View from the Nantucket Hostel

Posted on by Thor

I was waiting for someone at the Star of the Sea Youth Hostel, so I took the time to sketch the view across the street towards the ocean. There is a home between the hostel and the beach and a couple of dunes as well. One of the hostel guests had his sippy drink and a cell phone and was chatting before he drove off on his Vespa. Since I got this much done on the sketch, I must have been waiting for an hour or so. I am attracted to the wind blown shapes of the tree trunks next to the beach. They reminded me of the wispy trees found at Big Sur in California.

Grey is a color that isn’t usually used by me in watercolors, but in Nantucket every building is grey, so I actually had to find an art store to get a tube of black and white paint so I  could mix grey each day. Luckily the art store was just a block away from Glen Weimer‘s home. Sometimes things do line up perfectly. This was my last day on the island. I  miss it.

Star of the Sea Youth Hostel of Nantucket

Posted on by Thor

If you don’t want to pay a kings ransom to stay on Nantucket island, your best bet is the Star of the Sea Youth Hostel (31 Western Avenue Nantucket, Massachusetts 02554 ), just a short walk from Surfside Beach. Glen Weimer let me stay with in in his rental cottage. I walked over after relaxing on the beach After doing a sketch and relaxing on the beach, I decided to walk over and see how the other half lives.

The Life Saving Station at Surfside, the first of its kind built on
Nantucket Island, was originally constructed in 1874 in a Carpenter
Gothic style with Stick Style embellishments. It was enlarged in 1884
with addition of east and west wings and an enclosed cupola. The first
rescue was on March 9, 1877 when the entire crew of the W.F. Marshall
was brought safely ashore. The incidence of shipwrecks off Surf side
diminished toward the end of the 19th century and in 1921 the Coast
Guard abandoned the station. During World War Two the station was used
again by the Coast Guard as an outpost for beach patrol. In 1963 the
property was purchased by American Youth Hostels Inc. and has since been
used as the Star of the Sea Youth Hostel. 

The hostel is a quaint barn like structure with a steep pitched roof, and huge orange doors that open out towards the beach. Dunes and a home hide a direct view of the beach across the street, but it is a very short walk over the dunes. A large group of kids in bright yellow jerseys were getting ready for a bike ride. Each bike had a triangular orange flag. Other guests relaxed around the picnic tables planning their day. This is a summer-only hostel open from May 18 – October 15, 2018

The Nantucket hostel is a little slice of paradise. They have everything you need to settle in for a little rest and
relaxation. Chairs or boogie boards are available so guests can hit the beach
or rent a bike and cycle around the island on one of the many bike paths.

Guests come from around the world so you never know who you might meet during the free
breakfast. At the end of the day you can grill up a tasty feast
and trade stories from your adventures as the sun sets over the
island. There is a female dorm and a male dorm and a stay is about $42 for the night.

  • Incredible beach side location
  • Free Wi-Fi
  • Free continental breakfast
  • Fully equipped, shared guest kitchen
  • Access to chairs and boogie boards