Sag Chamber Raises Funds to Save HarborFest Whale & Boats

Sag Harbor’s annual fall celebration of the village and its community, HarborFest, returns this weekend, September 13-15, with a packed schedule of fun things to do and see, including the main event: two days of exciting whaleboat racing competition. This year is extra special with the inclusion of newly restored whaleboats and a freshly repaired HarborFest whale float that is the focal point of the races.

The Sag Harbor Chamber of Commerce and others are also raising money to pay for improvements to the beloved white whale, which is about 30–40 years old (this particular incarnation of it), and they may have to replace it if the repairs don’t hold.

“It’s been around for a long time, and it put its time in. It has had people throwing plungers at it, you know, once a year for a weekend,” Sag Harbor Chamber of Commerce president Ellen Dioguardi says of the iconic sperm whale that boaters must harpoon with plungers during the races. But, she points out, the boats had to function before any whale repair could be considered.

“Our first thing was we had to get the whaleboats fixed, because people were getting out of them with ankle-deep water,” Dioguardi continues, noting that they thought it would take all summer to raise the money, but the Chamber gathered close to $15,000 for the boats to be fixed with a one-night fundraising event at Baron’s Cove. And because that money was raised so quickly — including a $5,000 challenge donation from Sag Harbor Yacht Club — she said they’ve turned their attention to the whale, which is a bit of a mystery.

According to Dioguardi, Ray Pettigrew, captain of the legendary Team Whalers — who have won more HarborFest whaleboat races than any other team in memory — has done a good job repairing the whale for this year’s festival. “We’ll know this weekend just how good, but it’s got a new structure, interior, to some extent. And that was one of the main concerns, was that the whale itself would fall in, sort of deflate, as it were,” Dioguardi says, explaining that they were worried moving the whale from its home at Ship Ashore Marina would cause it to collapse, but Pettigrew’s work building a new wooden interior structure and a new floor for the dinghy that keeps it in the water, and sealing the outside with waterproof nautical foam, has kept it standing and, hopefully, will keep it afloat.

“We’re thinking that it’s definitely good for this year, and we have some bills to pay for that, so we’re going to continue raising money,” Dioguardi adds, pointing out that local rocker Nancy Atlas, who was already playing an opening night concert for HarborFest at 7 p.m. Friday night in the Old Whalers Church (44 Union Street), has happily agreed to make that concert a “Save the Whale” benefit. Atlas has also designed limited edition T-shirts to be sold at her concert and throughout HarborFest weekend.

Dioguardi says attendees at HarborFest can donate by scanning a special QR code on posters throughout the festival. “And then our plan is, once we have a better idea and we see how the whale functions this weekend, to do another fundraiser along the lines of what we did for the boats, and continue to either restore this whale or build a new one,” she continues, explaining that the Chamber never put aside funds for this eventuality, though it does keep money, with help from the Village, for fixing the windmill, which serves as their information center.

“But the whale and the whaleboats now are going to have a little savings account of their own to keep them in shape, because, like I say till I’m blue in the face… as the whaleboat races go, so goes HarborFest. There’s a lot of other stuff that happens at HarborFest. … but the whaleboat races are really the heart of the festival,” Dioguardi says.

“Last year, the winds were so bad on Saturday that we were scared (the whale) was going to sink,” Dioguardi says, describing the current state of things as much improved. “That’s where the whale was a year ago. And my guess is — and it’s a pretty educated guess — that we’re going to be in really good shape with the whale this year, and we better be, because I have told everybody that I will swim out and tread water and hold it up if it starts to fall. I’m a really good treader,” she adds. “It’s not sinking under my presidency. Leave that to the next guy.”

HarborFest kicks off with the Nancy Atlas concert on Friday and really gets underway Saturday and Sunday. Whaleboat races start at noon Saturday and continue throughout both days until the championships at 3:30 p.m. Sunday.

Visit sagharborchamber.com to donate or learn more.