[The following was posted on 8/23/10]

Fighting for Dredging Monies 

The August 2010 Delegate meeting of the Chesapeake Bay Yacht Clubs Association (CBYCA) featured Rosemary Lynch, Executive Director, Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Association (AIWA).  She provided the some 50 attendees with the challenges of keeping an appropriate depth in the waters of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.

Lynch founded AIWA in 1999 at the request of dredging and

barge companies that were feeling the effects of an inadequately maintained waterway.  The Association began with 50 commercial members and today has over 200 commercial and recreational members.

Lynch initiated the formation of the bipartisan Congressional Waterway Caucus to address inland waterway issues.  Currently she is:

• Lobbying Congress for the formation of an Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Commission.
• The Commission would include representation from each of the waterway states — Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia and Florida — as well as the federal government and waterway users.
• Lobbying for a “Dredge Management Plan”

Lynch indicated that one of the waterway conundrums is where do the states want the dredged masses to be placed.  This is especially true in Georgia.

AIWA  is the only organization fighting for more dredging monies.  Lynch says they’ve become the “voice of the waterway.”  She’s also campaigning for more economic studies, especially those that show the economic impact that recreational boaters have up and down the waterway.

Florida is the rare exception on economic studies: they’ve verified that recreational boaters contribute approximately $18 billion to the state’s economy.

Recreational boaters can support AIWA with a $20 annual membership.  Click here  for AIWA Membership information.

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[The following was posted on 4/17/10]  Top

Boaters Updated on Boating Safety Statistics 

At the most recent Delegate meeting [4.17.10] of the Chesapeake Bay Yacht Clubs Association (CBYCA), Bill Gossard, Office of Communications, National Transportation Safety Board, provided the some 60 attendees with a national overview of recreational boating deaths.

A few Gossard headlines:

• Over the past 10 years, more than 7,000 boaters have died— about 5,000 of them by drowning.
• Deaths are the result of two major safety failures: lack of a required personal flotation device (life jacket), and uneducated boaters.
• As many as 90 percent of drowning victims every year could still be alive if they had worn life jackets.
• Seven out of ten who drowned were in open motorboats less than 21 feet in length.

To review the entire one-page NTSB Safety Alert provided at the CBYCA Delegate meeting, click here.

Gossard also provided details regarding 2009 boating accidents in New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina and California.  He said that in 2009 there were 83 million boaters — about the same level as 2008.  Of this number, there are 12.6 million registered boaters.

[Webmaster’s note: at recent Maryland hearings on proposed Waste Legislation, it was stated that in Maryland there are over 200,000 registered boaters.]

To review Gossard’s entire three-page NTSB Safety Board Report, and more boating accident details, click here.

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[The following was posted on 3/27/10]   Top

SIYC Opposes Proposed “Waste Legislation” 

[The following is a portion of the official Solomons Island Yacht Club letter of opposition, signed by SIYC Commodore Marty Nash and mailed March 13, 2010 to the Honorable Anthony O’Donnell.  The same letter was also sent to Senator Roy P. Dyson on the same date.  This position statement was written by SIYC Delegate Don Thieme who received comments and suggestions from the SIYC “Galley Cabinet.”]

"Dear Mr. O’Donnell:

We are writing to voice our strong opposition to the current drafts of proposed Senate Bill 513 and its companion House bill, 1257.

Cleaning up the Bay and water ways is commendable; this legislation is specific to boat treatment system and no discharge and, therefore, NOT commendable. 

There are major oversights in the current drafts of SB 513 and HB 1257. 

For all who are truly concerned about improving the water quality of our Bay — and all of its tributaries — we must consider the following:

1.  Your legislation is not addressing the major factors in poor water quality throughout our Bay and its tributaries.  Have your aides do a Google search for “chesapeake bay pollution.”  Look at the 849,000 organic free listings on multiple pages.  Look at page 1 {included in PDF link below} and Google’s Top 10 organic choices.  There is no indication that recreational boaters are anywhere on the radar on actions needed to improve our water quality.

            a.  Let’s have the courage to address the major polluters of the Chesapeake Bay: agricultural and residential runoff, street and highway runoff, faulty municipal sewage treatment plants, industrial runoff and air pollution, over harvesting of water filtering oysters (see below) and faulty residential septic systems.

2.  There is no study in existence affirming or validating that Type 1 and Type 11 Marine Sanitation Devices are contributing to the pollution problem in the Chesapeake Bay.  These MSDs have proven to be effective, and regulatory attention should be directed elsewhere — to much more significant pollution sources. ..."

Click here to open a PDF file of the entire four-page letter

  

CBYCA Also Opposes Waste Legislation

[The following is the letter of opposition prepared by the Chesapeake Bay Yacht Club Association and forwarded to the Maryland Senators noted below.]

“February 26, 2010

Dear Senators,  Conway, Currie, Forehand, Harrington, Jones, King, Klausmeir, Kramer, Lenett, Middleton, Miller, Muse, Peters, Pinsky, Pugh, Raskin, Zirkin

Subject:   SB 513, A BILL ENTITLED NATURAL RESOURCES-VESSELS-NO-DISCHARGE DESIGNATION FOR MARYLAND WATERS

The Chesapeake Bay Yacht Clubs Association (CBYCA) DOES NOT SUPPORT SB 513 AS WRITTEN. We at CBYCA sincerely hope that the legislation asked for EXCLUDE non-commercial boaters (private recreational boaters) under 65 feet in length.

This Bill will produce an unreasonable economic burden on the private recreational boater.  As an alternative CBYCA would endorse the billl, NOT AS WRITTEN, with the Bill EXCLUDING non commercial  boaters under 65 feet from the requirements set forth in the body of the Bill.

CBYCA supports all efforts for Clean Water Iniatives and the enforcement of current and national regulations in our coastal waters of Maryland.  Initiatives that increase awareness and efforts to protect the environment are in the forefront of CBYCA .  The environment is a vital asset for Marylanders, as is the economic impact of the recreational boating community.  The current regulations allowing boats under 65 feet to install type I and II MSD's which treat raw sewage to discharge levels that are acceptable AND of HIGHER standards than those of the Baltimore City Sewage System are a more efficient way of supporting the environmental and economic balance of competing interests. 

Sincerely,

Cecilia Battaglini
CBYCA Legislation Director for Maryland”

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[The following was posted on 2/25/10]  Top

First 2010 Delegate Meeting — Held 2/21/10

Bodkin Yacht Club, Pasadena, Maryland

SIYC Delegate Don Thieme joined over 70 boaters attending the first 2010 Delegate meeting of the Chesapeake Bay Yacht Clubs Association.

CBYCA:  The meeting was led by 2010 Commodore Pam Butler {Baltimore, MD} and 2010 Vice Commodore Kay Brawley {Northeast, MD}.  [Commodores Butler’s home yacht club is Neptune Yacht Club, Baltimore, MD.]

Celia Battaglini, CBYCA, Legislation Director, spearheaded a collective overview of various legislative issues.  Celia spent extra time educating the audience about the parameters regarding Senate Bill 513 that deals with waste discharge from one’s watercraft. 

She indicated the bill had one reading in the Maryland legislature as of this date, with a hearing scheduled for March 16th. 

Celia has several concerns about this proposed legislation.  They include, but are not limited to: this legislation focuses on Coast Guard mandates that are already in place for effluent discharge from one’s watercraft.  Secondly, there are not a sufficient amount of working pump outs in marinas, both winter and summer to handle the 400,000+ registered boaters in Maryland.  And finally, Celia posed that the EPA would not want a state to impose rulings that the state could not service by lack of facilities.

Celia said in closing, “All of us who use the Chesapeake Bay want a CLEAN BAY.  That is why we follow the {current} recommendations regarding discharge.”

Click here to open a PDF file of the proposed legislation.

Keynote Speaker — Colonel George Johnson

Colonel George F. Johnson IV, Superintendent, Maryland Natural Resources Police, provided an overview of his police agency.  Colonel Johnson explained how funding cuts have reduced his agency from 435 officers to approximately 247 men and women.  In addition to the 17,000 miles of waterway for which his agency has responsibility, the officers now have the additional responsibility of Maryland’s state parks.

This conservation responsibility has put huge demands on his officers.  His officers are dealing with everything from poaching and other illegal activities to being the search managers for missing persons.

Colonel Johnson took extra time to provide details about his agency’s new MLINE program that will be tracking all vessel movement in the Chesapeake Bay waterways.  There will be four cameras in strategic locations with each of the cameras having a nine-mile range in the daytime and five miles at night.  The Colonel provided one anonymous anecdote of the illegal oyster collection that occurred recently at 2:30 am.  The illegal persons had gathered 31 bushels of oysters, instead of the legal 12 bushel limit.

The Colonel encouraged anyone spotting suspicious activity to call: 410.260.8888. 

Colonel Johnson gave an overview on one legislative issue namely the “Noise Bill.”  The legislation basically lowers the noise standard to 88 decibels from the current 90 decibels.  He indicated the greatest impact of this legislation — if passed — would be on racing and cigarette boats, also those boats with loud exhausts and cutouts.  The Colonel has concern about the current legislation language and hopes to influence an amendment when the Senate version comes to the House.  The Colonel wants his officers to have the flexibility to provide a warning, if conditions warrant such an approach with the boater.

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[The following was posted on 2/11/10]  Top

Marine Issue — Personal Flotation Devices (PFDs) for Youth

CBYCA Initiative versus SIYC Position

At the November 2009 SIYC Board of Governors meeting the following points and counterpoints were raised regarding a possible new law that would require young people under the age of 14 to wear a PFD on boats.

CBYCA:  Susan Rork, SIYC 2009 Delegate to the CBYCA, announced that the Department of Natural Resources is considering a new law requiring young people under the age of 14 to wear a PFD on boats and looking for SIYC support for this.  She made her request into a motion; seconded by Jane Crawford to write a letter of support for this impending bill.  After discussion, the vote was taken and the motion was not passed.

SIYC New Business — Counter Position

Roger Stobbart made a motion to send a letter to the Department of Natural Resources opposing the bill requiring youth under age 14 to wear personal flotation devices (PFDs) when on boats.  Larry Reich seconded the motion.  The motion was passed.

SIYC Letter to Maryland Natural Resources Police

(The following is an excerpt from the SIYC letter sent December 12, 2009 to the Maryland Natural Resources Police Superintendent.}

“Our Governors feel strongly that the proposal is an unnecessary requirement by the government and the parents are the ones best able to judge for their children over the age of 7 for the need to wear a life jacket.”

SIYC Letter to DNR Regarding PDF Legislation

 

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[posted 1/11/10]   Top

On January 9, 2010 at the SIYC Change of Watch Board of Governors meeting, Don Thieme was appointed by Commodore Marty Nash to assume the role as SIYC Delegate to the Chesapeake Bay Yacht Clubs Association for 2010.

Delegate Thieme {mailto:don@thiemecreativemedia.com} will represent SIYC at the first CBYCA Board/Delegates meeting on February 20, 2010.  The meeting will start at 1:00 pm at the Bodkin Yacht Club in Pasadena, Maryland. 

Thieme plans to have a CBYCA [2/20/10] report on this SIYC web page by March 15, 2010.

CBYCA History and Purpose

An inspiration by a patriarch of Maryland yachtsman, the Honorable William B. Matthews, Jr. to form an organization of Yacht Clubs in the Chesapeake Bay area led to the founding of the CBYCA on September 25, 1957.

The CBYCA was founded with three basic objectives:

1. To protect the interests of better boating in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries through legislation.
2. To define and set up standards of recognition for yacht clubs in the Chesapeake Bay area so as to distinguish between those yacht clubs completely controlled by the members thereof and those wholly or partly controlled by commercial ventures.
3. To act as a liaison and coordinator between yacht clubs as to coming events, such as opening days and commodore’s balls, as far as possible to prevent overlap of these types of events.

SIYC Will Complement CBYCA Initiatives

CBYCA’s legislative initiatives will be supplemented by SIYC’s own development of SIYC nautical and marine priorities for southern Maryland.

To this end, Thieme is polling individual SIYC members in the interest of creating a suggested list of marine and nautical priorities that will be submitted to the SIYC BOG for adoption.

Thieme can be reached in Solomons, Maryland at 410.394.0326.