Nathan News & Stories
October 9, 2020
Someone once wrote that “A wooden boat is a hole in the water into which a lot of money is poured”. The Dorchester Skipjack Committee has been very aware of this saying as we continue to work preserving the skipjack Nathan of Dorchester. The Corona virus pandemic forced us to cancel all public sailing activities for 2020, a major source of fundraising to keep Nathan in operation. We may not be out there sailing with passengers this year, but our volunteers are always finding something to repair or replace. Weather keeps attacking the boat. Soft spots appear in […]
April 2, 2020
Our 2020 sailing season has been cancelled. Nathan remains tied up at her dock in Cambridge as the captains, crew and volunteers obey all current emergency health directives. We sincerely wish continued health to our volunteers and to the public who sail with us in happier times. Nathan is an open deck sailing vessel that is 45 ft long and 16 feet wide. It is very difficult to maintain social distancing for many people in this space. Our crew has to work together and follows strict Coronavirus safety protocols. Once the current emergency health measures and pandemic subsides and we […]
June 26, 2019
The Dorchester Skipjack Committee built, owns and operates the Skipjack Nathan of Dorchester to serve as a goodwill ambassador for Dorchester county and the Eastern Shore The Builders Nathan was designed by marine architect Harold Ruark and built by volunteers under the direction of master shipwright Robert S “Bobby” Ruark. Harold carved the trailboards and eagle and built the pushboat Gerry Horney fabricated or restored many of the metal fittings and parts. Over 10,000 hours of volunteer labor went into building the Nathan of Dorchester Some of the people who built the Nathan of Dorchester Bobby Ruark, Harold Ruark, Melvin […]
