Recent Penikese Goings On

July 2008 has been an absolute blur. Everyone is trying to take advantage of summer by cramming in a week or a few days off wherever they can, meanwhile the school is going full tilt as always. On shore we are in frantic preparations for our 35th anniversary gala event to be held August 23 (click on the Events tab of the site’s home page to find out more). The 2007 annual report will go to print this week about 10 weeks behind schedule due to the all-consuming web site project; titled "Graduation," it will be a short and sweet affair given all else that’s going on.

Like a mother expecting a new child, our estimable boat captain, Bill Rogers is making ready for the arrival of our new vessel, M/V Richard S. Edwards sometime in the next two weeks. The new vessel is named for long time Penikese friend and supporter Dick Edwards who died in late 2007. Dick was especially instrumental in helping Penikese founder George Cadwalader get the school off the ground, and over the years keep it off the ground. We expect the Edwards to arrive in time for her dedication at our August event.

Excited as we are about the new boat’s arrival, we are also coming to the sad realization that the days of the classy, hardworking and ever-dependable Harold M. Hill are ending soon. When the Edwards arrives we will put the Hill out on a mooring in Great Harbor (not quite like being put out to pasture, but close) while we wait to determine her fate. It is likely we will continue to use the Hill to help run supplies and crew back and forth for our island building projects, and then sell her.

The end of July on Penikese usually means that most of the ground nesting birds have fledged off their chicks and flown on to the next destination in their life cycle. This means, too, that the MassWildlife ornithologists, the bird girls, have packed up their tent and moved on, too, a sad day in its own right. Good-bye and good luck, Jennie and Wendy.

On the up side, now that the birds have moved on, we too can move on with our projects, the biggie being the new Boat House project. The first step will be to re-pointing the existing stone foundation from inside the basement, then relocating the Clivus Multrim to its new location attached to the Main House. Once that is done, we will tear down the old Boat Shop, excavate around the foundation and finish properly its re-pointing, then back fill and grade the earth around the foundation. Then we will begin to frame to new building with the goal of having the structure closed to weather by the end of October.

Back soon.