CBYCA
Board Meeting and Delegates Meeting
At the
Bush
River Yacht Club
17
November 2007
Report
of SIYC Delegate
1.
I am pleased
to announce that I have been elected Qualifications
Officer to the Chesapeake Bay Yacht Club Association,
and even more pleased to announce that Bob Kuzmick has
agreed to replace me as Solomons Island Yacht Club’s
Delegate to the CBYCA (contingent on the appointment by
the Bridge of SIYC). I look forward to
pleasant company on every 3rd month.
Car pooling with Bob will be pleasant, as these meetings
often require long drives,
2.
The November meeting
was held at the Bush River Yacht Club, which is about 30
miles north of Baltimore on the Bush River. The
Bush River has a controlling depth of 4’ and dredging it
back to 6’ has been a goal of the CBYCA for the last few
years. It looks like it will happen this year.
As
noted before there is no one yacht club model, but Bush
River YC is similar to ours. It has 150 regular
members, and 150 slips. The initiation fee is $800
and regular members have slips and pay $800 per year for
their membership. They offer a social/pool
membership, with bar and social privileges, for $500/yr
and finally a pool only membership of $200/yr. All
regular members are required participate in two clean-up
days and to work 20 hours per year. They have one
full time employee. All classes of members are
required to buy an annual coupon book for $100 and the
coupons are redeemable in the bar, and food.
The
price of drinks and food is about the same as SIYC and
the building is about half again the size. With
the large pool, grounds and parking area it looks like
the whole site covers about 5 acres.
3.
CBCYA has grown in
2007 adding four new clubs have joined and one resigned
bringing the total of member clubs to 129. The 70
year old Rock Hall Yacht Club resigned because of an
aging and declining membership. There is new
leadership that is trying to restore its vitality and
bring it back with children programs, dances and other
activities aimed at younger member families. CBYCA
has been told to expect it back in few years.
- Automated External
Defibrillation: The CBYCA is looking into a program
facilitating the use of AED in yacht clubs. For
every minute that a person in cardiac arrest goes
without being successfully treated (by
defibrillation), the chance of survival decreases by
10 percent. After approximately three minutes,
irreversible brain/tissue damage occurs. Emergency
cardiac care requires both CPR and an automated
external defibrillator (AED). The price of the AED
has decreased to less than $1,000, but this is a
small part of all that is required. CPR trained
members would have to be trained in recognizing
cardiac arrest, and the use of the defibrillator.
Nevertheless, we are a group of that could benefit.
Issues being checked out are the Maryland state law
and regulations, requirements of training costs and
access, and the relationship to the “good Samaritan
Act.” CBYCA will make recommendations in early 2008.
- Boat Noise: The Maryland
Environmental Protection Agency has taken notice of
the noise created by some high performance boats
with loud exhaust systems. The existing rules are
ineffective and new rules are being considered with
noise measurement made from the shore line, and an
exception for sanctioned races.
- Water Discharge from Boats:
CBYCA urges all boaters to tell their U.S.
Congressional and Senate Representatives to support
the Recreational Boating Act of 2007 (H.R. Bill 2550
and S. 2067) to avoid cumbersome overboard discharge
rules and permits when boating. As reported
earlier, a Federal District Court issued an order
eliminating the decades old recreational vessel
excursions from the Environmental Protection Act.
The effect is to bring our boats under the same
discharge rules that apply to major commercial
vessels, we may need permits for all forms of water
discharge from a recreational boat in the same way
that commercial boats do. The EPA has held hearings
to establish vessel discharge rules (72 Fed. Reg.
34241) but has not published rules yet. Absent a
stay of some sort, the new rules will become
effective in September 2008. An appeal has been
filled in the 9th Circuit Court but it is
not likely to rule before new regulations are
published and enforced. The recreational boating
community wants the former exemption reestablished.
Thus, supporting the two above bills is critical.
Contact information for our congressional and
senatorial representatives will be available below
and on SIYC web site. I have written Representative
Hoyer, and Senators Mikulski and Cardin. I hope
other SIYC members will do the same.
7.
LNG docks: The
states of New Jersey and New York are considering an
offshore island 160 miles out that will take 5 tankers
at a time and pipe it ashore. Five at a time
obviates the need for the other proposed docking
facilities, but probably will not affect the Cove Point
faculty.
8.
Maryland’s Governor
O’Malley’s Marine Industry Task Force had its 1st
meeting October 9th. It is
consolidating state efforts in support of boating such
as marketing Maryland as a boating destination,
manufacturing, service and maintaining waterways.
John Zalusky,
Delegate
Appendix:
Senator Barbra Mikulski
503 Hart Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510-2003
202 224 4654
http://mikulski.senate.gov
Senator Ben Cardin
509 Hart Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
202 224 4524
http://cardin.senate.gov
Representative Steny Hoyer
1705 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
202 225 4131
http://majorityleader.gov/
John L. Zalusky, 13018 Barreda Blvd.,
Lusby, MD 20657, 410 326 3037, 443 271 3867,
jzalusky@earthlink.net
