Apalachin Community Press, August 1999

A View from Martha's Vineyard

My Adventure at the Beach

by Pam Bowers

Editor's Note: On Friday evening, July 17, 1999, a single engine plane piloted by John F. Kennedy, Jr. took off from northern New Jersey into the hazy summer sky, bound for Martha's Vineyard. It never made it. On Saturday, debris from the plane began washing ashore on Martha's Vineyard - the same day that Pam Bowers of Endicott was vacationing on the island with her daughter Kate. Here is Pam's story:

Life is good. The sun is shining and I'm at the ocean, I thought as my daughter Kate and I stepped onto the Woods Hole ferry. Soon we would be on our way to spend the day enjoying the sun, surf, and sand of Gay Head Beach. This weekend trip was going to be a wonderful chance to celebrate birthdays and recent college achievements for the both of us. Since Kate moved to Boston for her graduate work, we haven't had many opportunities to spend much relaxed time together. I guess Kate could have traveled home to spend the day with me at Greenwood Park, but I voted for the ocean. Since I had the car, I won.

During the short passage to the island, my reverie was interrupted several times by other passengers chatting about a rumored missing plane, perhaps even crashed nearby. The plane was thought to be piloted by John F. Kennedy, Jr. The sensational nature of this rumor made for several lively discussions throughout the boat. Hillary Clinton, Oprah, and even the Pope were all included as possible passengers on J.F.K. Jr.'s plane. It's amazing how such a small piece of information can gain momentum with every successive iteration of the story, in turn providing lively entertainment for so many.

After the ferry docked at Vineyard Haven, Kate and I located the shuttle that would deliver us to the beach. While waiting for the shuttle to leave, we again had the opportunity to listen to the escalating rumors about the missing plane. Enough time had elapsed since the first reports had been released to allow the story to evolve from a sensational rumor to a national news event. It had now been verified by both the airports on Long Island and Martha's Vineyard that the plane was indeed piloted by J.F.K. Jr. His only passengers were his wife and sister-in-law. Also, both airports had released reports that the plane had disappeared from their individual radar tracking images and was now believed to have crashed somewhere in the ocean between Long Island and Martha's Vineyard. The Coast Guard had begun an intensive search and rescue operation for any possible survivors.

The Kennedys hold a special place in hearts of the islanders. Jackie O had maintained a vacation home on Martha's Vineyard for many years. J.F.K. Jr. and Caroline now owned the home and were often seen around the island. Many of the shops and local businesses had at least one prized picture on display of Caroline and John Jr. growing up on their island. The pictures portrayed them as normal children playing on local beaches, riding the Flying Horses of Oak Bluffs, and attending events in Edgartown. So even though this story had the tenuous attention of the rest of the world, it passionately held the islanders in rapt focus as more information was discovered.

As this exciting news event was unfolding around us, Kate and I were anxiously anticipating our perfect day on Gay Head Beach. We had packed some wine and picked up a loaf of bread from the Black Dog Bakery. Our plan was to spread out our towels on the hot sand and leave the rest of the world behind for the day.

Upon arriving in Gay Head, we walked the short distance to the Gay Head cliffs. We set out our towels, had a celebratory toast or two, and then commenced to play in the surf. While frolicking in the waves, we couldn't help but notice the constant drone from the Coast Guard helicopters conducting their search and rescue operation. Our fellow beach goers' reactions ranged from total indifference to rapt attention. We knew that the search effort was now focused just off our beach as we spotted several Coast Guard cutters and other small boats just a short distance off shore. The helicopters started to hover over the water, directing the cutters to remove items from the sea.

At this point, conversations turned to guessing what items were found and hoping that no surprises would wash onto the beach with the next crashing wave. Our hope to watch the sun set over the Gay Head cliffs that evening was ended as a man from the Coast Guard walked up to us carrying a headrest from the downed plane. He informed us that the beach was being evacuated due to the amount of debris in the water. It had been deemed unsafe to continue to swim there. We were not given the option of just staying on the shore to watch the rescue operation. So we bid our farewell to the beach, packed up our stuff, and walked back to catch a shuttle.

Once off the beach, we discovered that the roads to Gay Head had been closed to emergency vehicles only. I now know that a shuttle is not considered to be an emergency vehicle. Since we were eighteen miles from Vineyard Haven and our ferry home, we had no choice but to wait for the roads to reopen. Upon arriving at the shuttle stop, Kate and I were interviewed by a TV news crew to obtain our observations and reactions to what we had just witnessed on the beach. I always hoped that my 15 minutes of fame would be under different circumstances. Oh well. Rather than being upset at having our beach day so rudely interrupted, we decided to enjoy this as something that would just make this short stay on the island memorable.

We passed an hour or so with our fellow evacuees, media crews, and island emergency personnel hoping that the search would either move to another location so that we could return to the beach or that survivors would be found. Once the shuttle finally arrived, each of us realized that neither outcome would happen. The rest of the day would be spent enjoying the more popular tourist attractions offered in the harbor towns of the island.

The intensity of the story had reached a frenzied peak by the time we returned to town. Everyone from the carousel attendant to the ice cream server at Mad Martha's was offering their views and opinions about the on-going search operation. The off island tourists seemed to share the opinion that if the plane crash had involved someone less famous that J.F.K. Jr., the number of helicopters, cutters, and rescue personnel would have been much fewer. The islanders (who probably have been witness to a few previous rescue efforts) said the level of effort devoted to the search was appropriate. I hope they're right.

Leaving Martha's Vineyard on the ferry that night with the beautiful starry night sky to encourage personal introspection, I felt overwhelmed by the days events. My emotions ranged to sadness for the Kennedy's loss, excitement to have witnessed and been in a small way involved in a news event, to the pure joy and contentment that being at the ocean brings to my soul. Kate and I couldn't have planned a better way to celebrate life. Photo by Pam Bowers

A Coast Guard helicopter participates in the search and rescue operation for J.F.K. Jr.'s plane off Martha's Vineyard.



Photo by Pam Bowers

At Gay Head, tourists who have been evacuated from the beach await transportation to another part of the island. Official vehicles block off the roads to Gay Head.