Save the Christeen

Christeen Repair Updates

Keep up to date on how the repairs to Christeen are progressing by visiting WFC's blog. We are posting updates, stories and recent pictures of all the repairs taking place this winter at the Western Waterfront. Or come on down during the week Josh and Joe and the volunteers will be there from 7 am to 6 pm every day during the week.
Visit the WFC Blog

The Case for Raising Funds for Repairs to her Keel, Mast and providing an endowment

The Christeen has taken about 17,000 people out on the Bay since the Spring of 2002, when she was purchased by the Waterfront Center (WFC) from the Christeen Oyster Sloop Preservation Corp. She has left the dock for about 1,200 sails during these eight years, putting in over 3,000 hours of service. The Christeen has been well maintained by the WFC's able yard and dedicated group of volunteers, and she has held up very well under the pressure. However, during the winter of 2009, rot was found in her keel around the centerboard trunk.

Shipwright Josh Herman drained, patched and strengthened the area, and declared that the Christeen will hold together well for a few years. Nevertheless, her keel, which is the original from 1883, needs to be replaced.

The WFC Board has scheduled this major repair to take place in Building J on the Western Waterfront beginning October 2010. We are confident that with the guidance and expertise of a professional shipwright, the Christeen will return to service in April 2011, so that spring school programs will not be affected.

The Challenge

As of December 1, 2010, $222,810 has been pledged by individuals and foundations toward the repairs. This leaves the challenge of raising $37,190. Please help save the Christeen.

Whom Christeen Serves

The Christeen's core mission is to take people out on the water to learn about the estuary environment above and below the waterline, and to demonstrate her own history and importance as a working vessel in the oyster industry. In 2009 she took approximately 195 excursions with 3,280 people aboard who helped haul up her sails and experience the wonders of Oyster Bay. Her passengers and crew range from infants to senior citizens, students to retirees, able-bodied to physically challenged, AP to special ed, and come from the full range of social and economic backgrounds.

Marine Education Sails: 60 excursions were Field Trips commissioned by schools, scouts and other groups like Boys and Girls Clubs. 1,094 students and adults participated in these. For each of these sails one or two educators from the WaterFront Center were on board to guide students in activities such as dredging, examining a touch tank with native animals, deploying a plankton net and examining microscopic organisms, sampling and measuring water quality, fishing, and tying knots.

Public Sails: 35 sails on the Christeen were scheduled for the public to enjoy during 2009. 676 individuals, families and friends signed up for Sunset Cruises, Harbor Tours and Public Marine Education Sails with an educator on board.

Private Charters: Christeen took out 55 private charters for parties, corporate outings and other custom events.

Junior Summer Programs: Among their many activities in addition to learning to sail in Optimists and PiXels, Bay Buccaneers, Sound Swashbucklers, First Mates and Skippers (Junior Summer Program participants) get two to four opportunities during their one or two-week sessions to sail on the Christeen to examine water quality and wildlife, fish, dredge, navigate, etc.

Festival Cruises: Finally, Christeen takes the public out on the bay for no-cost and low-cost sails several times during Bay Day, Oyster Festival and other festivals.

Christeen is essential to the success of the WaterFront Center. She invites everyone to get off the shore and participate in nature. She is a symbol of the past, and representative of the current local oyster industry. She is our floating classroom, allowing experiences people of all ages would otherwise not have a chance to participate in, from oyster dredges and water quality tests to plankton tows and hoisting the sails of an historic vessel. The mix of people who enjoy the Christeen each year indicates she will continue to serve the WaterFront Center's mission for many years to come. Please help us ensure the Christeen can continue to serve people of all backgrounds by donating to her keel repair and mast replacement taking place during the winter of 2010/11 and her essential endowment to keep her sailing for years to come.

The repairs will take place in 'Building J' just north of railroad tracks at the entrance of Teddy Roosevelt Park in Oyster Bay, NY. Christeen will be on public land managed by the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Town of Oyster Bay. We could not provide public access nor undertake this project without the support of these government agencies. Please let our local officials and State Senator Carl Marcellino know how much you appreciate their support of our mission.