The Chesapeake Bay is in serious trouble. All that live beside it stand to benefit or lose by what we do to protect this vital natural resource. The Skipjack, the last American vessel to fish under sail, is a fading reminder of the wealth and prosperity that the bay has offered... A symbol for the brittle balance between all of us and the place where we live. Our mission is to promote and preserve Historic Chesapeake Bay Watercraft and to educate the public in the heritage of the Chesapeake Bay. And further, to promote and assist scientific research and to gather scientific information on preserving the plants and animals in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. We will grow stronger as participation in bay studies grows. Our financial needs are relative. They depend on the extent to which the community concedes a need to support a program of education using a skipjack.

The MARTHA LEWIS project is an ambition whose realization will depend entirely on the energy and vision of those who come forward to continue it. It is also another test, an open question to those with the vision to answer, of our ability to manage our Chesapeake heritage before parts of it are erased completely.