Detour #275: Driving into the Jaws of Martha’s Vineyard, USA
Terror took hold of the unspoilt beaches of Martha’s Vineyard in 1975 when Jaws hit cinemas. Detour tracks the infamous shark sightings and movie locations on a road trip around the Massachusetts island.
“He didn’t eat a car, did he?” asks Roy Scheider’s Chief Brody after witnessing a licence plate being pulled from the body of a shark. It’s a mere minnow compared to the toothy beast that terrorises the community of the fictional Amity Island, but it’s a line from the movie that springs to mind as I cross the rather low-lying Jaws Bridge. Formerly known as the American Legion Memorial Bridge it was renamed after Steven Spielberg immortalised Martha’s Vineyard on film.
It’s already been a somewhat scary start to this road trip, although that has nothing to do with sharks, but rather a vehicular mis-step. Instead of paying to bring our car across from the mainland by ferry, my other half and I got cheap foot passenger fares and planned to tour Martha’s Vineyard on a moped. A few hundred hards of wobbling and weaving later we turn around and rent a small car instead.
We drive south from Oak Bluffs to Joseph Sylvia State Beach and over the bridge next to which a young sailor falls victim to the shark. In the summer months adrenalin junkies are often seen leaping into the sea here, but we’re obviously too “afraid to go back in the water”. Instead we continue alongside Edgartown Beach and on into Edgartown itself. The picture postcard town looks exactly as it did in 1975 and on a short stroll through its quaint streets it’s easy to spot the buildings used as the police station, Amity Gazette HQ and Town Hall.
Just a few minutes out of town is South Beach where the film’s opening scene was shot. Its glorious sandy shores look very tempting, but… you get the idea. On foot you could walk almost all the way along the coast to our next destination, but in a car we need to head inland, passing by the island’s airport then heading coastwards once again. At Chilmark you can take a short detour to the tiny fishing village of Menemsha, home of Quint’s shack or get stuck into the seafood at Homeport or Larsen’s Fish Market.
The final stop is Gay Head where Hooper and Brody try to convince Major Vaughn to close the beaches. The view from the lighthouse across the cliffs is amazing, the water looking even more appealing. Or it would if it wasn’t for that pesky shark.
ROADBOOK
CLASS: MOVIE MAGIC
NAME: INTO THE JAWS OF MARTHA’s VINEYARD
ROUTE: Oak Bluffs to Gay HEad Lighthouse
COUNTRY: USA
Distance: 31 miles
Jamie Hearne takes his mobile home to where the buffalo still roam on a road trip through Wyoming.
From the awesome oval at Daytona to the Art Deco excess of Miami Florida is a must-visit destination for any auto enthusiast.
Ask a local and they will say you have not seen the Grand Canyon unless see it from the North Rim – and there is one very special road that can take you to the best view of all, bar none. Especially if you drive it when the sun goes down.
Detour favourite California 33 has been crowned Road of the Year 2024 by Hagerty in its first annual award highlighting the best routes for drivers in the USA.
The greater the effort, the sweeter the reward. It’s a phrase that couldn’t be more true of braving the Beartooth Highway.
There are few places in the world that offer a more staggering contrast than this two-and-a-half-hour drive, which begins in Las Vegas and ends up in the land of the dinosaurs.
Driving down Lombard Street is a unique and somewhat unnerving driving challenge, even though it has a recommended 5mph speed limit.
Nevada’s State Highway 318 is the fastest public road in America where drivers regularly top 200 mph.
New England’s forests explode into a riot of colour as the days grow shorter. For leaf peepers there’s no better time to take to the road and enjoy the rich reds, abundant oranges and yellows of the canopy.
Ben Barry explores California’s desert wilderness with a Lamborghini Huracán Sterrato… and the wrong soundtrack
Ben Barry retraces the route of one of Hollywood’s most nail-biting car chases, underwear intact.
You’ve heard of Sleepless in Seattle, but for Anthony Ingram it was breathless in Colorado when he took on the Independence Pass.
It’s rare to get lost in the days of satellite navigation, but if you do stray from your planned path it can be an unexpected joy.
Preparing for a continent-crossing road trip just got a bit easier. Thanks to the calculations of a climate scientist it’s now possible to drive across the USA without getting too hot or too cool.
Eccentric automotive adventurer Ben Coombs crossed the USA from New York to San Francisco in his topless TVR.
Route 66 might be immortalised in song but a drive on Route 89 will sear itself into your memory for its scenic beauty.
It’s 70 years since Elvis first walked into a recording studio and time for the King of all road trips. Thankyouverymuch.
Monument Valley is surely the ultimate backdrop to any great American driving adventure.
The riskiest road trips in the USA have been revealed by the American Automobile Association, and they’re not all the hair-raising hairpin-strewn mountain roads you might imagine.
Take an epic drive in the Sierra Nevada mountains, passing by ancient forests, Old West Towns, tumbling waterfalls and tranquil lakes…
Are you brave enough to seek out the spookiest monsters on this grisly Great Lakes road trip?
Thunder Road may not be a real place but Bruce Springsteen lives up to being Born In The USA by filling his songs with these all-American destinations.
BMW has mapped out 55,000 ways to drive its “Hofmeister Kink” shape on the roads of America.
Drive the multi-lane highways of Los Angeles or the mean streets of New York and it's hard to imagine an America that’s free from constant traffic. But the open road is out there to enjoy – you just need to know where to find it.
Ready your Myers Manx or your 4x4, for here are five of the most fabulous beaches in the world that you can legally drive on.
Escaping from the Motor City Simon Heptinstall discovers a Michigan that is a world away.
Ten times longer than The Green Hell and packed full of pit stops for meaty treats the Schweinefiletring is a delicious drive through the American Midwest.
From Hollywood to the streets of San Francisco, to the Baywatch beaches, snow-capped mountain peaks and arid desert, The Golden State is road trip nirvana.
Terror took hold of the beaches of Martha’s Vineyard in 1975 when Jaws hit cinemas. Detour tracks the infamous shark sightings and movie locations on a road trip around the Massachusetts island.