Keep the Water Within Reach
Your year-end gift helps students, families, veterans, and neighbors of every ability experience Oyster Bay harbor.
A Message from Our President
Dear Friends -
One of our volunteer crew members, Jack Hoyt, tells a story about a passenger who had lived in Oyster Bay for 15 years. Sailing with us was her first time out on the water. Until then, she told him, she had no idea how special it is.
Jack called that moment our mission in a nutshell, and I agree. Oyster Bay Harbor is right here, yet for too many people it remains something they only see from shore. For 26 years, The WaterFront Center has worked to change that.
This fall, 21 students from Jericho High School spent five hours aboard IDA MAY. They tested water quality, studied oysters, identified plankton from samples they pulled from the harbor, and hauled up urchins and crabs in the dredge. Lessons from the classroom became something they could hold in their hands.
Moments like these depend on you. Program fees only go so far, and your support takes us further. It helps keep our education programs strong, our historic vessels sailing, and our doors open to people who might otherwise never get out on the water.
Please make your gift to the 2026 Annual Appeal today. Thank you for helping keep the water within reach.
With gratitude -
Henriette Rohl. - President, The WaterFront Center
What Your Support Makes Possible ( Jamie )
Your year-end gift helps students, families, veterans, and neighbors of every ability experience Oyster Bay harbor.
__7,000? students came to the WFC for educational field trips and participated in programs we brought to their schools.
3,005 people boarded Christeen and Ida May, for marine education programs, harbor tours, fishing expeditions, and private charters.
482 children and teens attended summer sailing and marine discovery camps, and 166 registered for sailing programs during the spring and fall, including High School Sailing.
446 adults took learn-to-sail programs and private lessons in Sonars and participated in special programs such as Community Sailing, Veterans on the Water, Zig-Zag Accessible Sailing and Women on the Water.
Kayaks, paddleboards and sailboats were rented 1,845 times.
What Your Support Makes Possible ( Henriette )
Your year-end gift helps students, families, veterans, and neighbors of every ability experience Oyster Bay harbor.
Marine Education Provide interactive, hands-on STEM and marine science experiences that turn Oyster Bay and Long Island Sound into living classrooms.
Classrooms and Schools Our naturalists bring live marine animals, mobile touch tanks, STEM activities, and customizable science lessons directly into classrooms.
Children & Families Families explore marine life, learn together, sail, paddle, and build lifelong connections to the water.
Scholarships & Access Reduce financial barriers so more children and families can participate in sailing, marine education, camps, and other waterfront experiences.
Fleet and Equipment Invest in boats, educational equipment, technology, safety resources, and the tools our staff need to provide high-quality programs.
Community Access Work with schools, community organizations, homeschool groups, Scouts, and other partners while developing new opportunities for people of different ages and abilities.
One Gift, Many Ways onto the Water
A Living Classroom. Students study real habitats and real species right where they live, turning Oyster Bay Harbor into a place to practice science rather than just read about it.
Confidence for Young Sailors. Through sailing, fishing, marine science, and teamwork, young people grow more confident in and around the water. The Frinnie Storrs Waterfront Scholarship helps families with financial need take part in Youth Summer Programs.
Access for All. ZigZag Adaptive Sailing makes sailing more inclusive for people with physical and cognitive disabilities. Veterans on Water offers veterans the challenge of seamanship and the serenity of the harbor at no cost.
Living History. Christeen, a National Historic Landmark oyster sloop, and Ida May, a replica oyster dredge, are floating classrooms and direct links to Oyster Bay's maritime heritage.
Stewardship of the Harbor. Volunteers tag horseshoe crabs on our local beaches and help raise oysters, building the next generation of caretakers for these waters.
