LET THE GAMES BEGIN

This in not only Memorial day weekend here in Nantucket, it is FIGAWI weekend. The stated reason for this three day beerathon is a boat race from Hyannis on Cape Cod to Nantucket, and then back, The sailors take this very seriously. Everyone else goes back to drinking. As I was walking on lower Main Street yesterday morning, the ferries were disgorging their cargo...throngs of young men and women looking to tank up, hook up, and probably throw up. The average age on the street appeared to be late 20s, One attractive young lady, already on her third "something with alcohol in it" leaned against a passing jeep filled with young men and said "Let the games begin." And she was not talking about boat racing. Urologists and Gynecologists will note an upswing in business by the middle of next week.

As you probably guessed by now, the Race weekend is not named after an actual indian tribe, though it sounds like it. The name, the legend has it, comes from the original race in which a huge fog bank engulfed the boats. It was before the days of GPS and other navigational aids that do not require visibility. More than one captain said "Where the FIGAWI?" and the name stuck.