The Hutchinson River Needs You! Help Us Restore Our Skiff!

For those of you just discovering us, there’s so much to do!

First, our annual cleanup is this Sunday, September 19 at City Island Road and Shore Road – hope to see you there!

We are also looking to honor Jack Ullman, a true leader for the Hutch, by restoring our skiff, the Anne Hutchinson. This will help us explore and discover problems on the river.

Here is the letter we’ve been sending our Hutch Protectors:

To Friends of the Hutchinson River,

One of the founding members of the Hutchinson River Restoration Project (HRRP), the physicist Jack Ullman, passed away recently. Jack was a familiar figure to many on City Island, riding his bike until well in his 80s. He was passionate about cleaning up the Hutchinson and loved his boat, the Anne Hutchinson.  He had the boat built to his specification’s years ago. In his own words.

“The boat was built for me in 1980, by hand, of wood, by Michael Delaney, who then was doing fine carpentry for the last of the City Island yacht builders.  I had always wanted a good rowboat like the ones used by the Chicago Life Guards when I was in my teens.  They were easy to row, seaworthy and beautiful.  He showed me plans and pictures and I chose a design called a Whitehall Skiff, a water taxi used in New York Harbor in the 19th century.  The 1880 version had a collapsible spritsail rig that stowed on the boat.  Small ones like mine had no centerboard but only used the sail when the wind was favorable. “

Jack generously donated the Anne Hutchinson to HRRP. It is indeed beautiful but needs some repairs and restoring.  We would like to restore the boat to be used as a means of celebrating the river and reminder that cleaning up of our environment is a necessity. While sailing on the waters near our beaches and boatyards carrying appropriate banners, it will become a reminder to all that we must preserve and protect our environment.

We are asking for donations to help us reach our goal and keep Jack’s memory alive. You can contribute via Paypal (see https://hutchinsonriver.wordpress.com/donate/) or

by check made out to the Hutchinson River Restoration Project.  Send it to:

 

The Hutchinson River Restoration Project

88 Horton Street

City Island, NY 10464

 

Thank you from the Executive Board of HRRP

Jack Ullman on an August 2017 excursion.