Tickets are available for $5 each or 5 for $20 and only 400 tickets are being sold. Tickets can be purchased by calling (401) 874-5273 or (401) 874-6206. They may also be purchased at the Foundation Boat Sale & Open House, Saturday, June 7th from 9a.m.– 4 p.m. at the URI Bay Campus. The drawing for this unique vessel and will take place on June 9th; the winner will be notified.
The Foundation’s Boat Donation Program – which accepts boat donations and resells many of them to the public year-round, was created in 1974. It has processed over 1,600 boats over the years, receiving an average of 80 vessels each year ranging from small runabouts to large sailing yachts and flybridge cruisers. While the majority of donations come from New England, vessels have come from as far away as Michigan and South America.
Some donated boats – which generally come from alumni and friends looking to support the University, deemed suitable for use in URI marine-related programs, are kept to assist the University in training future generations of fisherman, marine researchers and boat enthusiasts. Others are sold, the proceeds used to create endowments generating scholarships and operating funds for marine and other programs. Donors may specify the specific use of boat sale proceeds. Previous sales have funded music, athletics, pharmacy, engineering and a variety of other University programs.
The URI Foundation Boat Donation program is based out of the URI Bay Campus on South Ferry Road in Narragansett. Donors and potential buyers are invited to visit the boatyard Tuesdays & Thursdays, 12 Noon –7 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 9 a.m.–1 p.m.; or by appointment. Boat program manager Craig Parkhurst can be reached at (401) 874-6206 or by email at boatyard@foundation.uri.edu. For more information visit www.urifoundation.org and click the boat.