Has your ship come in? Fundraiser for Taylor’s Island might answer the question

Forty years ago, Chris Herman’s mother bought a second-hand boat in an effort to get her family out on the water. It worked.

Soon the family was hauling the 1975, 12-foot fiberglass dinghy down to the water every summer and rowing around Dering Harbor. They never once tried to sail her.

Deciding it was time to find the boat a new home, last week Mr. Herman donated the Sumner Islands rowing and sailing dinghy with lee boards, rudder and two sets of oars, as well as mast, boom, three Bottger Sails, 1 main (S12) and 2 jib, to the Taylor’s Island Foundation.

The Foundation is offering the classic boat to the highest bidder. If you wish to submit a bid, it must be postmarked no later than Nov. 10, 2022.

Send sealed bids to Taylor’s Island Foundation, PO Box 524, Shelter Island Heights, NY  11965-0524.

Pictured above, the boat is also on display on the north side of Oxford Avenue in the Heights.

Proceeds from the sale of the dinghy will support the Foundation’s efforts in preserving, maintaining and providing public access to Taylor’s Island and its historic Smith-Taylor Cabin.

Taylor’s Island is a tombolo — an island only at high tide — in Coecles Harbor. The Island and the Smith-Taylor Cabin, built around 1900 by F.M. Smith, was a gift to the Town of Shelter Island from S. Gregory Taylor for the “use and enjoyment of the general public.”

The Taylor’s Island Preservation and Management Committee and the Taylor’s Island Foundation exist to restore the Island and fulfill Mr. Taylor’s wish.

The Smith-Taylor Cabin is listed on the New York State Register of Historic Places and on the National Register of Historic Places.