Late Fall is an exciting time at EYC with the Annual Meeting and holiday events. It is also a time for reflection on the club’s accomplishments and its vision for the future.
Our 2022 Environmental Committee Report to the membership outlines the many ways EYC has been making a difference in our community. EYC is significantly contributing to bay stewardship by promoting clean regattas & events, monitoring water quality in Spa Creek, restoring oysters in the Severn River, and increasing awareness of important bay issues.
To learn more about our EYC bay stewardship efforts and the 40-year-old multi-partner Chesapeake Bay Program, check out the 2022 EYC Environmental Committee Annual Report and join us for a Chesapeake Bay Holiday Celebration at EYC on December 2.
In October, Environmental Committee members served as Green Ambassadors at the House Committee’s “Party in the Port.” This very successful EYC event is being considered a Sailors for the Sea clean event similar to our regattas.
Later in the month, the Environmental Committee and Cruise Committee jointly hosted a presentation “Cruising with a Cartoonist at Sea.” Our speaker was Jim Toomey, the creator of the syndicated cartoon strip “Sherman’s Lagoon,” which has an amiable shark as its main character. The award-winning comic strip is widely recognized for increasing public awareness of environmental and marine conservation issues.
Jim shared his experiences on a 22-month family sailing odyssey, visiting 32 countries, crossing an ocean, and homeschooling two kids along the way. His recent book “Family Afloat” describes the adventure with great photos and humorous cartoons.
With winter approaching, oysters continue to be a focus as we nurture the baby oysters in the 40 cages that hang off A and B docks and further evaluate the health of our oyster wave wall under our docks.
An adult oyster can filter as much as 50 gallons of water a day and oyster reefs provide important bay habitat. An increase in the oyster population will improve the bay’s water quality and living resources.
As a result of our oyster efforts, EYC is now in the process of formally joining the Chesapeake Oyster Alliance (COA). The goal of the Alliance is to add 10 billion oysters for a clean Chesapeake Bay by 2025. Our most recent interaction with the Alliance was through EYC member Bill Ball’s participation in the COA-organized Chesapeake Oyster Science Symposium (COSS) at the Tides Inn in Virginia (a COA partner). We look forward to continuing our involvement with COA and joining forces with other partners to achieve the goal of 10 billion oysters by 2025!
As we prepare for Thanksgiving and the holidays, the Environmental Committee is grateful for the support of the club leadership and members.
To celebrate the season and thank members and partners who make our initiatives possible, we are planning a “Chesapeake Bay Holiday Celebration” on Friday December 2. Don’t miss this fun evening with oysters and other bay bounty, as well as the opportunity to meet current leaders of the Chesapeake Bay Program partnership, who will be sharing some of their insights through brief talks and displayed information.