By Bruce Percelay

There are few places that have better preserved both the look and values of an original New England town than Nantucket. Our home is not simply a replica of the past, but is the product of people who care so much about the future that they have kept much of the past alive.

For this reason, we chose to recreate Norman Rockwell’s iconic “Runaway” at the lunch counter at the Nantucket Pharmacy on Main Street. The look and feel of the pharmacy is so similar to the Rockwell illustration that it is almost uncanny. Our three models, young Jack McGowan, officer Chris Carnevale and soda jerk Phillip Stambaugh, look as if they could have walked right out of the Saturday Evening Post cover that first featured the picture exactly 51 years ago from the day our photographer Zofia Waig took the picture.

The shot generated a great deal of interest at the pharmacy and had townspeople like Victoria Keltz and Tanisha Francis volunteering to give us a hand with props, and pharmacy counter regular Bill Congdon looking on in the way you would have imagined life was a half-century ago.

In this issue of N, we feature a broad spectrum of articles, ranging from a story on ninety-four-year-old Albert Ottison and his fantastic wind-driven whirligigs written and shot by Terry Pommett to a story featuring a spectacular electrically-driven sports car called the Tesla. We take you inside one of the most traditional and down-to-earth clubs on the island, the Anglers’ Club, then fly you over the island with Nathan Coe’s spectacular Above Nantucket photo essay.

This issue also features an extreme makeover of fisherman Jim Mondani, who was brave enough to let our team turn him from weathered man of the sea into a manicured man-about-town. Speaking of fashion, we take you to Paris and Milan, where Gypsy owner Paola Gonfrade attended the annual fashion week and prepared a diary of her experiences.

Food has always been a hot topic on Nantucket, and in this issue we show you the winners of the Nantucket Junior Chef competition sponsored by N Magazine, as well as an article on Jodi Levesque, who produces some of the most realistic and artful cakes we have ever seen. You will hardly believe that Jeff Allen’s photographs are really of food and not the objects they are intended to replicate.

The exciting look of this issue is due to the efforts of Nathan Coe, our creative director and his team of contributors. His extraordinary design sense and creative vision make this issue a fresh visual experience. As our magazine completes its seventh year, we continue to strive to improve our product and we are confident that our new team will continue to offer you new and refreshing perspectives on island life.

We wish all of you a wonderful holiday season and look forward to sharing many new and innovative features with you when we start publishing again in the spring.

Bruce Percelay
Chairman & Publisher

By Andrew Spencer

Hopping through Europe

While some of us choose to hole up on Nantucket and ride out the winter in our own ways, there are those among us, too, who seek out adventure in places both near and far. Some head for spiritual growth and others head for cultural experiences, but one thing they all have in common is that they’re all heading out on some pretty exciting trips. In case you’re one of those stalwart souls who plans on keeping your feet firmly planted on Nantucket’s shores, perhaps living vicariously will satisfy any wanderer’s lust that might be lingering.

David and Eliza Silva, owners of The Galley restaurant, are heading east. The Silvas are taking their son Kaede and Eliza’s father John to Europe for a cross-continental jaunt that is part family tradition, part family indulgence. They’re beginning their journey in Amsterdam, where the family traditionally spends their Thanksgiving holiday.

This year, David’s mother Jane and his stepfather Ivan are meeting up with the family for the turkey day festivities. But it’s not all eating and sleeping for this gang. David and his mother will be working diligently on a much-anticipated Silva family cookbook, which will, according to the authors, include secret family recipes and loads of great wine tips.

From Amsterdam, the Silvas are off to Oostende, Belgium, where Jane owns an apartment. She bought the flat from her friend Lucien Van Vive, who ran the legendary Opera House in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. From Belgium, it’s just a train ride to Paris, a city near and dear to the Silvas. The trip comes full-circle when the group heads back to Amsterdam for the traditional celebration of the observation day of Sinterklaas, the patron saint of children, whom we know locally as a red-faced gentleman of a rather portly girth who arrives on an old Coast Guard vessel down at Straight Wharf.

Volunteering for Waves of Hope

Not everyone who is travelling off-island this winter is going on the traditional family vacation, however. Sara Bradshaw, who spends her summers working at Cisco Brewers (She’s the one on the middle of the photo at right), is heading south this winter, but not in the snowbird sense.

She’s volunteering with Waves of Hope, a non-profit group dedicated to community development in northern Nicaragua. The organization partners with El Coco Loco Cabanas, an eco-hostel based in El Manzano Uno, El Viejo, Chinandega, Nicaragua. The group aims to improve the lives of residents by showing them the value of tourism as an income-generating source of revenue and by encouraging local projects to help sustain the economy. The hostel itself is slated for opening in January of 2010, so Sara plans to be part of the foundation for what promises to be a major community effort.

Finding inner peace

“Everyone needs to carve out time from their lives to discover inner truths that allow personal growth,” said Jessica Jenkins, local massage therapist and budding yoga instructor.

In an effort to realize her goal of becoming a certified yoga instructor, Jessica is heading to Nosara, Costa Rica, where she will study yoga with Don and Amba Stapleton at the Nosara Yoga Institute; during her time there, she’ll go through a two-hundred hour teacher-training course. It’s not all homework and books and teachers’ dirty looks, though, as weekends at the Institute are free, and Jessica plans to take advantage of Costa Rica’s natural beauty during those breaks. “A top priority for the weekends is re-learning how to surf,” she said. Upon her return to Nantucket, Jessica plans to offer yoga classes at the Preservation Institute, which she hopes to offer to all ability levels and all income ranges.

By Andrew Spencer

As the mercury drops and the days get shorter, the time for curling up with good books is upon us. After all, winter on Nantucket is all about togetherness, and there’s nothing to compare to being able to mention the titles of a few good books you’ve just finished. But what to read?

The New York Times bestseller list just seems so commonplace, and commonplace is the bane of the book-title-dropper’s existence. So we mined the archive of a few local vaults of knowledge to find out what titles were really hot this winter.

Ellie Coffin, Head of Circulation and Technical Services at the Nantucket Atheneum, suggested The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood and The Frozen Thames by Helen Humphreys. The Year of the Flood is something of a sequel to Atwood’s 2003 novel Oryx and Crake, and traces the lives of two survivors of a world-wide natural cataclysm as they trudge their way through their new existence.The New Yorker said that the book was both “complex” and “appealing.”

The Frozen Thames is a collection of historic vignettes that tell the stories of each of the forty times the River Thames has frozen in recorded history. Written in beautifully poetic prose, The Frozen Thames features ice itself as a character that is the common thread in the individual lives affected by the river’s freezing.

Richard Burns and Cristina Macchiavelli of Nantucket Bookworks offered up their own trio of titles: Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger, Exiles in the Garden by Ward Just and Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann.

Her Fearful Symmetry is another brilliant work by the author of The Time Traveler’s Wife. It is a mesmerizing work of gorgeous prose that critics have called “a haunting tale” that creates “a taut mystery” to engross readers. Cultures collide in Exiles in the Garden, which tells the story of a Washington political family and the son who refuses to follow in his father’s senatorial footsteps. The late Frank McCourt said recently of Let the Great World Spin, “Trust me, this is the sort of book that you will take off your shelf over and over again as the years go along.” The story hinges on Philippe Petit’s illegal high-wire traverse between the Twin Towers in lower Manhattan on August 7,1974.

The cast of characters who eventually come together following the event serve as the characters who, while all living through their own divergent stories, combine together to create a story of today’s times.

For the more business-minded amongst us, Andrew Spencer serves up a dish of corporate scandal in Tower of Thieves: Inside AIG’s Culture of Corporate Greed. Telling the story of former Tom Nevers President John Falcetta, Spencer sheds light on several illegal dealings going on behind the storied walls at the AIG Tower in New York City.

By Carlson Smith
Photography by Nathan Coe

When you think green and automobiles, you may think boring. But that notion is changing fast, and in some cases extremely fast.

Of course, any car dealer will tell you what you want to hear, and that includes the fact that their cars – no matter how green they may be – are fun to drive. But we weren’t willing to take them on faith alone. We wanted to experience these mechanical marvels first-hand to see what they were really like on Nantucket’s roads. We discovered – and a very pleasant discovery it was – that each of these cars, though approaching the solution to fuel efficiency in different ways – were all a lot of fun to both look at and drive.

THE TESLA

Aptly named after Nicolai Tesla, one of the most brilliant inventors of the 19th Century, this car does not simply elevate your pulse. It is more like a defibrillator. Promoted during the Nantucket Comedy Festival this past August, the Tesla is a new breed of electric car that goes a G-force-inducing zero-to-sixty in 3.8 seconds.

The sound associated with the acceleration is the high-pitched whir of the
Batmobile, adding to the heart thumping experience of being behind the wheel
of this vehicle.
The acceleration of the Tesla is even more remarkable, given that it comes from an automatic transmission and only one moving part to the engine. The key to the speed of the car is the incredible torque available on electric motors and the liberal use of carbon fiber materials that keep this car a trim 2,900 pounds.

The Tesla shares a striking resemblance to the Lotus Elise, and actually uses some of the Elise’s body panels and racing lines. The interior is compact but comfortable, unless you happen to be over six-three, at which point it gets a little snug.

The range of the Tesla is 270 miles per charge, which simply means that the driver has to plug the car into a conventional socket when the battery runs low. The cost per mile, when factoring in the cost of your own electricity, is approximately 1.7 cents, versus a conventional gas-powered car that costs about 2.8 cents per mile

The price of the Tesla Roadster is $104,000, and a new sedan is being introduced in 2011 that starts at $49,000, which includes a $7500 US federal incentive. While the price of the Roadster is not as economical as its mileage, for a truly breathtaking driving experience that is indeed green, the Tesla is a truly remarkable car.

THE SMART CAR

First introduced in Europe in 1994 and manufactured by Daimler AG, the Smart Car has come to American shores courtesy of Nantucket summer resident and automotive icon Roger Penske. Mr. Penske controls the U.S. distribution of the brand, and sells Smart Cars through a national dealer network.

Weighing just 1100 pounds and measuring a diminutive six feet by four feet, the Smart Car is certainly the cutest vehicle on the road. One early marketing hook for the tiny cars was that they could be parked perpendicular to the curb. And while they physically are capable of fitting that way – the overall length of the car is roughly the same as the width of a standard car – would-be parking trend-setters have been warned that they may be subject to parking tickets for illegal parking.

Speaking of space-saving, what is most deceptive about the car is the interior roominess that can easily accommodate a six-foot tall man. Also surprising is that the Smart Car performs well on crash tests, according to federal government crash ratings.

This micro-sized vehicle offers more in the way of eco-friendliness: Because the car weighs so little, at the end of its useful life, it leaves behind less waste to clog up landfills. Another part of the car’s efficiency is its price tag, which starts at $11,990.

While the ground clearance of the Smart Car is just six inches – making it less-than-ideal on some sandy back roads – it is remarkably convenient to park in town, and simply a ball to drive on hard roads. With Roger Penske behind the wheel of the company, you can be sure of a steady stream of improvements and refinements to this highly intelligent vehicle.

FORD TRANSIT CONNECT

When Americans hear the name Ford, they naturally think of domestic cars. But this cutie screams European.

At six-feet-eight-inches tall, this compact and fuel efficient van is as cool as it is
clever. With 143 cubic feet of cargo space, this vehicle is ideal for carpenters, caterers or any other professional who needs a larger vehicle to transport their wares. It is also perfect for holding surfboards, bicycles and sports gear of any sort, and has customization written all over it.

With a 2.0 liter 136 horsepower gas engine and a four-speed automatic transmission, the Connect delivers 19 mpg in the city and 24 mpg on the highway. The van can hold up to 1600 pounds and is extremely comfortable to drive. Its road handling capabilities are surprisingly good and its seats are exceptionally comfortable.

The van is available as a panel truck or with side windows, which considerably aid the driver’s visual capabilities. It comes with a variety of options and is manufactured at Ford’s factory in Kocaeli, Turkey.

The Transit Connect starts at $21,475, and is available at Don Allen Ford. Even though it was designed as a commercial van, this vehicle could easily be one of the coolest cars on Nantucket next season.

Written and photographed by Nathan Coe

Nantucket is a work of art, a painting born in the 11th Century when it first emerged from the ocean. Each year she adds another wash, and new shapes, textures and tones arise. The seasons are the brushstrokes on her infinite canvas.

We all know of the striking beauty of this island, but our perception can be very one-dimensional. Sure, we fly in from time to time and get a glimpse of her lines and curves from overhead, but do we ever really take notice and look deeper at what she holds? Step away a little – or rather fly away – and we see her in a completely different light.

At 12,500 feet, Nantucket gives an impression of a watercolor: soft, subdued and pastel. As you descend for a closer look, you begin to notice the most spectacular details and textures of this beautiful masterpiece: the perfect rhythmical curves of Coatue and the splash of Impressionistic style over the marshlands. The vigor of the Atlantic juxtaposed with the calm of the harbor, the dueling bodies of water separated by only a few yards of sand.

Descending to 2000 feet, finer details emerge: Nantucket embraces a couple walking at Great Point, a kite boarder rides the stiff breeze, a man enjoys a solitary and silent walk on the moors, the harbor buzzes with activity. All are individual works of art, yet all are self-contained in this one glorious study.

Perhaps the most magical thing about viewing Nantucket from the air is that the viewer is afforded the opportunity to see the transition from land to ocean. There’s no line defining wet and dry, but instead another world linking the two elements together. The mountainous depths just beyond the shores come alive and appear magnificent in scale, shape and color, like the dunes of the Sahara Desert, just below our stirring waters.

Above Nantucket, there is no traffic, no crowds, no distractions. The Island appears ever romantic and peaceful; it is truly a wonderful feeling to experience, and one you really should witness for yourself. You appreciate the beauty of the island all over again, just as you did when you firstdiscovered her, yet from a completely different perspective. It is as if this is how the island wants to be viewed, soaring above. She’s an artist, and she has been drawing this spectacular piece her whole life.

For more information on George Riethof and taking a flight, please go to www.overnantucket.com, or contact him by phone at 508-325-8655. For information on prints, please email Nathancoe@mac.com.

Written and photographed by Nathan Coe

There’s something about commercial fishing and fashion that don’t quite mix. In fact, one would be hard-pressed to find a profession in which perfect grooming and a manicured look were more out of place.

But just because you fish for a living does not mean you don’t want to look great on shore. Sometimes it just takes a little bait to lure a rugged man of the sea into a beauty salon to bring out his full potential.

Blu owner Kim Pizzitola convinced Jim Mondani from the fishing boat Absolute to submit to an extreme makeover in order to prove that macho men and manicures are not mutually exclusive. A beauty parlor was not exactly Jim’s natural habitat, nor was he especially looking forward to having his salty sea-mates see him looking buffed and polished. But that was all about to change.

The head-to-toe transformation started with a hand massage from Janeen at Janeen’s Salon on North Beach Street, which turned his leathery skin buttery smooth. Janeen then began transforming Jim’s weather-worn nails into polished perfection, and gave him a pedicure worthy of a professional foot model. Our boy Jim, who first asked whether heterosexuals ever did this kind of thing, walked out the door wondering why he had waited so long.

With newly rejuvenated hands, feet and possibly attitude, we set Jim on his next course for Joe’s Barbers for a close shave that took off three days’ worth of growth. With an old-fashioned razor and the skill of a surgeon, Wilbart turned Jim’s face baby-smooth without as much as a nick.

From Joe’s, we then whisked our increasingly attractive angler off to the elegant White Elephant Spa. Jim informed us–not surprisingly–that he had never availed himself of the services of this island oasis, let alone the “Gift From the Sea,” one of the spa’s signature service facials. A purifying treatment customized for all skin types, this particular facial blends the healing properties of the sea with the rejuvenating properties of pineapple. Jim quickly grew to enjoy his royal treatment, and looked surprisingly at home with a face covered in pineapple and cotton covering his eyes. The soft music and the gentle hands of Monika transformed Jim into a new man.

Glowing from his pineapple-based facial, Jim headed off to RJ Miller Salon, where owner Paul Bufalino greeted him with a cappuccino worthy of the best Italian bar’s stamp of approval. Paul carefully assessed Jim’s wind-damaged mane and created a more managed and urban sophisticated look to his coif. After washing, trimming, texturizing and conditioning, Jim’s hair was transformed from out-of-control to out-of-this-world.

But if clothing makes the man, Jim still needed a final touch. To complete the metamorphosis from fisherman to fashionisto, we brought Jim to Marina Clothing on Old South Wharf. His outfit first started with Agave Denimsmith jeans as a staple to his new wardrobe. We then accented his pants with a Tailorburd striped shirt, which went perfectly with his Martin Gordon navy jacket. A Ted Baker of London tie pulled it all together, with help from a smart Bill Lavin leather belt. To add an air of professionalism – and for use in Jim’s second life as a Boston attorney – we fitted him with a Jack Georges briefcase from Craftmasters of Nantucket on India Street.

But a man cannot survive on one outfit alone, so a trip to Haberdashery on Main Street was in order. We started with Luciano Barbera country prep corduroy trousers paired with a relaxed Della Ciano cashmere sweater. A Begg of Scotland lambswool scarf and a quick trip to Murray’s Toggery Shop for a pair of Cape Cod Collection loafers sealed the look. With a Luciano Barbera jacket thrown over his shoulder, Jim was now ready for action. With his new look and a swagger in his step, Jim can now reel in just about any mermaid he chooses, and he is now definitely a keeper.

Written and Photographed by Terry Pommett

Just off the Milestone Rotary on the Orange Street perimeter of the Creeks sits the eight-and-a-half acre Ottison compound, home to a small shack called “The Sea Chest.”

Nestled amongst great stacks of scrap metal, salvaged wood, nautical flotsam and lush vegetation, it is the workshop where ninety-four-year-old Albert Ottison creates his trademark woodcarvings and whirligigs. A nonagenarian and Nantucket’s second oldest man (by two months), Albert is hardly a self-promoter. Not one to talk about his accomplishments, he seems to be slightly amused when asked how sales are going.

“I used to make sea chests. Couldn’t sell them. No one wants them. I guess sea chests are not in style,” he said. What he fails to mention is that the “sea chests” he so casually refers to are beautifully hand-made from reclaimed pine or cedar, with dovetailed joints and hand-woven rope beckets (handles). They are not inexpensive, and Ottison is uncompromising on price: “We’re out of town and I don’t advertise. I guess I don’t give a damn. I don’t need the money.”

“I’ve been whittling on wood forever,” he continued. “I sell a few  items each year. I used to work for a builder, Mike Lamb, at the White Elephant Hotel. Making whirligigs is something to do, I guess. I don’t really make much any more.” Upon hearing that comment, Albert’s son, Karl, chuckled from outside the Sea Chest: “You just spent the whole winter filling the shop with whirligigs,” he reminded his father. Karl and his wife Sue are both master basket makers and live and work in an adjacent house on the compound.

One of Nantucket’s last remaining “finest kind,” Ottison is a holdout of a vanishing island way of living. Thrifty almost to the point of hoarding, self-sufficient and frugally opportunistic, he has not sought adventure or riches. He simply enjoys his work and life, thriving on simplicity. His taciturn style of storytelling suits his bare-bones view of the world. “I was born here and never wanted to go anywhere else,” he said. “Been to Hawaii probably thirty years ago, and around Florida a bit. My wife didn’t like the flight. I didn’t mind. The natives out there kind of resent you, but they’ll take your money. Hell, I can’t blame them.”

Ottison’s style of folk art is pure historical whimsy. His subject matter is traditional, but with a few twists. He readily admits that he copies material from magazines and books. His most popular whirligig figure is the bow-legged, bell-bottomtrousers- wearing sailor boy with paddles in his hands. Ottison makes his version of the popular figure with a carved face as well as a flat painted one. “Uncle Sam” is another popular design, though with a much more patriotic twist than the fair-faced sailor boy.

He has also been known to create a whirligig featuring a Native American paddling a canoe; Nantucket’s most famous whirligig maker, William Chase, provided Ottison with that idea.

His creations run the gamut from the typical – such as the carved sailor boy – to the very imaginative. One of his more fanciful pieces is a carving of a man goading a pig along the rim of a carving knife. It was copied from a sign hanging above a butcher shop in Fairhaven, Massachusetts.

The methodology for Ottison’s carving is simple. He draws an outline on a piece of wood, cuts it roughly on a band saw and finishes with a knife and rasp. Again, simplicity is a hallmark in his approach to woodworking, just as it is in his own life. Raw material and a pair of hands seem to be all he needs to craft something. He built boats from scratch for years and he keeps an album close by that documents the progress of his latest: a Herreshoff 12-1/2 Daysailer. The wood came from the landfill, as did the scrap metal which was melted down for the fittings. The boat itself is tied to the dock at the head of his property. The boat built from what others would refer to as trash is emblematic of Ottison’s home. “Waste not, want not” is not a cliché on the Ottison compound, where much of his home was constructed with materials from the dump, back when it was still permissible to salvage. “The house has a lot of shipwreck materials in it, plants, rafters and sills. A ship came ashore and we dismantled her and dragged pieces down through the Creeks,” he explained. The foundation consists of cut-offs from wooden pilings left over from work done on the wharves. “People throw [stuff] away you can’t believe!” Ottison exclaimed.

Albert is one person who does not throw [stuff] away. His home, boats, sea chests, carvings and whirligigs are a testament to thrift and creativity, and we could all learn a lesson from his creations. And his way of life.

Written by Andrew Spencer
Photography by Jeff Allen

When is a leather purse not a purse?
When is a baseball cap not a baseball cap?

The answer to these seemingly philosophical questions is actually quite simple: When they are baked by Jodi Levesque, a veritable artist who creates some of the most deceptively realistic cakes one may ever see.

Jodi, who was trained at Johnson and Wales College, came to Nantucket via a job at Toppers at the Wauwinet. She is equal parts chef, artist and craftsperson, and there is literally no way to exaggerate the realism that Jodi is able to recreate in her cakes.

Take the three-foot-long whale she recently baked for a local wedding, or the Nantucket lightship basket pictured below. Both could, in the proper setting, fool even the most discerning of eyes. It oftentimes surprises party-goers that the uber-life-like crab sitting atop the table at the child’s birthday party is actually a delicious cake waiting to be sliced.

Jodi’s creations begin life in much the same way as any other cake you might bake. “I start out with a stack of cake rounds and start carving,” she explained. But then comes the secret weapon, namely fondant icing. Or, as Jodi refers to it, “Play Doh for cakes.” Whereas you or I might pop open a can of Betty Crocker’s finest that we pull from the grocery store shelf to top off a cake, Jodi uses fondant – a pliable rolled sugar paste – to cover her cakes. “It’s the only medium to use to get the realistic look,” she said.

The icing is created by combining sugar, water and gelatin (or some similar binder), as well as various flavorings and colors. The mixture is cooled and then rolled out like a pie crust, at which point the only limitation on what it can become is the cake decorator’s imagination and ability. And judging from Jodi’s creations, there is no limit to either in her case.

Once covered with fondant and stuffed with moist fillings, the objects of art soon become objects of desire as people dive into her delectable creations at parties around the island and beyond. With extreme cakes now all the rage on various television shows including Cake Boss, Ace of Cakes and Amazing Wedding Cakes, Jodi’s unique brand of baking is hot and her business is taking off.

Referring to what Jodi does as simply “baking” is like calling a Cartier’s “some jewelry store” or Nantucket “a run-of-the-mill island.” Jodi is a magician capable of turning flour and frosting into delectable objects that have been the featured focal points at some of Nantucket’s most lavish weddings and other social gatherings. So be aware the next time someone tells you to “eat your hat.” They might just be offering you a slice of one of Jodi’s creations.

Written and Photographed by Terry Pommett

Over the past decade, the word “club” on Nantucket has all too often come to mean exclusive destinations with highbrow membership rosters, sky-high dues and manicured lawns.

But since 1969, The Anglers’ Club, located on South Wharf with a million-dollar-view of the harbor, has stood in stark contrast. The club is the antithesis of chic and reflects the down home values and lack of pretension that many feel is the essence of the old Nantucket.

On Friday nights, the true spirit of the Anglers’ Club is in evidence with its potluck dinner that each member is obliged to prepare and serve at least once a year. Teams of members get together and come up with meal plans for the rest of the club to enjoy. They act as chef, wait staff and kitchen help, and sometimes compete to produce the most memorable meal within the realm of hardy home cooking. This particular Friday featured clam chowder to start, followed by barbecued chicken with spinach puffs and a few deviled eggs on the side, all wrapped up with the best brownies you could imagine. It was lovingly cooked, baked and delivered by Fran and Harry Ostrander, Bill Westcott, Heather Farrell and our very own Fifi Greenberg.

From its second floor perch and out on its rear deck, the club has one of the best water view dining venues on the island. In plain view are boats large and small at the South Wharf docks, and you get a glimpse of the harbor out towards Monomy. Its outdoor tables are perfectly placed to enjoy lunch during the week and sit in the summer sun or the cool autumn breeze.

The Anglers’ Club is about neither status nor station in life. Rather, it’s about camaraderie. “This is the spot where everyone gets along with each other,” said club president Bob Cranston, an Anglers’ Club member for fifteen years. Echoing the idea that the club is not reserved for the elite of society, current club historian and former president Dan Kelleher pointed out, “This is a real family- and community-oriented club that is quite larger than it appears. Although there are five-hundred registered and honorary members, spouses and children effectively raise the actual participants to over two-thousand.”

The many artifacts that adorn the rafters speak to the essence of the club: fishing. Shark jaws, quarterboards, carved fish and trophies adorn the walls and hang from the beams. Bright orange life preservers hang from the ceiling and tournament boards tell of the club’s latest activities. The club is also about conservation, and hosts pond clean-ups and encourages activities that help protect and preserve Nantucket’s precious fishing areas and wetlands.

Friday evenings are a perfect time for members of this unique club to share stories, reconnect and enjoy the food prepared by their fellow members. It’s a welcome respite from the frenetic pace that characterizes summer life on Nantucket, a time when the membership comes together as a big family and cooks for each other. Everyone associated with the event lives by one motto: Thank Anglers it’s Friday!

By Orla Murphy-LaScola

Maybe you’ve found yourself in the following situation. You’re standing in the middle of your local wine shop, running a few minutes late to a dinner party, desperately trying to decide on a wine to bring. Still or sparkling? Red or white? Sweet or dry? The sheer quantity of choices alone is enough to paralyze even the most seasoned of wine buffs. The paralysis really kicks in when you start to consider things like your host’s preferences, other guests’ preferences and how much is too much (or too little) to spend.

Take comfort in the fact that the task is no less daunting to me – and I have spent the better half of my adult years studying for what feels like a Master’s in wine, traveling everywhere there is wine and, best of all, tasting lots and lots of wine. Even still, when invited to someone’s home for drinks or a dinner party, I fret over my wine selection more so than I did over my wedding dress.

Eventually, though, I take a step back from the ledge and realize that choosing a wine is not really as daunting a task as everyone makes it out to be. Or at least it shouldn’t be. Not convinced? Let me walk you through it.

Tailor Your Wine to the Event

Bar Mitzvahs, Thanksgiving or engagement and graduation parties are all good excuses to break out the bubbly. For a dinner or cocktail party, holiday gathering or other more formal event of this nature, it’s best to stick with red or white wine.

Red or White, That is the Question

If you know your host well, think back to previous events and take note of what they’ve ordered and enjoyed. This will provide you with a point of reference for what they like. Or, if you feel comfortable enough, you can call the host and ask for guidance on bringing a bottle of wine to pair with a particular course. For this, you will most likely receive many brownie points from your host.

And should your pairing work out well, you will henceforth be known as “The Perfect Dinner Guest.” Kudos to you.

Enter the Wine Shop with a Game Plan

All too often we fall into the trap of wandering through the aisles, picking up shiny bottles with well-designed labels, then suddenly forgetting why we came in the first place. The best plan of attack is to choose three bottles within your budget, then select one from those three with the help of the wine store owner or employee. Having been the host on the receiving end of some terrible wine gifts, I strongly advocate taking your time, no matter how late you’re running. Do not dash into the store with your hands over your eyes, picking up the first bottle you happen to run into.

Don’t End up with the “Lost Boys”

Heed the above-mentioned advice, or your wine gift may end up among the host’s “lost boys,” a dust-gathering collection of unwanted bottles. We recently rounded up our “lost boys” from over the years and brought them to a friend’s house for a very large party with many guests. We considered it the perfect time to see if anyone really drinks Blackberry Merlot or knows of the perfect food pairing for Gutted Head Riesling.

Have Faith

No matter your budget, there is a good wine out there for you. For great deals, consider wines from Chile, Argentina and South Africa. These “new world” classifications will give you a lot more bang for your buck, so you can go highend in these ranges and still stay within your budget. The same cannot be said for classic French Champagne, which will still cost you even at the lower end. While new worlds are cutting-edge and Champagne is timeless, it’s all about what you want your wine to say about you.

A Few Parting Words

To my friends: I have personally enjoyed every bottle of wine that you have been kind enough to gift to me. Honestly. Really, no kidding.

Buy:

Two Hands Angels Share Shiraz/Australia $
Leviathan red wine/California $$
Hoopla Chardonnay/ California $
Schramsberg 2001/J Schram $$