Dear Editor:

A number of years ago Shenandoah was towed from Martha’s Vineyard to Boothbay Harbor Shipyard for a period of yard work. The tow took place in mid-December and arrived in Boothbay Harbor 20 or so hours later.

I only remember because I tagged along with the Stimsons, father and son, and the owner, Bob Douglas and his wife Charlene. I grew up on Cape Cod waters in the ’60s and had watched Shenandoah slice through Nantucket and Vineyard Sounds for decades but had never been aboard.

Bob didn’t know me from Adam but as we took up the tow out of Vineyard Haven, he turned the wheel over to me and I steered until sunset at the mouth of the Cape Cod Canal. It was glorious and I will always thank him for it.

According to the article in last week's Register, the tow for the Ernestina-Morrissey from New Bedford is planned for 30 hours, but the distance is shorter than from Martha’s Vineyard.

Is the Morrissey in a condition such that she has to be towed at a much slower speed?

Let’s hope the tug Jaguar will be able to tow Westward off to a new locale on the return to Massachusetts.

Dave Tew

West Boothbay Harbor