Water is what makes this an island. Or, according to Chief Brody in Jaws: “It’s only an island if you look at it from the water.” Either way, water is essential to our state of being.

I grew up close to the ocean in Marshfield, and it wasn’t until I moved to Amherst for college that I realized the water can have a big impact on your connection to the world. It’s something people who didn’t grow up on a coast may not understand. But there are other terrain features that can surely have such an influence: mountains, desert, concrete.

I missed the water, and later when I moved to Washington, D.C., I still wasn’t close enough to the ocean to feel grounded. On the Vineyard, it doesn’t matter whether you can see, smell, or hear the sea every day or not. You know it’s there. And that feels good.

This edition of the magazine celebrates water on many levels. The most obvious are our features on ways people get out on the water. The Vineyard Cup has become a big summer sailing event; it’s also a fundraiser for Sail MV – responsible for helping many landlubbers find their sea legs (page 24). Our Q& A with fishing legend Buddy Vanderhoop delves into a life economically and culturally tied to the water (page 32).

We also have a treat of two rare interviews with publicity-shy Vineyarders: The Dunkl siblings, who run Chilmark Spring Water Company, and artist Lucy Mitchell. In both cases, they were kind enough to allow writers into their worlds. The Dunkls share details of their family history and how they tapped into the natural spring on their property to offer glacial water commercially on the Island (page 40). Lucy Mitchell collects driftwood and other objects from beaches and boat yards to make her mixed-media art, and she talks about her process and inspirations (page 48).

July is a great time to celebrate the water around us and what it brings to our lives.