Spending his childhood summers at his parents’ shore home in Baltimore County’s Middle River, Dennis Krizek found a passion for any activity that involved water. Krizek especially loved fishing, crabbing, and sailing. His enthusiasm for being on the water hasn’t wavered since he was a kid. Now, he owns his own boat and considers it his home away from home.
“I taught myself to sail on an Old Town dinghy that I converted using an old canoe sailing rig,” Krizek says. “My grandfather taught me at an early age that ‘if you see something that needs doing, then do it.’”
Krizek now lives in Gaithersburg and is retired from a nearly 40-year career working at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), where he led a research program in Hematology. He finds himself in Annapolis often, either spending time on his Beneteau 393 sailboat, Sea Tango, or volunteering with Annapolis Maritime Museum & Park (AMMP).
Krizek became involved with AMMP in 2012 through a familial connection—his daughter, Sarah, is the education director for the museum. He also attended events hosted by AMMP, which piqued his interest in volunteering. Krizek began volunteering as a docent, and his role has since evolved. He assists with trail maintenance and restoration, helps move museum exhibits, cleans up after events, refurbishes wooden boats, maintains and cleans the museum’s 800-gallon aquarium, and feeds the fish.
“Dennis will pitch in wherever needed, but his greatest attribute is his delightful disposition and quiet sense of humor,” AMMP’s President and CEO Alice Estrada says. “Dennis is beloved by the entire museum team.”
Another significant contribution Krizek makes to AMMP is assisting with the restoration and repair of the 75-foot skipjack, Wilma Lee. Krizek serves as the liaison for the project, working with the shipwright, the Coast Guard, AMMP staff, and other volunteers. When the museum purchased Wilma Lee, Krizek worked on the surveys, as well as assisted with the provisions to bring the boat from North Carolina to Annapolis. He helped find a crew, and made sure the ship had electronics and a GPS. He also accompanied the crew on the trip up north. Additionally, Krizek’s background in woodworking has proved to be very beneficial in the restoration of the wooden ship. Estrada says he dedicates 25 hours per week to work on the ship in order to ensure it will be passenger-ready this spring.
“His passionate devotion to our Wilma Lee skipjack has been such a tremendous contribution,” she says. “Having acquired the Wilma Lee in June of 2018, the museum was not sure where to start. Dennis took charge, and his fastidious attention to detail and management of Wilma Lee’s restoration and repairs has been extraordinary.”
Krizek looks forward to seeing how the skipjack benefits the museum’s future, and greatly admires its educational programs.
“I think the skipjack is going to be supplemental to the education programs,” he says. “It would be really great to take the school children out on an actual skipjack, and possibly even dredge for oysters and show them how watermen used to do this 50, 60, 100 years ago.”
Although he’s on the move quite a bit, Krizek seems to be right in his element when he’s volunteering at AMMP.
“[I love] working with the people from the museum,” he shares. “The staff is just wonderful. They’re very knowledgeable and helpful.”
