The skipjack Nathan of Dorchester celebrated her fifteenth birthday on the Fourth of July. She started the festivities by offering two free sails to the public. Volunteers with the nonprofit Dorchester Skipjack Committee then decorated the vessel prior to her leading the annual Cambridge Fourth of July Boat Parade.

The organization recognized the skipjack’s builders with a special dinner sail for the occasion. Several of the original volunteers who built the Nathan in 1994 were able to attend, along with wives who reportedly put up with their husbands spending many long days working on the boat. Melvin Hickman related that many of the builders made sure to be there every day “because they didn’t want to miss anything.”

In remarks made at Cambridge’s 325th anniversary celebration that afternoon, Dorchester Skipjack Committee President Dan Cada thanked Cambridge for the City’s hospitality over the years.

“From the original volunteers who built the boat, to our berth at the city marina, to the many businesses that have provided services to keep the Nathan sailing and looking her best, to the continued generosity of the Nathan Foundation, to the extraordinary volunteers who serve as captains and crew and in administrative and maintenance roles, we could not have asked for a more welcoming home port,” he said.

For more information, to charter the boat or to volunteer, contact the Dorchester Skipjack Committee at 410-228-7141 or visit its website, www.skipjack-nathan.org.