and asking the town to do more about it.

“Now what’s happened is we’ve settled with GE Vernova for a relative pittance, and the worst part is that it indemnifies Vineyard Wind, who gave us zero and didn’t even talk with us. They got away scot-free, so does anybody really think it was a good deal? It was a crime,” said Amy DiSibio, a board member of ACK for Whales, a Nantucket Group opposed

to Vineyard Wind. “We’ve asked the Select Board a thousand times to join us in a lawsuit and they don’t have to pay, but they don’t listen,” she added. “When there is opposition and the squeaky wheels are squeaky enough, then stuff happens. Can you think of a

squeakier wheel than Nantucket?”

While the Select Board has not sued Vineyard Wind directly, they have increasingly called out the company in public forums. When Vineyard Wind did not sign the $10.5 million settlement, town officials stated they found Vineyard Wind “wanting in terms of its leadership, accountability, transparency, and stewardship in the aftermath of the blade failure and determined that it would not accept Vineyard Wind as a signatory to the settlement.”

Just two weeks after that settlement, the Nantucket Select Board laid into Vineyard Wind even harder during a press conference, sending the company a list of demands, including communication of all emergencies to town officials, regular project updates, and a $10 million escrow fund to cover any potential future cleanup costs.

“When confronted about these failures, Vineyard Wind has pointed a finger at

everyone but themselves,” Select Board member Brooke Mohr said. “They even blame Nantucket and the ocean. That is not leadership. Nantucket provided Vineyard Wind with half a dozen opportunities to adopt protocols for greater accountability, and they have failed to step up.”

Select Board member Dawn Hill did not rule out a potential suit against Vineyard Wind, though other members of the Select Board have not seemed as inclined to take up legal action. The town could also exit the $16 million so-called Good Neighbor Agreement it signed with Vineyard Wind in 2021, which provided mitigation funding for historic, cultural and economic impacts from the wind farm in exchange for public support of the project. One cosignor, the Maria Mitchell Association, dropped out of that agreement last year, while over 2,000 islanders have signed a petition calling on the town to withdraw from the deal, as well. But exiting that agreement seems unlikely. Select Board members argue it’s the town’s primary legal tool if it ultimately chooses to sue.

“When there is opposition and the squeaky wheels are squeaky enough, then stuff happens. Can you think of a squeakier wheel than Nantucket?”

— Amy DiSibio, of ACK for Whales

“The value of the [Good Neighbor Agreement] has been a hotly debated topic in our community,” Mohr said in a statement in July. “At this time, we believe that withdrawal from the [Good Neighbor Agreement] would actually weaken our town’s position in terms of making these assertions and demands to Vineyard Wind today, and keeping the [Good Neighbor

Dawn Hill, Select Board Chair

Agreement] in place for the moment is the most effective legal tool we have, and we believe that walking away from this agreement would prove to be a symbolic gesture only.”

In July, Vineyard Wind, for its part, turned on its ADLS lighting system, which flashes red lights only when airplanes are in the vicinity, and said it would resume “traditional communications and coordination with the town in a manner that supports a productive dialogue.” But even with those assurances, ACK for

Whales is not convinced the Select Board has done enough. “We get no benefit from this, we’re bearing a heavy brunt, and yet the Select Board says we have to support an industry,” DiSibio said. “We don’t support industries that are owned by foreign energy companies. Our job is to take care of what is best for this island.”

impact of this project is still greater than what I anticipated, and if I could go back I would have pushed harder in the beginning to make sure that these were farther away. It’s difficult. Vineyard Wind has been permitted and we are trying to work within the parameters of where we’re at.”

The jury is still out on legal action against Vineyard Wind—or any of the other wind farms with federal lease sites down the Eastern Seaboard. ACK for Whales has taken its challenge of the project all the way to the Supreme Court, though the high court declined to hear the case. Other groups have sued over the federal approval of offshore wind farms, including in Maryland and New Jersey, with mixed success. A 200-turbine wind farm off Cape May, New Jersey, has been halted following legal action and the erasure of a massive investment into the project. Officials in Ocean City, Maryland, have sued the federal agency that approved another wind farm off the Maryland coast.

“If I could go back I would have pushed harder in the beginning to make sure that these were farther away.”

— Select Board member Dawn Hill

Many state and federal officials, meanwhile, have maintained strong support for offshore wind as an alternative energy source to greenhouse gases. According to Vineyard Wind, the 800-megawatt offshore project has the capacity to generate energy for more than 400,000 homes and businesses in the state, reducing carbon emissions by an estimated 1.6 million tons per year— part of a Biden administration goal of creating 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030. With the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant decommissioned, state officials on Beacon Hill are also exploring the possibility of purchasing natural gas or importing hydropower from Canada— though it’s become a potentially volatile option in the ongoing trade war. The status quo has also been expensive—as of April, Massachusetts consumers pay the fourth highest price for electricity in the country (30.65 cents per kilowatt hour), behind only Hawaii, Connecticut and California.

Vineyard Wind did not return a request for comment. Hill—who has lambasted the project over its visual and environmental impacts—said she is still waiting to see if Vineyard Wind will hold up its end of the bargain on multiple other demands from the board, though she’s not optimistic. “If they meet the lists of demands and it’s satisfactory and they stay within the Good Neighbor Agreement, I believe that will satisfy the majority of the board,” Hill said. “But I’m not confident [in Vineyard Wind]. The visual

State Sen. Julian Cyr, who represents Nantucket, has called on Vineyard Wind for greater transparency and accountability after the blade failure, though he cautioned against abandoning offshore wind altogether. In a statement in July, he said he remains a “strong supporter of our transition to renewable energy, and offshore wind is a key part of the commonwealth’s broader strategy to lower energy costs and power our future responsibly. For the coastal communities where I live and represent, that transition is urgent and essential—rising seas are already flooding our downtowns and waterfronts. Yet that transition must occur in sustained partnership with the communities that host renewable energy projects. Nantucket deserves clear answers, better communication, and a seat at the table with this and every offshore project that impacts the island.” As for Nantucket, the answer is still blowing in the wind.

TACKLING A

BOYS’ SPORT

WRITTEN BY DAVID CREED

PHOTOGRAPHY OF KIT NOBLE

Ashley Klatt on the Whalers football team.

As Katie Klatt suits up for the Nantucket High School cheerleading team for another Friday night home football game, her twin sister, Ashley Klatt, is lacing her cleats and throwing on shoulder pads. The twins will be the first to say they’re inseparable. But on Friday night, they couldn’t be more opposite. While Katie cheers from the sidelines, Ashley is staring down her opponent on the gridiron.

Being the only female athlete in a male-dominated sport was not something that came lightly. Not only is she the only girl on the Whalers’ football team—she’s almost always the only girl on either side of the ball every time she steps on the field. That, in and of itself, initially made her nervous, though she said her teammates have been supportive of her every time she takes the field. “Some people were stunned initially that I was playing, and some people said, ‘OK, fine, we’ll just deal with it,’” Ashley Klatt said.

Twin sisters Katie and Ashley Klatt. Katie is a cheerleader, while Ashley plays on the Whalers football team.

Ashley Klatt has always loved the game of football, though until recently, it’s only been as a fan. She grew up watching Dallas Cowboys games on TV with her dad and developed a passion for the game. Then in eighth grade, she happened upon a group of classmates tossing a football by the baseball field. She joined in and caught the attention of Nantucket Whalers assistant football coach Fervon Phillips. He asked Klatt if she would ever play football. “Without even thinking, I just said yes,” she said. “I always think, ‘What if I ever said no?’”

work every day with him after school,” she said. She got stronger, though she still felt “extremely nervous” ahead of her first practice. “I had no idea who anybody was,” she added. “I was so scared and nervous, but I knew people from my grade, which was very helpful. I had my godbrother, Griffin Fox, who was a senior at the time, so he and all of his friends took me in like a little sister, and they were always there for me and made sure no one was being mean to me, even though they really weren’t.”

“Some people were stunned initially that I was playing, and some people said, ‘OK, fine, we’ll just deal with it.’”

– Ashley Klatt

She started out as a linebacker and safety but has played any number of positions, even on the offensive line. She was also put in at quarterback during her sophomore year in the fall of 2023, and even tossed a touchdown in a junior varsity game that fall despite dealing with a shoulder issue. “I have played safety my whole three years, and I could play any position, not saying I’m good at any position, but I could play any position because I’ve been put in practice,” Klatt said.

“I always think, ‘What if I ever said no?’”

– Ashley Klatt

The biggest highlights of Klatt’s football career have so far included winning the Island Cup against Martha’s Vineyard last fall at Fenway Park and receiving her letterman jacket. “I love everything about football,” she said, “but if I could pinpoint one [favorite] thing, it’s probably the night before and the practice before a game—just the preparation and team bonding, the camaraderie.”

Klatt immediately began conditioning with Phillips, then an assistant coach for the Cyrus Peirce Middle School football team. “I would

One of her biggest supporters, of course, is her sister, cheering her on from the sidelines. “She’s one of my biggest supporters,” Ashley said of Katie. “Having her go to cheerleading practice and me going to football practice, it’s like we’re going on our own paths, but we are still together and we’re there to support each other mentally, physically and all of that. We do everything together. She’s my best friend. She’s my other half.”

Klatt has played multiple positions, including a stint at quarterback.

Klatt, a senior at Nantucket High School, suits up for practice.

@centrepointenantucket 22 Centre St, Nantucket, MA 02554

award-winning, waterfront restaurant offering innovative Japanese and Asian inspired cuisine, creative cocktails, a curated beer, sake and wine list plus takeout available

all-day, grab-and-go café featuring a variety of bagels handcrafted in Brooklyn, New York and freshly baked in Nantucket. Located at 44 Straight Wharf directly on the Nantucket waterfront, next to the Hy-Line ferry. bagelbarnantucket.com BAR-YOSHI.COM | VAN-YOSHI.COM Old South Wharf Nantucket, MA 02554 catering and private chef services for private homes, clubs, yachts and aircraft

classy, seaside retreat featuring raw bar, seasonal cocktails and an extensive wine list

YO SHI bar

No detail has been overlooked in the stunning renovation of this historic house, ideally located in the heart of Nantucket Town. With thoughtful design and the highest standards of construction, this property is poised to endure for the next century and beyond. Spanning over 5,000 square feet across three beautifully finished levels, it boasts multiple living areas, six ensuite bedrooms, exquisite custom cabinetry, paneling, and newly built fireplaces throughout. The top floor features a fully contained suite complete with a living room, a bedroom with a full bath, five ship’s bunks, and second full bath. Enjoy easy access to the roof walk, where you can take in panoramic views of Nantucket Harbor and Coatue. Interior design by Nantucket Looms, this remarkable residence is now ready for occupancy, offered fully furnished. Adjacent vacant lot is also available for purchase. $11,995,000

MAH-JONGG MANIA

WRITTEN BY BRIAN

BUSHARD

PHOTOGRAPHY OF KIT NOBLE

How the Chinese game swept Nantucket

Gay Ruddick, Tanya McQueen Forman, Robin Slick, Heather Merrill, Sarah Powers and Kit Murphy playing a game of Mah-jongg.

How a 19th-century Chinese men’s league game became a sensation in Jewish women’s groups in New York City still baffles some of the women who play it. Mah-jongg—a “pick and throw” game of slides and tiles engraved with Chinese characters—has since gotten a foothold among a younger crowd, despite its reputation as an old women’s game. (The Washington Post recently labeled it “grandma’s favorite game.”) On Nantucket, they play around a square table every week, whether it’s in their own home, a friend’s house or an inn or hotel. The game has become so popular on the island, you might even find people playing on an inflatable table on the beach—one of a growing number of game accessories that have become collector’s items.

While it might come as a surprise that mah-jongg became as popular as it has on the island, the women who play it every Monday afternoon over a bottle of wine saw it coming. “At first there was a stigma about it as just an old ladies’ game. How boring is that?” said Robin Slick, one of the leaders of the mah-jongg group on Nantucket. “But it’s taken over in a new way. It’s a social event where we play a game and drink wine.”

Come Monday, they’ll be gathered around a square table with their own tile sets and probably a glass of rosé—just like they did the previous Monday and just like they will do the next Monday. Places

like the Nantucket Hotel and The Summer House are also falling like dominoes to the mahjongg craze. Sometimes, Slick will see impromptu games among people she’s never met, including one game on the sand at Galley Beach.

“A new generation took a dusty old game and made it cool,” said Tanya McQueen Forman, a TV producer who hosts summer mah-jongg games at her house in ’Sconset. While the game itself consists of a complicated set of rules about matching tiles and betting, these weekly mah-jongg gatherings aren’t so much about winning as they are an opportunity to simply meet up with friends.

“A new generation took a dusty old game and made it cool.”

– Tanya McQueen Forman

While mah-jongg has been played on Nantucket for decades, the weekly gatherings took off during COVID, first as online get-togethers in the thick of the pandemic, and later as a regular activity at a rotating group of homes on the island. “It simmered during COVID, and it’s on fire now,” McQueen Forman said. “It’s finding a reason to put down your phone and play together, and sometimes the only commonality is mahjongg. It doesn’t matter where you came from or how old you are. The game is the common thread.”

The game happens in a hurry, a series of blinkand-you’ll-miss-it moves that keep players’ eyes glued to the table—though not too complicated that players can’t gossip while they’re playing. To play,

a group of four assembles around a table, forming matching or consecutive sets of tiles to rack up points, a tile version of gin rummy. In recent years, the game has taken on a life of its own. Meghan Markle talked about it on her lifestyle series, With Love, Meghan. The game also made an appearance in the 2018 romantic comedy Crazy Rich Asians. Even fashion brands like Ralph Lauren and Hermès have designed luxury mah-jongg sets that sell for thousands of dollars. Two other companies now sell Nantucketinspired sets.

“Mah-jongg is sweeping Nantucket.”

– Robin Slick

McQueen Forman grew up watching her mother-in-law play the game but didn’t show any interest in those days. “I didn’t know what it was, couldn’t spell it and

didn’t really care,” she said. Slick was introduced to the game in her mid-30s alongside a group of new moms in the Berkshires. When she moved to Nantucket in 2019, one of her first calls was to Congregation Shirat Hayam to see if they organized mah-jongg games

Heather Merrill, who plays every Monday, only heard about the game when she watched it played on the big screen in Crazy Rich Asians It was a coincidence when Slick asked her to play two years ago. Now she’s at the table every Monday. “I was curious what the game was, and when we moved to the island, I said I would just love to find community again,” Merrill said. “It gives you the excuse to get together. It’s

making something out of nothing in a way, but also an opportunity to have conversations over drinks while you’re playing this game.”

At the end of the day, camaraderie is the name of the game. Usually, nobody is keeping score, and while it is a betting game, the most a player can lose in any one game is $5. Instead, it’s about building a community around people you might not otherwise meet and developing lasting friendships. Slick compares it to the 1978 rom-com Same Time, Next Year, about an affair kept in the shadows, except for one weekend when Alan Alda and Ellen Burstyn rekindle a secret love. Mah-jongg is not an affair and it’s not a secret, she clarified, but it is a means to come back to a group of friends, at the same time, every Monday.

“It gives you the excuse to get together.”

– Heather Merrill

“We’ve become the closest friends,” McQueen Forman said. “Sometimes the only commonality you have is you know how to play mah-jongg or want to learn, and from there friendship stems. I look forward to 3 p.m. on Monday every week. It teases your brain. It’s the communal nature of it—a gathering, a sense of time. Blocking out a time that you look forward to.”

LICENSE TO PRINT MONEY

Nantucket License Plates Raise Over $1 Million

WRITTEN BY KATHERINE JONES

What began as a stalled idea to get an antique car its perfect plate has evolved into one of Nantucket’s most unexpected success stories.

The Nantucket specialty license plate program, launched by the Nantucket Lighthouse School and driven by community collaboration, has now surpassed $1.1 million in distributed funds for local nonprofits, all of which support programs for island children.

“I have a 1951 antique Buick,” said Robert Sarkisian, founder and chairman of the Nantucket License Plate initiative. “Years ago, I saw an application at the Steamship Authority for a Nantucket plate sponsored by the Nantucket Charitable Police Association. I filled it out and wrote a check — but nothing happened.” That program, run by a different sponsor at the time, fizzled out before reaching the state’s minimum 1,500 preorders. “It was a Herculean task to get 1,500 people to buy something that didn’t exist yet,” Sarkisian recalled.

Eventually, Sarkisian brought the idea to the Nantucket Lighthouse School, where he was serving as board chair. While there was some initial hesitation, he recognized that the project’s potential

could extend well beyond a single institution. “The only way this became a success was when we realized it had to be a community plate,” Sarkisian said. “Once the island got on board, the task became a lot easier.” Tucker Holland, a member of the Nantucket License Plate board, agreed. “Robert and I both were convinced that whether you’re a year-round resident or a seasonal

resident, you’re going to feel good having a Nantucket plate on your car and knowing that that’s benefiting the children on the island,” he said.

In February 2015, the group jump-started the effort by submitting 1,500 prepaid applications to the state. License plates numbered 1-100 were auctioned off, raising more than $250,000. Plate number 1 went for $100,000. Today, more than 6,600 Nantucket plates are on the road. A standard plate costs $60. The Nantucket Specialty plate costs $100

to order, the $40 difference—$12 to the state and $28 to supporting island nonprofits—is tax-deductible. The plate’s largest beneficiary, the Nantucket Lighthouse School, receives 49 percent of proceeds. The remainder is split among 17 partner organizations, including A Safe Place, Fairwinds, the Community Foundation for Nantucket and the Nantucket Boys & Girls Club.

The impact from the plates continues to ripple. Sarkisian said he’s seen firsthand how the funds have helped a range of local nonprofits. “For my own church, the money helped support our children’s education and Sunday school program by supplementing the salary of our children and family minister,” Sarkisian said. “We operate on a tight annual budget, and staying sustainable is always a challenge. But those extra funds can mean school books or a new program within the organization.”

Anyone with a Massachusettsregistered vehicle—resident or not— can order a Nantucket plate online or at any full-service RMV location. To order a plate, visit mass.gov/ rmv or stop by the Nantucket RMV. nantucketlicenseplate.org

LAP OF LUXURY

WRITTEN BY KATHERINE JONES IMAGES COURTESY OF WENDY MILLS PHOTOGRAPHY

A look inside Olson Twombly Interior Design’s newest home outside town.

Nestled at the edge of town, this modern Nantucket home blends sleek design with warmth and livability, accommodating a family of five and up to 25 guests. Designed by Olson Twombly Interior Design—a husbandand-husband team of Joe Olson and Clay Twombly—the home features custom furniture, a glass staircase, wine closet, 25-seat outdoor dining table and a private spa-like suite. The design balances luxury and comfort, creating a serene escape that will evolve with the family for years to come.

What was the initial vision for this Nantucket home, and how did Nantucket influence the project?

JOE OLSON: As with any project, we partnered with the client to develop something tailored to their needs and personal taste. One of the first things they told us was that they needed to accommodate 25 guests who visit every Memorial Day weekend. It’s an annual tradition for the families, and they wanted a space where everyone could gather, including a single dining table, which we customized for the outdoor patio. The family is from Connecticut and loves entertaining all summer and during holiday weekends. They wanted a modern, contemporary feel that was still warm and beachy. We responded by creating interiors that feel spacious yet intimate. Each space was designed to nurture specific activities while maintaining a sense of closeness despite the large size of the home.

Olson Twombly designed custom glass stair with treads and flooring by Mac Davis

Mudroom with limestone tile and custom Dutch pocket door

Living Room with vintage Milo Baughman chairs paired with custom Olson Twombly leather ottoman

How did you balance creating a luxurious, elevated home that was still personal and livable for a large family and their guests?

CLAY TWOMBLY: The materials were key. We chose natural, durable options— limestone, leather, stainless steel, natural oak—and used performance fabrics where needed. These choices kept the home feeling warm but easy to maintain, which was important for a house meant to host so many people.

Were there any design challenges, and how did you work through them?

O LSON: The first major challenge was the staircase. The client wanted glass, so we designed an open-tread glass staircase that feels light and airy without taking up too much visual space. We also integrated a wine closet into the staircase. At the base of the stairs, we made the left wall one large glass panel looking directly into the wine closet. You can see through from one side of the room to the other, even through the staircase and wine closet. The second challenge was locating the fireplace and TV wall. We created a limestone-flanked fireplace wall that separates the living room from the foyer. It gives a grand entry while still feeling intimate and welcoming.

View from foyer through living room to dining room; Jerusalem Pearl limestone wrapped fireplace, Gregory Haynes artwork through Quidley & Co gallery on Main Street

Oak-wrapped powder room featuring mother of pearl backsplash (from the Nantucket Tile Room)

Primary Bathroom with Olson Twombly designed vanity fabricated by Yellow Dog Construction

Primary Bathroom with oak surround spa-like freestanding tub

Aside from the 25-seat table, were there other standout spaces that best represent your design approach?

OLSON: We designed much of the furniture—sofas, beds, ottomans—which let us achieve the exact look we wanted while ensuring durability. Another standout is the private suite we created for the homeowners. Initially, there was a primary bedroom upstairs and two bedrooms downstairs. We converted the downstairs into a full primary suite with a bedroom, walk-in closet, office and spa-like bathroom. The bathroom has a standalone tub, separate shower and water closet, wood accents and durable porcelain tile that mimics Calacatta marble. It gave the couple a peaceful retreat even when the house is full of guests.

What role did artwork or curated objects play in shaping the home’s visual narrative?

TWOMBLY: It was a mix of client input and our selections. The client loves photography that represents the area, so we included works by Susan Lee, a local photographer, with abstract Nantucket scenes. We also introduced her to artists T.S. Harris and Greg Haynes. Haynes’ large, photorealistic paintings— like the mason jars—became bold focal points. Because we kept colors and materials neutral, the art brings a strong visual impact to the home.

Was this project typical of your work?

TWOMBLY: This project reflects many of our client relationships. People come to us wanting to create something special— personal, durable and ideal

for entertaining. There’s a playfulness in beach homes that we don’t always see in primary residences. It lets us add depth and personality while tailoring everything to the client’s lifestyle.

Looking back, what’s the main takeaway you hope visitors experience when stepping into this home?

OLSON: Our approach is warm and approachable. We want people to feel at peace and like they’ve truly escaped. We also aim to set ourselves apart from traditional Nantucket design, leaning toward a modern, light aesthetic. This house, in particular, was designed to grow with the family. As their children return with their own families, it will continue evolving to reflect who they are.

Olson Twombly custom designed bed and custom rug, Lindsey Adelman pendant

Managed by

DUNES DUSK

PHOTOGRAPHER: BRIAN SAGER

EDITORIAL STYLIST: PETRA HOFFMANN HAIR STYLING: JOHN STANIELON OF DARYA SALON + SPA

MAKEUP STYLING: JURGITA BUDAITE OF ISLAND GLOW

INC. MODELS: BRYNN BEAUDOIN AND EMMA SULLIVAN

LEFT

SWEATER: SOUTHERN TIDE

SHIRT: SARA CAMPBELL

SKIRT: CARTOLINA X CENTRE POINTE

JEWELRY: THE VAULT

RIGHT

SHIRT & PANTS: CARTOLINA X CENTRE POINTE

JEWELRY: KATHERINE GROVER

SWIMSUIT & SHIRT: MURRAY’S TOGGERY SHOP

JEWELRY:

SWIMSUIT: MURRAY’S TOGGERY SHOP

SWEATER: SARA CAMPBELL

HAT: MARISSA COLLECTIONS

JEWELRY: KATHERINE GROVER

LEFT

KATHERINE GROVER

HAT: SARA CAMPBELL

RIGHT

SWIMSUIT, HAT & BRACELET: MURRAY’S TOGGERY SHOP

EARRINGS & RING: THE VAULT

LEFT

DRESS & BAG: MARISSA COLLECTIONS

SUNGLASSES: SARA CAMPBELL JEWELRY: KATHERINE GROVER

RIGHT

DRESS:REMY

BAG: SARA CAMPBELLL

EARRINGS: HEIDI WEDDENDORF BRACELETS: MURRAY’S TOGGERY SHOP

DRESS: DOEN

JEWELRY: THE VAULT

DRESS: DOEN

JEWELRY: THE VAULT

LEFT DRESS: DOEN

JEWELRY: SUSAN LISTER LOCKE

RIGHT DRESS: DOEN

JEWELRY: THE VAULT

LEFT

SHIRT: REMY

SKIRT: MARISSA COLLECTIONS

JEWELRY: HEIDI WEDDENDORF

RIGHT HAT AND SHIRT: MARISSA COLLECTIONS

PANTS: CARTOLINA X CENTRE POINTE

JEWELRY: SUSAN LISTER LOCKE

SHIRT, PANTS &

BELT: REMY JEWELRY: KATHERINE GROVER

DRESS: MARISSA COLLECTIONS

JEWELRY: SUSAN LISTER LOCKE

DRESS: REMY

SWEATER: SARA CAMPBELL

JEWELRY: HEIDI WEDDENDORF

ON THE

WATERFRONT

Dockside Through the Decades

OF THE NANTUCKET HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION'S ARCHIVES

Dinghies, dories and catboats, 1900s

Early view of the waterfront from Easton Street, 1870s.

Waters Edge Studio

Commercial Wharf, 1930s.

A 1932 colored print of Edgar W. Jenney’s A Visit to the Wharf, showing figures and ships along Steamboat Wharf with the town rising in the background.

A large thresher shark lies near the railroad tracks on Steamboat Wharf in the 1890s.

Louise Conway staffs the Visitor Services information booth on Steamboat Wharf during Nantucket’s Christmas Stroll weekend, December 1991.

A man with his dog aboard a catboat at Steamboat Wharf, 1890s.

Captain Alden Hammond Adams sits outside reading at Adams boathouse on Steamboat Wharf, 1880s.

Leeds Mitchell Jr., Austin Strong, and Commander John Walling sit on the bulkhead of Old North Wharf in August 1944

Frozen Nantucket Harbor in 1934

Crowds gather at the New Bedford, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket Steamboat Company baggage shed on Steamboat Wharf, 1900s, as summer visitors search through trunks.

Sketch of Steamboat Wharf, by George G. Fish, 1852

The arrival of a railroad car, 1910.

A crowd gathers on Steamboat Wharf in 1906 as a steamer departs.

A quahog dragger docks at Steamboat Wharf around 1915 with a full load of clams.

RACE FOR OPEN SPACE

The Nantucket Conservation Foundation’s annual Race for Open Space brought hundreds of island runners and walkers to the heart of the Middle Moors, as they raced in a 10K, 5K and two-mile walk around the Conservation Foundation’s Milestone Cranberry Bog. Proceeds from the race support the maintenance of the Conservation Foundation’s 9,000-plus acres of open space around the island.

DREAMBIG

The Nantucket Dreamland held its annual gala, DreamBIG, at the Siasconset Casino in late July, hosted by the trio of Ken Mehlman, Kate Brosnan and Rob Cocuzzo.

In addition to a silent auction, the Dreamland honored Laurie Richards as this year’s Mr. Rogers Good Neighbor Award winner, and named Charley Walters a DreamBIG Honoree during the gala, which benefits the nonprofit theater and its year-round programming.

AAN GALA

The Artists Association of Nantucket’s annual summer gala was a who’s who of some of the island’s finest artists, collectors, donors and arts enthusiasts, with island artists auctioning photographs and paintings, landscapes and seascapes under the tent at the Great Harbor Yacht Club.

NANTUCKET BY DESIGN

The Nantucket Historical Association’s annual Nantucket by Design featured panels, master classes, lunches and a keynote speech by none other than design legend Martha Stewart, America’s first self-made woman billionaire. Nantucket by Design, an annual celebration of art, design and Nantucket history, took place this year at the tent at Bartlett’s Farm.

featured wedding

Bride: Alex Bukovac • Groom: Austin Torres • Venue: The Wauwinet • Wedding Planner: Handy & Dallaire

Photographer: Zofia & Co. • Rentals & Bars: The Event Rental Co. • Caterer: Toppers at the Wauwinet

Florist: Flowers on Chestnut • Paper Suite: Wouldn’t it be Lovely • Officiant: Tim Dolan • Tent: Nantucket Tents

Bridal Makeup/ Hair: Darya • Bride’s Dress: Oscar de la Renta • Groom’s Tuxedo: Daniel George • Band: Wilson Stevens

EVERY ROOM TELLS A STORY

76 Main Ink Press Hotel provides a fascinating glimpse into Nantucket’s media past within a totally redesigned seacoast environment.

With its subtle blue hues and textured sur faces, 76 Main is more than simply a luxury hotel—it ’ s one that showcases the fascinating past of this historic island through a media lens over the centuries.

Come experience a one-of-a-kind adventure while being pampered with luxury linens, crafted continental breakfasts, and a calming outdoor lounge. Luxuriate today while savoring the richness of Nantucket’s past.

Nantucket’s Leading News Source & Beyond

More people rely on the Current for their news than any publication on the island. Our work has also been cited by some of the most respected media outlets in the country and beyond.

Nantucket Current provides instant news to your phone or email inbox. The news doesn’t wait to break every Thursday, so why should you? Discover why thousands of Nantucketers now view the Current as their single source of news.

21 Broad, The Swain House

76 Main, Ink Press Hotel

Atlantic East - Penny Dey

Bar Yoshi

Cape Cod 5

Carolyn Thayer Interiors

Cartolina / Centre Pointe

Classic Sofa

CMC Construction

Compass - Marybeth Gilmartin-Baugher

Darya

Douglas Elliman - Samantha Curry

Fisher Real Estate

Gail Roberts, Ed Feijo & Team

Great Point Properties

Harborview Nantucket

Heidi Weddendorf

Horne & Associates

Island Glow Nantucket

J Pepper Frazier Real Estate

Jobe Systems

Katherine Grover Fine Jewelry

Kathleen Hay Designs

Land Rover

LandVest - Meg Kauffman, Sara Maher

Lee Real Estate

Marine Home Center

Maury People - Bernadette Meyer

Maury People - Chandra Miller

Maury People - Gary Winn

Maury People - John McGarr

Maury People - Lisa Winn, Eliot Lees

Meg Lonergan Interiors

Murray's Toggery Shop

Nantucket Cottage Hospital

Nantucket Current

Nantucket Golf Club Foundation

Nantucket Historical Association

Nantucket Inn

Nathan Coe

Nourish Nantucket

Olson Twombly Interior Design

Payne Bouchier Fine Builders

REMY

Sandpiper Place II

Seaman Schepps

South Flagler House

Susan Lister Locke

Tomaiolo Development

William Raveis Nantucket

Windsor

Over the past 20+ years, N Magazine has established itself as Nantucket’s leading luxury lifestyle publication and the most powerful advertising vehicle on the island. Renowned for its compelling content, stunning photography and premium production, each issue is hotly anticipated and becomes a permanent collectible in homes around Nantucket and beyond. Accordingly, N Magazine provides businesses with residual exposure unlike any magazine or newspaper of its kind.

To lear n more about the many advertising opportunities available with N Magazine, contact Emme Duncan, Director of Advertising and Partnerships, at emmeduncan@n-magazine.com