November 12, 2020
Thanks to everyone who contributed! You helped us buy a new suite of sails to help Nathan keep on sailing!
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 […]
September 3, 2020
A limited Skipjack Race will be held September 26th at Long Wharf in Cambridge. We expect 10-12 skipjacks to attend this years race. The surviving skipjacks of a once mighty fleet need funding for repairs and the 2020 Choptank Heritage Skipjack race for boats and crews will provide much needed funding for each boats ongoing maintenance. Due to restrictions on social gatherings, the race may safely be viewed from the shoreline of the Choptank river. There will be no other public events associated with the race. Ida Mae won the 2019 race in very light winds. Maryland Public TV featured […]
April 2, 2020
Our 2022 sailing season will start in May! We will be starting to recruit new volunteers and train crew in April and start carrying passengers in May. We always do extensive training to ensure that we are ready to offer an exceptional sailing experience to all who sail with us in 2022 and beyond.
February 11, 2020
By Charles Rouse The old sea captain eased his skipjack next to the wharf with a well-seasoned hand. He could almost do it blind-folded; just by getting the feel of the waves pushing against the boat and listening to the flutter of the sails. He docks the skipjack by the bucket lift – one that will soon weigh his catch of oysters and pay him his measure of his worth on this bleak day in March. “Drudging is almost done now”, he murmurs to his mates as he views the paucity of oysters culled at the end of a long […]
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 […]
March 11, 2019
When the cool wind begins to blow from the north And the waves of the bay begin to roll this way, That’s when watermen knows in his heart It’s time to gear up and go out on the bay. Summer is over and crabbing is done, His credit’s all gone and winter had come; As sure as the tide will rise and run He feels in his bones, dredging season has begun. His father before him, and grandfather too, Passed down the secrets of the bay so true. Dropping the yawl boat when no wind blows through And […]
March 11, 2019
By Charles O. Rouse As we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Nathan of Dorchester, two questions come to mind: first, Did the Nathan fulfill its mission to promote an increase in tourism, economic development, and community pride in the city of Cambridge? The second question is, Did the operation of the Nathan of Dorchester, from its construction at Generation III boatyard to the hundreds of sails in and around the Choptank River and Chesapeake Bay help to preserve the rich maritime heritage of the Dorchester County? The answer to both questions is a resounding “Yes”. The Nathan has been […]
March 11, 2019
By Charles Rouse For most Marylanders, Saturday, June 4th, 1992 was just another Saturday at the beginning of summer. But for the people of Cambridge, Maryland, June 4th, 1992 was a day to remember. That was the day the keelson was laid initiating the formal building of the skipjack, Nathan of Dorchester. Rev. Richard Hubbard gave the invocation and blessed the keelson that would become the backbone of the skipjack – the first one to be built in Cambridge along the shores of the Chesapeake Bay in 40 years. Cambridge had always been the center of the skipjack building industry […]