Peter R. Kellogg is a philanthropist and yachtsman who has significantly supported the preservation of small boats and their contribution to history, and the programs that teach the skills and legacy of sailing to young people to pass on to the next generation.

When he was 17, together with a friend, Peter Kellogg bought his first boat, the Class A catboat Lotus. Built by Morton Johnson in Bay Head, New Jersey in 1925, she was a very old and leaky boat when he acquired her. During the seven years he owned Lotus, he got his first hands-on lessons in maintaining and racing sailboats. She had been owned in the twenties by the Shoettle family of Toms River who were the original owners of Silent Maid.

n the eighties, a revival of the A Cat fleet got Peter interested the class again. He commissioned the Workshop on the Water at The Seaport Museum in Philadelphia to build an A Cat named Tamwock, which was launched in 1990. In 1994, they built another A Cat, Vapor, and then Torch. Peter also donated one of the original A Cats to the Toms River Seaport Society and Maritime Museum and inspired National Sailing Hall of Famer Gary Jobson to write the definitive book on A Cat sailing, Chasing Roosters.

With his generosity and leadership, the A Cat fleet has expanded to at least 13 boats (2005) including four original vessels. Having always been a wooden boat enthusiast and a charitable supporter of the Independent Seaport Museum of Philadelphia, Peter endowed the museum with funds to build two replicas of these boats. Museum boatbuilder John Brady then set out to recreate them in 1996 and 1997. Starting with original drawings from the Smithsonian Institution, Brady had to fill in a lot of the missing design data and interpolate new drawings from his own experience as a boatbuilder. With the help of Newt Kirkland, Bob Ranson and Sean Corson, Brady was successful. The results are the magnificent boats – Bull and Bear. With ongoing support from Peter Kellogg, these boats have been used for many youth sailing programs and as ambassadors for other sailing projects Peter supports. Their current home is the Annapolis Waterfront Sailing Center dock in Annapolis where they are used to teach sailing to young people.

Kellogg was also a supporter of duck boat racing in his home waters of Barnegat Bay. To support the resurgence of this older fleet, Peter told the local yacht clubs that he would make a donation to their junior sailing programs if they would restore a duck boat and enter it in the annual World Ducks regatta. In two years’ time, this program succeeded in bringing all 13 yacht clubs around Barnegat Bay together for this event. Then he upped the ante offering to donate $5,000 to a charity of their choice for anyone who entered a new or restored duck boat in the World Ducks for the first time and $1,000 for their owner’s charity each time the boat was re-entered thereafter. As a result, the race that had dwindled to less than 15 entries in the early nineties now has over 70.

n another project to support youth sailing, Kellogg donated 13 new 19′ Ribcraft inflatables, each with a trailer, a 90HP Honda engine, and a boat cover to the Barnegat Bay Yacht Racing Association (BBYRA). These boats have been leased to each of the BBYRA clubs for use in youth sailing programs on Barnegat Bay. In June 2011, the boats were distributed to each yacht club at a cocktail party held at the Mantoloking Yacht Club.

More recently, Peter supplied funds for the whaleboats that were built for the Mystic Seaport’s Charles W Morgan. Ten of these boats were constructed at various boat shops by young people participating in youth programs specifically set up for this purpose. A relevant google search turns up many more examples of Peter Kellogg’s philanthropy and generous support of sailing programs and classic yacht restoration as well as generous financial and in-kind donations to numerous maritime and classic boat museums.

Yachting Philanthropy

• Donated one of the original A Cats to the Toms River Seaport Society and Maritime Museum.
• With his generosity and leadership, the A Cat fleet has expanded to at least 13 boats (as of 2005) including four original vessels.
• Charitable supporter of the Independent Seaport Museum of Philadelphia.
• Peter endowed the Independent Seaport Museum of Philadelphia with funds to build two replicas A Cats – Bull and Bear – now docked at the National Sailing Hall of Fame.
• Was largely responsible for the resurgence of Duck Boat racing in his home waters of Barnegat Bay. As a result of his incentives and support, the race that had dwindled to less than 15 entries in the early nineties now has over 70.
• On another project to support youth sailing, donated 13 new 19′ Ribcraft inflatables, each with a trailer, a 90HP Honda engine and a boat cover to the Barnegat Bay Yacht Racing Association.
• Peter Kellogg supplied funds for the whaleboats that were built for the Mystic Seaport’s Charles W Morgan.
• Provided $100,000 in matching funds for the North Coast Community Sailing’s Teen Sailing Program in Bayfield, Wisconsin.
• Helped with funding the restoration of Myth in Bay Head, New Jersey.
• Provided funds for the spars, sails and rig for the 1888 Lawley Elf restored by the Classic Yacht Restoration Guild of Earleville, Maryland.