The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum offers the opportunity to get a great deal on the boat of your dreams this Labor Day weekend during the 19th annual Charity Boat Auction on Saturday, September 3. More than 100 boats—ranging in size and performance from sailing dinghies to cabin cruisers, and everything in between—will be in the water and on land to be auctioned off to the highest bidders.
Advanced, absentee bids will be accepted, and can be called in with payment information at 410-745-4961 or taken in person until noon on Friday, September 2, 2016. As an absolute auction, all boats will be sold the day of the event, with a title office set up at the museum for ease of transfer. All boats must be removed by Monday, September 5.
The event is generously sponsored by Crabi Gras, with proceeds from the rain or shine event benefiting the children and adults served by CBMM’s education, restoration, and exhibition programming.
Auction boats will be available for preview on Thursday, September 1 and Friday, September 2 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. each day, with a $5 non-member admission. Guests can also preview the boats beginning at 8:00 a.m. the day of the event, with the live auction beginning at 11:00 a.m. along CBMM’s Miles River waterfront campus. Food and beverages will be available for purchase at 10:00 a.m., and beer beginning at 10:30 a.m.
CBMM’s Boat Donation Program Director Lad Mills and Program Manager Todd Taylor take donations and resell boats throughout the year, holding aside some of the inventory for the annual auction. Mills and Taylor travel the east coast working with boat owners, yacht brokers, marinas, boatyards, and other donors and potential buyers wanting to support CBMM through boat donations and sales. Sales of boats prior to the auction will end on Sunday, July 31, 2016, to prepare for the auction.
“100% of the revenue generated by the auction goes directly toward helping the museum’s educational programs and restoring and preserving its historic structures and boats,” says Mills. “Let us take an unused or unwanted boat off your hands, and you can receive a nice tax deduction. Each donated boat helps the museum do great things for the people we serve.”
The event also includes a flea market-style tag sale from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. where guests can purchase a variety of used boating gear, including ground tackle, electrical equipment, hardware, rope and chain, oars, life jackets, fishing tackle, motors, and more.
Auction boats and the official rules can be viewed at www.cbmm.org/boatauction, with inventory updated weekly. Boat sales are on-going throughout the year, with all auction boats subject to sale prior to the auction.
To donate a boat or items for the tag sale, or for updates on the boat auction and inventory, visit www.cbmm.org/boatauction, call 410-745-4961, or email [email protected] or [email protected].
On September 3, CBMM’s gates open at 8:00 a.m., with free entrance for museum members and children ages 5 and under. Otherwise, general admission is $5 per person until 11:00 a.m. After 11:00 a.m., admission is $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and students with a college ID, and $6 for children between the ages of 6 and 17. Advanced tickets can be purchased online at www.cbmm.org/boatauction.
Established in 1965, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum is a world-class maritime museum dedicated to preserving and exploring the history, environment, and people of the entire Chesapeake Bay, with the values of relevancy, authenticity, and stewardship guiding its mission. Serving nearly 70,000 guests each year, CBMM’s campus includes a floating fleet of historic boats and 12 exhibition buildings, situated in a park like setting along the Miles River and St. Michaels’ harbor. For more information, visit www.cbmm.org.
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