Thomas E. Leach, BS Chemistry,Tufts University has served as Natural Resources
Director/Harbormaster for the past 34 years. . Tom says to
be a harbormaster you must be a jack of all trades and a people person. He is a
manager/director, computer programer,welder,
splicer, diver, scientist, plumber, carpenter, and holds a captains license. Tom is also a graduate of the Massachusetts Harbormaster program at Mass Maritime Academy. He
admits that surrounding oneself with an outstanding staff has done a lot for making the
tasks at hand achievable.When not working Tom enjoys competitive offshore and dinghy sailing,tennis,
surfing the outer beach, astronomy, selenography, watercolor, learning more about lightships and cruising Pleasant Bay with Jackie in
the most versatile boat they have ever owned, a 13' Boston Whaler. Surfing has really become large for Tom. Costa Rica west coast is again on his radar screen for March 2007.
In 1975, Tom fell overboard from an offshore lobster boat at Lydonia Canyon, 150 miles southeast of Harwich Port. He made his mind up then that being a harbormaster has some good consequences.
He is president of the Cape & Islands Harbormasters Association. (TuftsLife.com TuftsDaily.com Tufts E-News TAAP)
Heinz M. Proft, Assistant Harbormaster/Natural Resources Officer, Masters degree in
Marine Fisheries from The College of William and Mary, Virginia Institute of Marine Science.
Always on the go, Heinz is responsible for running the Town's Shellfish Lab (3.5 million
clams this summer), enforcing shellfish regulations, monitoring the alewife run, and
assisting in the daily marina operations. Heinz also coordinates volunteers in the Town pond and saltwater monitoring program. He also works closely with Harwich high
school science students in the summer who help out in the Shellfish lab and develop
independent research projects. He is a graduate of the Massachusetts Shellfish Officers Training Program. Heinz's past experiences include working at the Boston
University Marine Program in Woods Hole, The Caribbean Marine Research Center in Vero
Beach, Florida, and working aboard a Korean fish processor in the Bering Sea obtaining data
for the National Marine Fisheries Service. During his free time, Heinz can be found playing soccer, basketball, tennis, and the harmonica. Not only an accomplished Scuba diver, he is also a private pilot and has now joined ranks as a member of the Civil Air Patrol, the auxiliary wing of the United States Air Force. He also volunteers time as a pilot for Angel Flight, a non-proft organization serving the community by providing FREE air transportation on private aircraft to financially and medically needy people who cannot access or afford regular commercial transportation to health care.
Michelle Morris was hired in October 2004 after an exhaustive search for the right person. She
assumed her new role as our first ever full-time Principal Clerk in the Harbormasters Office
with authority. Her solid background in banking, long term experience as a chief loan officer
and congenial personality made her the top pick for the job in helping organize all the facets of operating a busy marina and year-round port.
A Mattaposiett native, she owns a motorboat with her electrical contractor husband Scott and they share a home in East Harwich. Besides Scott, Michelle loves Cape Cod, her dogs and the Outer Beach and has been very active in the MBBA (Mass Beach Buggy Association) for years.
This August, Michelle and Scott had their first baby Peyton. Hoorah!
Tom Telesmanick began work at Saquatucket Harbor as our new dockhand/trouble shooter in the Harbor Department. He was hired for his many many skills as a former building contractor and handyman but there is a lot more to Telesmanick's interesting story than meets the eye and not one that you would say "don't give up your day job".
The act of practicing, playing and performing music has been a part of Tom’s life for as long as he can remember. And over the years, he’s parlayed his talent of the accordion – a gift he received and began to master at the tender age of five – along with that of the piano, keyboard, guitar, and even ukulele, to provide others with a soundtrack to life. A long-time Harwich resident, Telesmanick has taken his sometimes solo, sometimes ensemble show from Toronto to Florida and worked countless weddings, parties, dances, fundraisers, and funerals. He was also a key member of the Chatham-based children’s band Rainbow Company.
These days,Tom stays closer to home, and can often be found performing in restaurants and bars, from Falmouth’s sea-side bistro Flying Bridge to renown resort Chatham Bars Inn, among various other venues. Oh did we forget to mention, Tom is also an avid fisherman and enjoys chasing the bass and blues around Monomoy and further in his 22' Roballo.
Alex Sherr is a 1st Class Cadet at Massachusetts Maritime Academy. A Lynnfield native he recalls many years of enjoying boating and the Cape with family who have a vacation house near Pleasant Road Beach. It was his connection with the seashore that has given Alex incentive to follow a career in the environment.
To his credit, Alex was a top-notch athlete in high school and to his credit played Junior level ice hockey for the 'Lowell Lock Monsters' in his senior year of high school. He currently plays Lacrosse for the Buccaneers. Alex hopes to learn
as much as he can about waterfront management and people skills working for as Harbormaster and
the Harwich Natural Resources Department. He particularly sees the challenge of helping Tom Leach navigate the challenges of enforcement of the Towns Harbor Management Plan (HMP is one of the strongest in the Commonwealth) daunting.
Alex appreciates the regimentation of the Academy
and point of being squared away where it comes to operating a boat, the harbor or his life.
Hoorah.
Jake Sklarew grew up on Cape Cod and played football at Barnstable High School. Somewhere on his college path between Fordham and Uconn, Jake manage to take almost two years exploring the entire continent of South America. Like a page out of "Motorcycle Diaries" he traveled with and without a companion exploring the natural beauty and intrigue of the continent below, talking to the friendly folks down there and all the time improving his second language - Spanish. The process took time and was a maturing one. We are very fortunate to have Jake on staff where he is now involved in nearly every facet of our waterfront and finds coming to work always an interesting challenge.
Jim Coyle, part-time assistant harbormaster is onboard again this season
as wharfinger keeping a watchful eye on the bluefin tuna fleet as they land their catch at our landings. A Navy veteran, Jim spent a carreer as one of those few that can make companies run efficiently and worked in the precision bearing industry in the US and Great Britain. Jim enjoys golf and boating and is an accomplished bass fisherman on Pleasant Bay.
He also finds time to serve as a volunteer shellfish warden patroling flats and answering questions like 'can I shellfish with my eight grandchildren and 16 house guests on my senior citizen permit?' What time is low tide?
Frank Kunz, Assistant Harbormaster/Wharfinger
Frank Kunz, part-time assistant harbormaster is onboard again this season
as wharfinger keeping a watchful eye on the bluefin tuna fleet as they land their catch at our landings. A Navy veteran, Frank also emjoys a very active live as a boarding officer inspector for commercial fishing vessels under the USCG Auxiliary.
His job there as an USCGAux Officer includes everything from search and rescue to hunting down open microphones on the marine frequency.
