The Green Team was busy over the summer season ensuring that our races were Clean Regattas, maintaining our oyster efforts, providing environmental educational opportunities and working to make the club truly green.
As fall begins, we will once again sponsor monthly lectures on environmental issues beginning with a presentation on the programs of the National Park Service Chesapeake Bay Region on September 27.
CRAB Cup Clean Regatta: On August 19, Chesapeake Region Accessible Boating (CRAB) held its 2023 regatta and major fund-raising event at EYC. Thanks to our Race Committee and Green Team volunteers the event was a great success and a designated Clean Regatta under the Sailors for the Sea Program.
At the beginning of the awards ceremony, EYC Commodore Mark Jones presented the EYC Clean Regatta Award to CRAB for their sustained commitment to the EYC Clean Regatta Program from 2016-2022.
Through EYC’s clean regatta program, the CRAB Cup Regatta has received gold certification from “Sailors for the Sea” for several years and was certified at the highest level -platinum- in 2021 & 2022. To receive platinum certification the regatta must achieve a minimum of 19 of the 20 best management practices
Water Quality Monitoring: In addition to ongoing water quality sampling efforts, we have been teaching members and juniors how to use our instruments. In August, we conducted another demonstration for juniors and explained how water quality affects crabs and other bay critters. It has been rewarding to provide educational programs for the EYC “Bay Adventure Weeks.”
Oyster Wave Wall: On August 28 a team of volunteers installed oyster spat-covered concrete triangles on the EYC wave wall. This annual event helps us maintain the health of our living oyster reef by ensuring a multi-age class vertical reef that mitigates wave action in the marina. Thanks to the divers and scientists who joined us, we were also able to assess the health of the reef.
To learn more about this effort and our oyster gardening program, check out EYC Grows Oysters on the website. You can also join us in September to install our oyster gardening cages with spat- covered shells.

Fall Lecture Series: We have a series of fall and winter lectures planned. Our first presentation will focus on the National Park Service’s bay program. 2023 is the 25th anniversary of the Chesapeake Bay Initiative Act. This legislation authorized key federal agencies to collaborate with state and local government, as well as nonprofit partners like EYC, to conserve and protect the Chesapeake for future generations. The National Park Service participates through the Chesapeake Gateways Network primarily by providing financial and technical assistance.
Our speaker on September 27 is Eddie Gonzalez, Director of Partnerships, who manages the grants for this important program.
Interested EYC members are invited to join us for our committee meetings on the first Tuesday of the month and our special lectures on environmental issues on Wednesdays at the end of the month. We also need volunteers for our various efforts. For more information on our activities check out the EYC website.