Competitive yet fun, the Race Around Martha's Vineyard is one of the nation's oldest distance races . Edgartown Yacht Club held its first race around Martha’s Vineyard Island in the summer of 1938. The course itself is a splendid sail. The 55-mile circumnavigation of Martha’s Vineyard is picturesque, challenging, and of a length that keeps veteran racing sailors intrigued while presenting first-timers with a perfect opportunity to try on offshore sailing for size. The course has views of cliffs, headlands, villages and open water with sights of the seven lighthouses of Cape Poge, Gay Head, Tarpaulin Cove, Nobska, West Chop, East Chop and Edgartown. In the morning the fleet sails between Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket along the east beach of Chappaquiddick. At midday they are in the open Atlantic Ocean with views of the south coast of the Vineyard. In the afternoon, rounding the gorgeous cliffs of Gay Head. If the tidal currents or wind conditions make going slow, the Race Committee will finish the race just north of Menemsha.