20 Berry Lane. [2011, Town Assessor]
The town’s connection to the sea grows more distant every year, but happily, there are still families here whose lives are tied to sailing. Capt. Robert Burns Jr., who purchased this 4,256-square-foot house in 2004, is among them. He is the owner and skipper of the graceful Bay Lady II, a chartered schooner built in 1984 at Washburn & Doughty Associates in Maine. Burns has been a licensed captain for almost 50 years. He started sailing at 16 with Capt. Justin Avellar aboard the schooner Hindu. For 17 years, he owned and sailed the wooden schooner Olad. That is — until he saw Bay Lady II sailing in Frenchman Bay in Maine. “I went up, took one look, and put down a small deposit,” Burns told Mary-Jo Avellar. The captain’s wife, Kathleen (Laffin) Burns, is a former crew member. Their boy Jack is a lobsterman and oysterman in town.
20 Berry Lane on the Town Map, showing property lines.
¶ Last updated 26 June 2016.