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A fundraising gala to benefit educational programming for the Skipjack Wilma Lee will be from 3 to 6 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 4, on board this historic oystering boat at the Community Square dock.
Price of admission to the party is any amount, and donors who give $100 or more will receive space for two on the sunset cruise following the party, featuring Tom Pahl’s famous grilled shrimp.
To reserve a space, call 252-921-0260, or visit the Ocracoke Alive website here.
Skipjacks are single purpose boats, designed and built for oyster dredging, though Carolina watermen also used these boats, which they often called “oyster sloops” for harvesting she-crabs and hauling cargo.
They are hardworking boats with massive sails intended to generate the power necessary to drag heavy dredges and to work in low wind.
Though skipjacks are historically associated with the Chesapeake Bay oystering industry, they eventually made their way south, into the Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds. By the early 1900s, North Carolina boat builders were copying the famous design.
One of only a few remaining Chesapeake Bay skipjacks, the Wilma Lee is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was donated to Ocracoke Alive in 2012.
Donations to support the Wilma Lee and its upcoming educational programs can be sent to Ocracoke Alive, P.O. Box 604, Ocracoke, C 27960.
