Martha’s Vineyard reveled in the last moments of a busy summer Monday, closing out Labor Day weekend with ongoing labor shortages, farewells and a not-so-secret excitement for the off-season.
Although official data was unavailable as of Monday, Steamship Authority spokesman Sean Driscoll said on Friday that online data showed ferries headed for the mainland were booked solid from Sunday through next week, expanding the traditional Labor Day exodus.
He added that ferries coming to the Vineyard saw heavy bookings through Saturday evening, before tapering off as traffic switched directions.
“Headed off, we’re pretty full all of next week,” Mr. Driscoll said. “It’s again a shift of the dynamic of how long people stay on the weekends . . . the traditional holiday weekend is upended a little bit this year because of people being able to work remotely.”
In stark contrast to cold and wet Memorial Day and Fourth of July weekends, Labor Day opened with sparkling late-summer weather, as boaters jammed harbors across the Island on sun-soaked days Friday and Saturday.
Tisbury harbor master John Crocker said boats were rafted three-deep at Owen Park pier Saturday, with all moorings in the harbor sold out and Lake Tashmoo filled, capping a strong season.
“Saturday we were very busy,” Mr. Crocker said. “We had a really good summer. We sold most moorings, most nights.”
Mr. Driscoll said on Friday that the ongoing pandemic had created something of a paradigm shift for Vineyard travel, making fluctuations during the normal seasonal bookends less predictable.
Vacations and travel that once happened on weekends are stretching into the week. Summer trips are stretching into the shoulder season.
“The whole pattern changed last year, and we’re still feeling the effects of that this year,” Mr. Driscoll said. “We’ve seen it on all of these holiday weekends.”
At the Vineyard Haven SSA terminal on Monday, the weather was drizzly after overnight rain, but by afternoon the sun was out again and vacationers could be found savoring their last moments at beaches around the Island.
Maby Carter, who works at the Menemsha Blues tee shirt and souvenir shop across from the ferry, said boats had been busy all weekend. The store is often the last shop open in Vineyard Haven, offering travelers on the 9:30 p.m. ferry a last Vineyard memory before heading to the mainland.
“We had a booming summer,” Ms. Carter said. “This weekend was pretty good too.”
Just outside, Leslie Neblett was saying goodbye to her family and friends, all of whom were traveling off-Island after a week-long Vineyard vacation. Ms. Neblett came to the Island for the first time in approximately 10 years this season, spending the weekend hanging out and at the beach. She planned to make a last stop at Mytoi Gardens on Chappaquiddick before catching her own ferry later Monday.
“It was wonderful,” she said of her time. “Definitely more people here than there have been.”
As the noon Island Home ferry left its berth, year-round residents Lynn and Carlos Orlando bid farewell to their son and his fiance, who were departing after a weekend visit. The couple said they had a busy summer as well, hosting a range of eager houseguests and visitors who couldn’t come last year.
“There was a sense of normalcy, even though it didn’t turn out as normal as we thought it was going to be,” Mr. Orlando said.
With the ferry out of sight, the sun started to peek through clouds, shining down on a now-empty terminal parking lot, a warm September breeze in the air.
“It’s starting to quiet down. We enjoy it while it’s busy. But we like it a little less trafficky, too,” Mr. Orlando said. “It feels like it’s already started — the shoulder season.”
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