By Bruce Percelay

As we near the end of high season on Nantucket, a great deal of activity is developing here, quite literally. Despite the wider U.S. economic slowdown, there are six major construction projects either in planning or underway on the island, with more being invested at one time than at any other point in Nantucket history.

These projects include the Nantucket Memorial Airport expansion, construction of the White Elephant Hotel Residences, the residence club at Point Breeze, Harborview Place, the Dreamland Theater, Great Harbor Yacht Club and several out of town multiple-unit developments including a large mixed residential commercial division on Old South Road by islander John Keane.

The amount of new development on Nantucket means different things to different people. To some, it is yet another indication that the island is moving further and further away from simpler days and that it’s in danger of loosing its soul. To others, it means that Nantucket is simply evolving and that change is an inevitable force to be embraced.

But in two notable cases, efforts by town government, unprecedented involvement among local activists and intense community participation should result in considerable long term benefits to the island.

In this issue of N Magazine, Peter Brace summarizes the Dreamland Theater development, a project that is far more ambitious than most realize but one that will provide a wonderful asset to downtown. This project got off to a difficult start as a failed theater and condominium development but has been reborn as a non-profit venture backed by a group of philanthropic summer residents. By 2010, it is expected that this dream will become a reality.

The cover of this months N features participants of another project that has also evolved from controversy into what could become a real asset to the island. The Great Harbor Yacht Club may go down as one of the most contentious developments seen here in memory, but numerous “give backs” by developers Gary McCarthy and Blake Drexler to the town, including the club’s willingness to make facilities available to the high school and the local community, will provide benefits far beyond its membership. The project is well underway and should be completed by June of next year.

In this issue, we also feature “Dream Land Theaters” people have created in their own homes. Writer Lyndon Dupuis shows amenities that give new meaning to the phrase “home movies.”

Perhaps a reason why many on Nantucket are so wary of change is the feeling that “if it ain’t broke, why fix it?” But since change is going to happen here, the island might as well make the best of it, and in the case of the Dreamland Theater and The Great Harbor Yacht Club, it appears that Nantucketers have done just that. Enjoy the rest of the summer, and to the sailors in the Opera House Cup, fair winds and following seas.

Bruce Percelay
Publisher

by Marli Guzzetta

At least once a year in December, the conflict between Mr. Potter and George Bailey in “It’s a Wonderful Life” reminds America to be suspicious of big development.

Nantucket, however, is probably no bigger than Bedford Falls, and its year-round citizens face more than their share of Mr. Potters all year. This is why, in 2004, when Connecticut businessmen and summer residents Gary McCarthy and Blake Drexler announced their intentions to purchase the harbor-front property of Grey Lady Marine on Washington Street extension and then transform it into what they hoped to be one of the best yacht clubs in the nation, everyone from residents to town officials lined up to offer objections.

“I think part of the lack of understanding, initially, was because people felt like we were coming in to exploit Nantucket resources,” Drexler said.

The grievances could be summarized into three major questions: Would the harbor’s health be preserved? Would the town be able to lift boats out of the harbor? Would the boating public be kept from a significant percentage of the harbor front? These valid concerns came up in the form of lawsuits and appeals—to date 27 in all.

McCarthy identified one of the “most distressing” parts of the process as the movement by the town to take the property by eminent domain in April of 2004. “I stood up at Town Meeting in front of nine hundred-plus residents to explain why we thought the taking was not appropriate, and the town agreed,” he said.

All lawsuits concluded this spring as the stewards of the Great Harbor Yacht Club, town representatives and local environmental advocates finally came to their compromises. Selectman Brian Chadwick described the process as a “rocky start with a share of Mr. Potters all year. This is why, in 2004, when Connecticut businessmen and summer residents Gary McCarthy and Blake Drexler announced their intentions to purchase the harbor-front property of Grey Lady Marine on Washington Street extension and then transform it into what they hoped to be one of the best yacht clubs in the nation, everyone from residents to town officials lined up to offer objections.

“I think part of the lack of understanding, initially, was because people felt like we were coming in to exploit Nantucket resources,” Drexler said. The grievances could be summarized into three major questions: Would the harbor’s health be preserved? Would the town be able to lift boats out of the misunderstanding on both parts before being able to come to an agreement.”

“In my opinion, I’m glad its finally coming to an end,” added Chadwick, who, along with the Board of Selectmen, finalized the project’s Chapter 91 certification at the beginning of August. Chadwick feels the project is “absolutely a good thing.” “We’re certainly not getting what was once offered voluntarily, but those days are gone and the town, by its own actions, lost out on those deals,” he said. “The main point is that the area has been cleaned up, access to the water is guaranteed, and boat service is guaranteed.”

McCarthy and Drexler discovered what many seasonal residents trying to win favor on this island have discovered: It often takes action over words, a casting of lots with residents of the town, to find one’s place amongst the George Baileys.

“As much as we told them we were here for the right reasons, we had to show them, and it took some time,”according to Drexler.

In the process of adapting the club’s plans to suit various specifications— some legal, some environmental, some cultural—McCarthy and Drexler wound up performing their own versions of Herculean labors, whose outcomes will prove to benefit not only the club but also the island and its residents. At the top of this list: Great Harbor Yacht Club is spending $1.1 million to bury all Washington Street utilities, even though only a quarter of these utilities lie on the club’s property.

The club is realigning Washington Street to accommodate a bike path, which will allow for safer movement between the rotary and town. It has also donated an additional $75,000 to the town’s bike path fund. Great Harbor Yacht Club is implementing a system of groundwater facilitation that removes 98% of the impurities from groundwater runoff before it enters the harbor—more than what applies to the Great Harbor Yacht Club area.

It also spent upwards of $750,000 to construct a boat repair and storage facility, which it will lease to Nantucket Community Sailing at a cost of $1 per year for the next 20 years. During the club’s off season, local schools will have use of squash and tennis courts as well as the docks and piers, and the general public will have access to an eight foot-wide walking path around the waterfront. They are also instituting a state-of-the-art helix mooring system to protect scallop beds.

“I think we leveraged a lot of public benefit out of them, and they were cooperative on all of those issues,” said Nantucket Planning Board Director Andrew Vorce, who called the underground utilities “major” and stated that the developers have two years from the end of litigation to complete their infrastructure improvement projects.

“Also, when it was just the marina, there was no public access over there,” Vorce added. “Now, the club has it in the form of an easement that goes up the side where the travel lift is, across the face of the bulkhead, down a set of stairs to a sandy area in the front, and that was all negotiated through the planning board process.”

Beneficial cooperation

\As a result of the settlement with the Nantucket Land Council, the club will replace all damaged eelgrass by 10 to 1, though the Nantucket Land Council would rather have a full removal of floating docks to preserve the harbor’s eel grass, a crucial habitat for scallops.

Disappointed by the original decisions of the Nantucket Conservation Commission, the Nantucket Land Council is pleased, however, that they are part of the mitigation planning process.

“I wouldn’t say we achieved everything we wanted, or received and got everything we wanted through the settlement, but the resolution does something to protect sensitive eelgrass resources,” said Nantucket Land Council Executive Director Cormac Collier.

McCarthy and Drexler said that their collaborations with the town has yielded a few unexpected benefits for the yacht club design as well. For example, having pool facilities off site has allowed room for a lawn that will undoubtedly come in handy for weddings and events. Also, moving the club back from the harbor, where it was initially proposed, has also enabled harbor access from both sides of the site.

“Frankly, everything that’s happened up until now has happened for a reason,” Drexler said. “We don’t harbor any bad feelings about the process. The process is a good process, and the product that comes out is better than what goes in, and that’s certainly the case here.”As of May, the club has zero pending lawsuits and 300 members. Currently, memberships cost $350,000 annually but are expected to reach $400,000 upon the project’s completion.

Great Harbor Yacht Club has already opened a cutting edge fitness center and spa on Washington Street, a state-ofthe- art boat storage and repair facility on Arrowhead Drive and a tennis and swim club on Nobadeer Farm Road, which includes eight clay courts, a heated pool, a snack bar and the club pro shop.

Modeled after the old Nantucket Steamship building and designed by architect Hart Howerton with Lyman Perry Architects, GHYC’s clubhouse on Washington Street extension will include an indoor-outdoor dining room and bar with a sweeping harbor view, a club meeting room built from a 1.5- story antique post and beam structure, a regatta room and a ships model room. McCarthy maintained that the club has entered a new era both internally and in the arena of public opinion.

“Up until this summer, it’s been a development project but it’s not anymore,” McCarthy noted. “It’s a living, breathing yacht club that exists apart from us. It’s a club of the membership, directed by a great new club manager, Mike Mooney, and by Norwood Davis, our excellent commodore, who’s provided most of the direction of the club’s programs going forward.”

The men say there was no single time when they turned the corner regarding public opinion. They feel they have inched their way to being a welcomed member of the community, “one person at a time.”

“It’s a matter of trust,” McCarthy said. “When we started, we didn’t have the trust of the community, because people didn’t know us that well and they couldn’t evaluate if we were going to do exactly what we said we were going to do. Our mission now is adjusting more to the needs of the town and as a steward of the environment.We’re looking to being proactive and taking a leadership role, having such a prominent place on the harbor.”

Drexler added that the Great Harbor Yacht Club has in its membership major island philanthropists who want a club that’s consistent with their ethics.

“We’re representing them as an institution they can use, but also in a way they want to be represented, as stewards of the Sound,” Drexler said. “We really feel like we’re guys who are doing the right thing for Nantucket.We want to get the word out.We’re here for generations.We’re a long-term player.”

For more information on the Great Harbor Yacht Club and on becoming a member, go to www.ghyc.com or call 508-325-5200.

By Leslie Linsley
Photography by Terry Pommett

The “Belle of the Ball” might be the perfect way to describe the newly outfitted classic wooden yacht quietly docked this summer off Swain’s Wharf on Nantucket. But this Belle is the pride and joy of The Westmoor Club, a private swimming and tennis facility off Cliff Road. Belle is a fine example of the refined designs of the American motor yachts built from the late 1920s through the early 1930s and exemplified by the work of the renowned naval architect John Trumpy.

The club purchased Belle two years ago so that its members could have the privilege of cruising on a luxury, classic wooden yacht with a fully staffed friendly crew to cater to all needs of those on board. It’s like having another home without the responsibility of its upkeep. During the summer months, it is not unusual to find a bridal shower party on board one day—like this gathering for young bride-to-be Sage Goldsmith, joined by her friends and family. On another day, a group of five year olds might be having a piratethemed birthday party aboard ship.

Small, intimate dinner parties can be enjoyed in the dining room or larger parties on deck. Captain Donald Hannon and his wife Natalie, along with first mate Douglas Grizzel, are on hand to attend to all the details that make these events so successful.

Originally built in 1929 by the New York Yacht, Launch and Engine Company for Lawrence H. Austin of the American Yacht Club in Rye, New York, this 77-foot long yacht is constructed of Douglas fir planking on a steam-bent white oak frame.While keeping its magnificent orignal design, the ship was upgraded and restored, most recently by McMillen Yachts, which has married traditional boat building talents with modern construction techniques to render it eco-friendly and energy efficient. Climbing aboard one is immediately aware of the strikingly classic look of the Belle’s interior. But it wasn’t always so.

Last year, interior designer and summer resident Jean Doyen de Montaillou was commissioned to redesign its interior. Being more than up to the challenge, Doyen said, “It was in great shape, just a little tired looking.We wanted to give it a contemporary look without undermining the integrity of this magnificent, classic yacht. It’s a club boat so it is used often, and every part was designed to accommodate a lot of people.”

“Everything had to be indestructible and easy to maintain, but at the same time good-looking,” added Doyen, who had no problem settling on a red, white and blue nautical color scheme, which happens to be the colors of the Westmoor Club. He chose Ralph Lauren Sunbrella fabric for all of the pillows.

“The fabric is terrific because it is sun resistant and waterproof. It’s perfect for boats,” he noted. There are two suites with a full bed and single bunk beds so that eight people can cruise to Martha’s Vineyard, for example, in extreme comfort. Each suite has its own bath, and Doyen outfitted the beds with fitted coverlets in a shell-pattern fabric from Duralee, also treated with Sunbella.

Details abound, from window treatments in the wheel house to little starfish shades over the bathroom light fixtures to navy blue Captain’s seats embroidered with “Belle” in red script lettering. A basket of rolled-up navy blankets with “Belle” embroidered in red sets in a corner for easy access when the wind picks up at sea.

To date, McMillen Yachts has restored nearly a dozen significant yachts and in the process has built the finest collection of classic American yachts in the world. Earl McMillen III, a native of Atlanta, Georgia, founded McMillen Yachts in 1992 following six years of extensive, hands-on classic yacht restoration. The purpose of the company was to restore and maintain classic yachts for those with the means and desire to own such a vessel but lacking time to maintain it. In 1995, McMillen pioneered the concept of fractional yacht ownership in an effort to allow other people with a similar interest and less available time to participate in seeking the same goal.

From the 1930s to the present, the Belle had several owners and for awhile it seemed as if it might remain a southern belle as she was docked in Florida for many years. However, in 1996 she was returned to McMillen Yachts and from there came to Nantucket.When not cruising in Nantucket Harbor the Belle makes her winter home in Rockport, Maine, where it’s maintained by Yachting Solutions.

Leslie Linsley is author of “A Nantucket Christmas,” from Bulfinch Press, and “Nantucket, Island Living,” due in October from Stewart, Tabori, Chang.

By Marli Guzzetta
Claudia Kronenberg Photography

At few times is the sea more alive on Nantucket than in August during Nantucket Race Week, when waves turn into racing lanes where sailors test their mettle. The men of Nantucket’s leisure navy have adopted their own traditions of dress—a light, casual, “preppy” style treasured for its wearability, durability and colorful optimism. Bright pants with patterns and polo shirts with collars popped might be a bit dandy, but they also bespeak playfulness worth celebrating and constancy worth cherishing in our difficult and swiftly changing world. Members and alumni of the Nantucket High School sailing team, instructors from Nantucket Community Sailing and stewards of Great Harbor Yacht Club unfurl a rainbow fleet of preppy Nantucket fashions in their most current form.

Nantucket Style Council: Chery Fudge, Azra Willmot-Smith, Kim Pizzitola and Beth English

Check the August 2008 Virtual Magazine for photos.

By Marli Guzzetta

Though whalers no longer return to Nantucket carrying treasures from around the globe, island jewelers still craft sparkling ornaments from precious gems, metals and other materials found the world over.

Check out the August 2008 Virtual Magazine on page 53 for photos.

By Peter Brace

For the first time since Nantucket’s Dreamland Theater last screened films in 2005, the marquees outside its front entrance are filled with playbills trumpeting upcoming performances and events both in the theater’s back parking lot and around town.

Events promoted this summer have include plays, nonprofit fundraisers and the Nantucket Farmers and Artisan’s Market, which operated behind the theater on Saturday mornings through early August. That there are announcements on the front of the building at 17 South Water Street, other than a building permit or a “closed” sign, is an apt and optimistic harbinger of the behind-the-scenes crescendo of preparations for the renovation and planned re-opening of the hulking 177-year-old film house 18 months from now.

“In a perfect world, if we can move through the no-building period [from June 15 to September 15 for most downtown building projects], we would like to get going right after that,” said Patty Roggeveen, Nantucket Dreamland Foundation Executive Director.

“This is not about going in with a bulldozer, but the building will need some careful demolishing. If we could look at June 2010, that would be our most optimal opening date.”

The theater’s new owners are the Nantucket Dreamland Foundation. The group purchased the theater and its parking lot on Easy Street in October of 2007 for $9.8 million. In July of this year, the new owners met for a preliminary plan review with Nantucket Historic District Commission to discuss plans for the building drawn up by CBT Architects of Boston.

That review consisted only of an informal sit-down between the HDC and the applicants, during which the commissioners give advice on how to make the application more palatable for upcoming formal review hearings. The commission took no votes at the time, but the Foundation’s design team apprised the HDC of numerous modifications and adaptations planned within the building’s structural framework. In all, according to Dreamland board members, the cost of renovations are estimated at around $22 million under the current plans. As of August the Dreamland Foundation board included seasonal residents John Johnson, Philippe Laffont, Peter Palandjian, James Pallotta, Kathy Penske, Wendy Schmidt, Barry Sternlicht and Boarding House and Pearl owner Angela Raynor.

Up From Rubble

The building has undergone numerous transformations since it was built as the island’s Quaker Meeting House on Main Street in 1831. Over time, the meetinghouse cum movie theater has morphed from a temple of Quakerism into a straw The foundation filed the first of its applications at the Planning Board and HDC in late summer. “Their plans are very exciting; they’ve got a lot of energy, but they’re not overdoing it,” said Roggeveen.

“At this point, the program remains constant: movies downstairs, some stage, but the footprint dictates that we will not be able to do wings,” she explained. “It’s going to be, I believe, really usable for the island. And in the back, some build-out, some capacity for use in terms of rooms for the community to use.” The foundation has proposed installing a multi-purpose performing arts space on the second floor with a second screen for year-round community use. Vague on what the foundation’s schemes are for the third floor, Roggeveen alluded to the potential benefits of the marvelous harbor views from the top floor. Overall, the Nantucket Dreamland Foundation wants the restored theater building to be equal parts past, present and future, directed by two themes.

“One, respect the building’s history for performing arts, specifically, film arts and two, respect the building’s history of public assembly,” said Roggeveen. “The prom was held there, high school graduations were held there, Town Meeting was held there. Those two components are really the backbone of the design element and the program piece.”

While the Planning Board and HDC are starting to review CBT’s plans, the Dreamland Foundation is already using the east side of the building and its parking lot on Easy Street as the focal point for what Roggeveen said could be dubbed informally the 2008 Dreamland Back Lot series.

In addition to the Farmers Market, Artists Association of Nantucket used the lot for their annual sidewalk sale, Theater Workshop of Nantucket has led classes and staged performances and the new Nantucket Comedy Festival held three days of performances by local and national comics in late July.

Presumably, once renovations are completed, Nantucket Film Festival would once again use the Dreamland Theater as its primary screening venue for a week in June, as it has done in previous years. An early plan for showing films this summer on the east wall of the building was scrapped after the Planning Board raised serious safety and traffic congestion issues. At the June 9 Planning Board meeting when the board reached this conclusion, it made all of the Nantucket Dreamland Foundation’s other outdoor uses legit by granting approval of a minor modification to its existing MCD special permit obtained by Zahavi, which came with the property as part of the purchase.

This update of uses currently allowed by the Planning Board on the Dreamland property includes low-level lighting only, the staging of events only in the parking lot, fundraising events by nonprofits only, clearly marked parking lot boundaries, adequate trash cans and cleanup, and crowd and traffic control. The Planning Board and the Nantucket Dreamland Foundation also agreed to a seasonal schedule of events from June 14 through Oct. 30, with operating hours of 8 AM to 11 PM.

Prior to these agreements, the foundation got HDC approval in late spring to dismantle a wooden shed, a concrete shed, a louvered over-shed and a shed roof bump-out from the east side of the Dreamland Theater building, all of which happened in late spring. For the foundation, CBT is submitting all new architectural and site plans starting from scratch since the Dreamland Foundation’s vision for the Dreamland Theater is divergently more humble and much less commercially driven than Zahavi’s plans, which had included a restaurant on the parking lot, underground parking and luxury condominiums on the second and third floors.

“They’re involving a wonderful balance between technology and film and a really strong cultural connection between Nantucket and what they know and love about the Dreamland,” said Roggeveen of the Foundation’s concept. The work as currently proposed includes a building that would be two feet taller after carefully dismantling the Dreamland for excavation and pouring of a new foundation three feet to the north toward Oak Street. That will make room for a geothermal heating and cooling system proposed for its south side, extensive structural reinforcement inside and out, and ensure that the building meets all fire and handicap access codes.

For film and stage performances, the foundation wants to install a 350-seat movie theater on the ground floor with a stage large enough for limited productions. On the second floor, a second, smaller, multiuse film-production space would seat 170 people. A kitchen is included partially in the second and third floors.

An additional new wing, roughly a third the size of the current structure, would be built eastward into the parking lot for administration and media rooms, a boardroom, lobby, a 100-seat meeting room, a backstage room, new bathrooms and a café as well as decks on the first and second floors. Given timely receipt of all necessary permits—still needed are a certificate of appropriateness from the HDC, a Major Commercial Development special permit from the Planning Board, an order of conditions from the Conservation Commission and a building permit from the Building Department among others—full-bore work on the building could begin after September 15.

As conditioned by the Planning Board when it grants special permits for projects downtown, exterior construction is typically prohibited in Nantucket’s downtown core until after that date. That work would also include the updating of handicap access points, all new fire suppression and alarm systems, and to the best of the Foundation’s abilities, according to Roggeveen and CBT, green construction elements that would hopefully earn the theater a gold Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

“You will see a fairly aggressive balance between the needs of the Building Department and the desires of the HDC and the Planning,” she said. “The group is very sensitive to keeping Nantucket in mind and also the safety factor.”

Currently, Roggeveen, is overseeing a capital campaign for the foundation, working on a logo and trying to get the island community as actively involved as possible, including soliciting spots on the Dreamland Foundation board of directors. She said the foundation’s energy behind this project is all about joining the community together and getting it to believe in the renovation, because the alternative of letting the building deteriorate is not an option for the owners.

“It’s a great group of people,” said Roggeveen. “What they do is give back not just to the Dreamland, but everywhere they live and they want to do this reenergizing of the Dreamland.

They’re very interested in keeping Nantucket a focus and a destination. “I think the fallout will be positive for restaurants and for shops once they see this type of entity is viable,” Roggeveen continued. “It’s two-fold: it’s all about the Dreamland, but it’s all about the town and keeping it a vital place.”

Peter B. Brace is the environmental, growth and development reporter for Nantucket Independent. His articles are available at www.nantucketindependent.com. For more information on the Nantucket Dreamland Foundation and its plans, please visit www.nantucketdreamland.org.

By Lyndon Dupuis

I confess. I just can’t help being a bit wowed by the home theater set-ups in some high-end Nantucket houses that I’ve seen recently.These elaborate dedicated spaces are usually located in the lower level, formerly known as the basement, of a grand house done to the nines and ready for an architectural magazine photo shoot. I’ve looked at a few of the most detailed home theaters imaginable, with some featuring ersatz ticket windows and often a fully stocked bar, popcorn machine,and candy dispensers in the “lobby.” Although the color scheme and décor vary, the formula is pretty much the same: a huge screen looming at the front of a dark cocoon of a room, sound that rivals any commercial movie theater, dim sconce lighting—pilasters are optional—thick plush carpet, and here the similarity to Lowe’s ends: gargantuan, buttery leather reclining chairs with cup-holders in the arm rests, and whatever other bells and whistles the owner requires. I would be torn between watching the movie and taking a nap.

Along with the rest of my gender, I imagine, I would love to watch the latest George Clooney film in such a setting. The only question that pops into my mind is “Is this what I’ve come to Nantucket to do?” I think of the garden, beach picnics, live concerts by stellar American and European musicians, informative talks by notable individuals in their respective fields, book clubs, good conversation and the myriad other activities available on the island and just wonder. But when N Magazine publisher Bruce Percelay, one of the owners of a home theater with a bit of tongue-in-cheek styling, says “There’s just something about a rainy day in Nantucket that makes you want to curl up with a good movie,” I have to agree, even though it usually makes me want to curl up with a good book. But I could be seduced.

According to local realtors, buyers expect houses in the $5 million to $15 million dollar price range to either have these theaters or have a space dedicated so that the new owner can install one of her own choosing. “These rooms don’t so much increase the value of a property,” said Carol Coffin of Coffin Real Estate, “as make it more saleable.” Coffin adds that there is a huge trend toward finishing the basement level in order to take advantage of another full floor of living space. “Gyms and wine cellars vie with the home theatre or media room for attention,” she added. Lee Real Estate broker Jane Miller said that “people don’t call up and say, ‘don’t show me anything that doesn’t have a home theater,’ but they do at least want a space for a large plasma TV screen and some comfortable furniture, along with adjacent spaces for ping pong or pool tables, wine cellars and the like. It’s kind of like the 1950s rec room on steroids,” she laughed. “Town dwellers don’t usually have these amenities, but a few have retrofitted at great expense.” Brad Smith, president of Audio Video Design on Nantucket, said that his clients want their theaters or media rooms to be acoustically isolated from the rest of the house and typically want all of the high technology available. “Our clients want the elaborate home theater plus technology that controls the lights, the heat and air, the window shades and security system,” he said. It is important for many of them also to be able to control these things from a distance, so that they can set up everything on their way to Nantucket instead of upon arrival.”

The head engineer for Premier Home systems, Aaron Nagle, agreed that the high-end buyers are increasingly asking for integrated systems. He showed me the room containing the “brain” of an expensively renovated Dionis house, explaining that “this system controls
everything,” as he pointed out the phone system, security cameras, lighting, video and sound. Interestingly, he declared a different slant on the dedicated space and said that “the home theater is almost passé. People have decided that they would rather have large plasma screens and comfortable seating in other areas of their houses.”

Concurring with this contrarian’s view,Matthew Moger, a principle with the firm Lyman Perry Architects, adamantly stated that “our Nantucket clients, no matter how affluent, are not interested in the formality that home theaters imply. They are much more into a casual lifestyle that revolves around the outdoors. They want to enjoy the garden and the beach, and want things to be generally simpler.”

“A couple of years ago,” Moger noted,“home theaters were touted as the next big thing, but our company just isn’t designing them any more. Our clients prefer a big screen somewhere with a couple of comfortable sofas. Our clients don’t want grandiose structures any more either and they don’t want plasma TVs all over the house. Regardless of their means, that’s where people are headed. The ‘chic shack’ is cutting edge; the trend is toward a simpler lifestyle on Nantucket. It’s not the size of the berry; it’s the taste of the berry!”

That’s music to the ears of us who are tired of all the recent pomp and the circumstance and long for the simpler days. However, if you decide to screen “Casablanca” this summer and are serving some really good popcorn, don’t forget to invite me.

By Marli Guzzetta
Photography by Daniel Sutherland

Before the sun comes up, licensed commercial fisherman Mark Gottwald often heads out on the water for a fresh catch to bring back to the Ship’s Inn on 13 Fair Street, where he serves as head chef and owner.

“We have a lot of repeat customers because they know I’m a fisherman who knows how to take care of their fish from the minute I hook it until it gets to the plate that night,” Gottwald said. When Gottwald and his wife, Ellie, assumed ownership of the Ship’s Inn in 1991, the inn’s restaurant was a sports bar, which they transformed into a fine restaurant that brings a Californian and French twist to American classics. Today, they work alongside loyal kitchen staffers Chris Lamont, Linston Hensley, Greg Flannigan, Scott Lamont, Eric Scott, Claude Desir and Antoine Joseph.

Gottwald honed his knives at La Varenne in Paris—a city in which fresh markets inspired his love of local ingredients. Upon returning to the States, Gottwald worked in the Le Cirque kitchen under respected chef Alain Sailhac and then as a saucier underWolfgang Puck at Spago in Los Angeles. The Ship’s Inn restaurant has come to be known as one of the most charming, cozy dining rooms on island, with a refurbished dory serving as the bar, creamcolored walls and open windows that keep the room breezy and bright. In the fall, a working fireplace creates an even more romantic ambience along with the candlelit tables and white linens.

“There’s a certain elegance to the restaurant, but it’s still rustic, not stuffy or pretentious,” Ellie Gottwald said. “We try to maintain a certain handsomeness to it, because it was owned by a whaling captain.”

Whaling captain Obed Starbuck built the structure at 13 Fair Street in 1831. The inn also has the distinction of being the birthplace of abolitionist and women’s suffragette Lucretia Mott.

On a golden summer evening, Greg and Judi Hill, Annye Camara, Vern Laux and Fred and Jan Jaeger met at the restaurant for a casual dinner. The Hills run the long-treasured G.S. Hill gallery on StraightWharf. Annye Camara is the community minded owner of local favorite Annye’sWhole Foods on Amelia Drive, while Jan Jaeger is the knowledgeable owner proprietor of Geronimo’s Pet Store on Sparks Avenue. Fred Jaeger is the former manger of Nantucket Airport, and the affable Laux works as a naturalist and land manager for the Linda Loring Nature Foundation.

The table shared a round of appetizers that included Chatham sea scallops grilled and served on a scallop shell with lobster vinaigrette and black truffle hollandaise and also house-cured cold-smoked Scottish salmon.

Gottwald then prepared a chef’s choice of entreés, which included a one-and-a-half pound poached Maine lobster served out of the shell with homemade herbed Cavatelli and passion fruit vinaigrette. Its presentation elicited ‘Oohs’ and ‘Ahhs.’

The Atlantic dayboat swordfish—grilled and served with a pear tomato, garlic and olive oil compote—came from a Florida fisherman Gottwald knows personally.

To add turf to the surf, the party ate braised boneless beef short ribs as well as Gottwald’s longest-running dish: a boneless chicken breast and thigh marinated in fresh orange juice, grilled and served with mashed potatoes, haricots vert and a sweet lime garlic sauce.

After dinner, pastry chef Matt Ames prepared a parade of desserts, featuring a Belgian chocolate soufflé, a Grand Marnier soufflé and his signature Tiramisu with Myer’s Rum and Irish cream.

Equally as beautiful were the strawberry almond cake with rhubarb coulis, banana bread pudding with caramelized bananas and flourless chocolate soufflé cake with house made pistachio ice cream.

After Fred Jaeger had cleaned his plate to the bone, wife Jan looked over with mock disapproval. “That looked good,” she said. “And you didn’t even share.”

By Panos Kakaviatos

Back in the 1980s, Champagne used to be served mainly for anniversaries, birthdays and engagements, recalls Craig Hannah, head sommelier of Toppers at the Wauwinet. How times have changed.

Taking a seat in the restaurant’s lush interior, perusing the massive wine list, I sampled several bubblies over a light lunch with Hannah, in his 18th year at this premier Nantucket venue. The lunch proved the point that not all Champagne is the same, that it joins the league of the finest of wines with which to enjoy an entire meal. A refreshing tomato gazpacho soup, prepared by Wauwinet chef Kyle MacClellan with fresh crab and Italian olive oil also showed how different Champagnes can accompany the same dish. A Gosset Rosé—the oldest Champagne producer, established in 1584—accentuated the soup’s cilantro-flavored tomato. Hannah then poured Lassalle Cuvee Angeline 1999, made mostly from Chardonnay, which went dreamily with the crab. “Today some customers want their Champagne served in white wine glasses,” remarked Hannah. “Sometimes not too cold, like for fine Burgundy.”

Toppers pastry chef Serge Torres then prepared a medley of raspberry macaroons, topped with honey-vanilla roasted apricot, fresh mint ice cream and mixed red fruits. Hannah initially poured Duval Leroy Brut, but this Champagne was effaced by the dessert’s pronounced flavors.

Not so when we again tried the Gosset Rose, harmonious with the mint ice cream and raspberry macaroon. Being vintage – vintage Champagnes are made from particularly ripe grapes coming only from one year’s harvest – the Lassalle’s more vinous nature better matched the dried apricot.

As Hannah pointed out, Nantucket diners love both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and the best Champagnes—Champagne is wine made in the northern French region called Champagne—are made of both, either together or separately. Blancs de Blancs for example is Champagne made exclusively from Chardonnay, while Blancs de Noirs is Champagne made exclusively from either Pinot Noir or Pinot Meunier, the latter being slightly less noble. The bubbles certainly add fun, but fine Champagne is above all wine created in a painstaking process. The grape juices are first fermented into still wine before undergoing a second fermentation in those famous Champagne bottles, heavy enough to withstand the released carbon dioxide, which yields the famous bubbles. Blends of different harvest years maintain a constant style for non-vintage Champagne, from the rather rich Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label to the precise and more impressive Bollinger. Releasing dead yeast from the bottles after the second fermentation, known as degorgement, also empties the bottles a bit, so a mixture of sugar and wine, the liqueur d’expedition, tops off the bottles accordingly to
determine sweetness from extra brut being bone dry to doux, which is quite sweet, with more than 50 grams of sugar per liter. Extended contact with dead yeasts in the bottle after the second fermentation improves taste and often results in expensive vintage Champagnes “recently disgorged.” Take Roederer 2002 Brut Vintage, with aromas of honeydipped brioche and zesty citrus freshness. The succulent palate showed a pleasing chalky flavor typical of great Champagne. Disgorged after some four years aging in bottle, in contact with dead yeasts from the second fermentation, the result is a wine that would go very well with
Nantucket Bay scallops prepared with a Champagne butter sauce and accompanied by leeks and shitake mushrooms, says Michael Getter, a representative for RubyWines, which distributes wines to restaurants and shops on island. “I drink Champagne every chance I get,” Getter said.

So does Chanticleer executive manager Susan Handy. She recently joined friends for an informal rose’ tasting underneath the restaurant’s backyard gazebo. The get together proved not only Champagne’s feminine charm, conducive to a ‘ladies only’ gathering, but also that it need not be a known brand to enjoy. As sommelier at the Chanticleer, I appreciate known brands, but also cherish hidden treasures, such as the Beaumont de Crayeres which Handy enjoyed that day. Delicious yet less expensive than some highly marketed brands, the company was founded by winemakers who pool their skills to make very refreshing Champagne. They make a wide variety of delicious Champagne from prestige vintage to basic Brut. Another
such ‘under the radar’ Champagne is Duval Leroy, which Toppers sommelier Hannah recommended, and which I also sampled at ‘Sconset’s festive Summer House in its rose format with cool raspberry and strawberry flavors, perfectly matched for lobster and shrimp. “Its crispness and acidity cut through the
richness of the seafood,” said Summer House sommelier AaronWallens.

Summer House chef Marc Orfaly also prepared tuna tartar and black seaweed salad with lotus root in a cocktail glass topped with tobiko roe, pressed nori seaweed and fried wonton. The crispness
of the Duval Leroy balanced the richness of the tuna. “I like this rose because it is not bubblegum sweet,” Orfaly said. Far from the bubblegum image imparted from cheap rosy bubblies, well-made rose Champagnes fetch higher prices than regular Champagnes, perhaps because they are more difficult to produce.

If you prefer to take a Champagne home or to a BYOB, the most appropriate onisland retailer for Champagne may well be Epernay, the recently opened North Beach street wine shop run by Amber and David Cantella. Named after one of Champagne’s two famous towns—the other is Reims—Epernay beckons bubbly.

So when my sister paid a visit to Nantucket this past July, I procured a lesser known Champagne called Deutz, also more economical, whose citrus-infused flavors perfectly matched the Japanese fare at Sushi by Yoshi, a wonderful Asian BYOB located in Nantucket town center.

Champagne is also about seduction. What better place than the island’s sleek bar restaurant The Pearl? I thought of paying a visit for this article because the finest Champagnes show pearl-like bubbles. The smaller the bubbles, the finer the wine, it is said. Bubble size is partly affected by how much time Champagne ages in bottle: the longer, the smaller. Over dinner at the Pearl, Chanticleer executive chef
Jeff Worster and I enjoyed two Champagnes for the sake of comparison: Bollinger Special Cuvee and Pol Roger Brut. The Bollinger proved fuller bodied and richer, yet also refreshingly precise, partly because it is made from mainly Pinot Noir grapes, partly because it is made with older reserve wine. The Pol Roger Brut, made of equal parts Pinot Noir, Pinor Meunier and Chardonnay, at first seemed lighter on its feet, but it rose
to the occasion when we ate sashimi of Nantucket fluke and yellow fin tuna served with fresh uni sea urchin, prepared by Pearl chef Seth Raynor. It was a treat to hear two master chefs on island discuss the merits of food and Champagne matches. By the time we got to the soft shell crab, the strong spices in that dish were better paired with the more powerful Bollinger. Later at the bar, I saw flirtatious scenes with plenty of
Champagne glasses. Sensual, serious, vinous and fun, Champagne is the most versatile summer wine choice on Nantucket: whether at any of the island’s fine dining venues or for a romantic sunset beach setting with that special someone.

By Marli Guzzetta with William Ferrall

As the first female anchor of a major network evening news show, Katie Couric has transcended the news and become something of an icon. In these late summer months, however, she’s been using her celebrity as a platform for moments of public humility—first, honoring Tim Russert at the annual Boston Pops on Nantucket concert in mid August for Nantucket Cottage Hospital and second, co-hosting on September 5 a telethon fundraiser for the awareness, treatment and research of cancer, a disease that claimed Couric’s husband and sister as well as a Nantucket friend.

At the Pops concert on August 9, Couric took the emcee microphone held from 2003 until 2007 by the late Tim Russert. “I’m happy to help the hospital, but there’s also a very sentimental reason for doing it,” Couric phoned in to N Magazine editor Bill Ferrall before the show, explaining that Russert was the man who gave Couric her “first big break” in network news.

“I was working at WRC, which was in the same building as NBC inWashington. Tim had been watching my work and apparently thought I did a good job, particularly chasing Marion Berry around in his ‘heyday,’” Couric remembered. “So Tim asked me to come to his office one day and said, ‘I’d really like to have you be the deputy Pentagon correspondent.’” The daughter of a World War II veteran, Couric said she found the prospect “both exhilarating and terrifying” and took the job with much encouragement from Russert. It was a major early step toward her job today as anchor of “CBS Evening News.”

“It’s with a lot of sadness that I took on the role of emcee at the Pops. Tim loved
this event, I know,” remembered Couric, who has regularly attended the Pops as a visitor to the island in previous years. “After Tim’s death, I told Peter [Barnes] that if they needed help, I’d be happy to do what I could.” Barnes is a summer resident and close Couric friend whose parents, Curtis and Joan Barnes, are wellknown year-round residents.

At the Pops, Couric also read a statement on behalf of the Russert family. The news position for which Russert drafted Couric eventually launched her to a correspondent’s role on “The Today Show,” which of course led to the hosting position that brought the affable, all-American extrovert into people’s homes with almost microscopic familiarity.

“People got to know me pretty intimately on ‘The Today Show’ and saw me go through a number of life changes — from having two babies to losing my husband and my sister to cancer,” said Couric, who is now yoking the personal relationship she created with viewers of “The Today Show” to her new status as one of the elite narrators of our life and times in order to advocate for cancerthwarting efforts.

On September 5, Couric will co-host “Stand Up To Cancer,” a multi-network telethon to raise funds and awareness for the disease, which The American Cancer Society estimates will take 565,650 lives this year.

Couric conceived of the event, which will simulcast on CBS, NBC and ABC and will
include Charles Gibson and Brian Williams as co-hosts.

Couric’s commitment to the fight against cancer even passed through Nantucket two summers ago, when she eulogized her friend, Nantucket Atheneum lecture namesake Constance Laibe Hays, a summer resident and New York Times reporter who passed at age 44 after a battle with neuroendocrine cancer.

“For people struggling with this disease, scientific breakthroughs can be a matter
of life or death — literally,” Couric told the Stanford School of Medicine Journal
in May during an interview regarding “Stand Up to Cancer.” “We hope to educate,
inspire and entertain, so all of our viewers understand that they have a stake in
this fight.” For more on the September 5 cancer telecast, visit www.standup2cancer.org.