Happy New Year and Thank You.

Happy New Year!
With your support, we provided over 750 children with their first chance to explore Long Island Sound and the sports of boating and sailing. What's more, we have now picked up more than 5000 bags of trash, restored a 40 year-old abandoned pier in a closed Landfill at Seaside Park and cleaned more than four tons of trash from the shores of Pleasure Beach and the Great Salt Marsh.

We're all about protecting the children, families and natural resources in our community, Won't you please help us before the clock tolls 12 on New Year's Eve? IN 2011, we plan to create a new floating facility in Bridgeport Harbor that will welcome thousands of folks back to the heart of the Park City and provide more than 1000 kids with a chance to enjoy the waters that sit just feet from their front doors. To get 1000 kids on the water, we need to raise $250,000 and to build a regional boathouse for all to use, we need to raise $1 million more.  So we need everyone's help and hope that when you contribute this holiday, you'll make CCB your cause for 2011 and ask your family friends to do the same.

As a 501c3 organization, your contribution to CCB is fully tax deductible and you will see the benefit of your contribution when you visit the Park City, when we build our new boathouse in 2011- So please, dig deep and make a contribution that fits your budget online here today to help us build a brighter future for our community tomorrow.

Many Thanks and Please have a Safe and Happy New Year in 2011-
P.S. We will be rolling out a new website Jan 1, changing our email service and changing our mailing address to 955 Connecticut Ave Suite 10012 Bridgeport, CT 06607- Please note this for your records and check out our new look for CCB on New Year's Day 2011.

Seaytee and the Fleet Weather the Storm

In an act reminiscent of the Battle of Bulge, rescuers crossed Cedar Creek today by row boat to check on the CCB fleet and our guard in residence against rats and mice, Ms. Seaytee Cat. Although the place looks more like a scene from the North Pole, reports indicate no damage to the fleet and Thanks to the warmth and compassion of CCB volunteers, Seaytee is a bit lonely but no worse for the wear.  Heavy snows have made roads into CCB impassable and will likely remain so until significant melting occurs. Please check back for updates as we dig out of this historic Christmas Blizzard and a very special thanks to Susie and Rich and the rest of rescue squad who braved bitter temperatures, icebergs and brutal winds to ensure th safety of the CCB fleet and our little girl.

The Week Before Christmas at CCB

Twas the week before Christmas and all round the Park,  
the boats were all covered and the trailer was dark.
Buxton was nestled in the back of my car,
and the chickens were wintering at a home not too far.
Seaytee stood guard ‘gainst the mice and rats,
 while I dreamed of summer when I’d hope to see bats.
The year at our back was one of the best,
with kids by the hundreds,  but still could I rest?
To reach a few thousand, that was my goal
and I knew that we could in the pit of my soul.
We have a great team, the brightest and best
and a fleet more than 50 with which we are blessed.
Our cause it is good, no child left ashore,
but how could we serve One Thousand more?
It came down to dollars and it came down to cents,
running a program is a great big expense.
And more was our station, in a former land fill.
How can you teach at the foot of a hill?
A hill made of garbage at the back of Seaside,
down a dirt road is where we did hide.
How could we tell the world what we did,
when our flame was kept under a municipal lid??
We needed a plan and we needed it fast.
Next year would be here,  as this one is past.
First to the team, lets call the clan,
 Now Alonzo, And Brooke and Schroeder and Joanne,
On Bridgeport, on Stratford, On Trumbull and Westport,
 Now Fairfield and Shelton and don’t forget Southport
Volunteers and Directors,  Family and Friends,
we need you all now to sail to the end.
The final chapter, it’s time, to bring it all home
to create a new boathouse for the kids of our zone.
A shiny new ship is just the thing,
to serve a few thousand  and make this program ring.
We’ll park it I think, next to downtown,
 in the harbor that’s blank and much of it brown.
Oh sure there’s a future for this spit of land,
 but plans seem far off and not quite at hand.
And besides we will float, where ever we can,
but here is the crux to the core of the plan:
It costs quite a bundle to purchase a ship
and to pay for a staff,  that’s smart as a whip.
To keep the boats painted, the sails in good order,
moneys the key,  from here to the border.
So please give of your dollars, please give your change,
Please become a member even though it seems strange
That you’d think to go sailing when it’s twenty below
In the middle of winter when the air’s full of snow
Cause while you’re aslumber this Christmas eve,
the folks at CCB are rolling their sleeves.
We’re getting to work, to serve every child,
the rich and the poor, the meek and the mild.
And before you can say Happy New year to one,
We’ll be working for all in the hot summer sun.

Do Good, Have Fun Sail Far-Merry Christmas
The CCB Staff

A Floating Boat house-The Final Chapter

It has been a long time coming and on the morning of the 2010 End of the Year meeting of CCB Board of Directors, we're taking stock in where we've been and aim at where we're going at CCB. 2010 has been a banner year for CCB getting more than 750 kids on the water, obtaining 501c3 status and and of course having the chickens and Seaytee join our family at CCB!

But many do not know the full concept of what was envisioned for CCB on that rainy St. Patrick's Day morning in 2007 when I quit my job and Connecticut Community Boating, Inc. was founded. And as we close the books on 2010, it is with great hope and big plans that we prepare for 2011.

In the coming year, I hope to finish the project I started by implementing the final phase for CCB- A floating Boathouse in Bridgeport Harbor.

We've been kicking this idea around now for a few years and we have finally reached the point where it is time to bring it all together.  It's gonna take a lot of fundraising, a fleet of volunteers and a good healthy dose of public/private partnership. But now that even Stewie is taking pot shots at the Park City, it's time that we change the view from I-95 as we dot the Harbor with tiny little boats sailing in the shadow of a big ship at the Greater Bridgeport Regional Maritime Education Center!

For a full description of our ambitious goal to bring Connecticut and beyond back to the City by the Sea- Click here.

Give the Gift of Sailing this Holiday Season

Stumped on what to get that person who has everything? How about a gift of sun drenched afternoons lazily bouncing around on Long Island Sound? Or how about the thrill of waves crashing over the bow while you scream along at 4 knots? Give the gift that covers 2/3rds of the world's surface and dates back to way before Odysseus longed to return to Ithaca. Give the gift of sailing!
When you get a gift certificate for those hard-to-buy-for people on your holiday gift list to CCB this year, we'll give you an added bonus- You and your whole family can sail the CCB fleet for Free! With every pair of enrollments for our SFA or Basic Keel boat classes you purchase, you will get a complimentary family membership to CCB. You can keep it for yourself or regift it to enhance that giving feeling- It's up to you, But your not gonna find a more cost effective way to hit the waves in 2011 anywhere on the Blue Planet.
But you gotta act quick, cause at the stroke of Midnight on Dec 20, this ship sails.

Click Here for more information and class details

Click Here to Get a Gift Certificate

The final days of the 2010 Summer Season are here

It has been an amazing year for us at Connecticut Community Boating. From officially becoming a 501c3 organization to having our biggest year ever with more than 750 kids hitting the waves for the first time in their lives, 2010 was by all accounts a banner year.

Now in our fourth season, we have doubled in size every year since 2007, when we started with one boat and a mission to ensure that no child is left ashore. Our growth is testament to the huge need and the burning enthusiasm our kids have for the waters that sit just yards from their homes and schools, and the shame that they have been denied access to for all to long.

We're thrilled that we can help impart a new chapter in the lives of our kids and help play a role in improving the quality of life for all in the Greater Bridgeport area.

In 2011, we will be rolling out a huge array of programming to bolster our effects, from continuation and expansion of the CCB Learn to Swim campaign where every kid can learn to swim for just $1 a lesson to a newly refurbished afterschool program where kids will get a chance to learn about and explore their local waters and enjoy a positive and safe extracurricular environment where they can do their homework and be mentored by sailors from all walks of life.

But now that the leaves are falling and there is a crisp feel to the autumn brezzes, we want to remind you that the season isn't over and our work is not done. We're feverishly working to fund the 2011 season, have classes going until the last Jack-O-Lantern light dims and planning a November to remember with a Junior Recognition Dinner on November 1 and an Adult Cocktails and Community Party on Nov 18th.

For more info on our 2011 plan of attack, our Fall Fundraising Drive or any of the other things we have cooking at CCB, please call 203-382-3661.

Thank you for making this a year for ages at CCB and We wish you a happy fall and smooth sailing!

2010 Pleasure Beach Boat Lift and Clean Up Biggest EVER!

Amid overcast skies and growing breezes, the 2010 Pleasure Beach Boat Lift and Cleanup kicked off. And by 2PM that same day, over 150 kids had their first chance to sail and the first opportunity to see the "jewel" that is Pleasure Beach for the very first time in their lives.

With over 230 volunteers, the Beach Cleanup was by all accounts the biggest ever. Cleaning up over 4 tons of trash and debris choking the shores of this delicate seaside landmark and washing into our world's oceans, The Beach cleanup was part of world-wide effort known as "International Beach Clean Up Day" and our volunteers were part of a 500,000 strong world-wide force, and by far the largest effort in all of Connecticut according to Kierran Broatch at Save the Sound who partnered with us in the event.

Students from Fairfield U, Fairfield Prep, Stratford, Bunnell, Central, Bassick, Harding and many more schools turned out with BuildOn.org, a student organization dedicated to community service, as well as folks from across the region to take part in the effort. And the throng of able bodied beach combers, were boat lifted over and back, with the tons of trash, in a fleet of more than a dozen vessels from CCB, the City as well as privately-owned .

This effort comes just days before the Town of Stratford is set to remove the cottages that are a great source of the trash that is scattered across the man-made peninsula that acts as a barrier island to the Great Salt Marsh and Bridgeport Harbor. As part of $900 Million federal stimulus grant, The Town that once owned of the Park City and then entire peninsula now known as Long Beach West and Pleasure Beach, will cart off the derelict structures and the waste that was left there when the 60 families were forced to abandon their claims and their care of the property after a long and hotly contested court battle in 2007. Since then the trash and debris has been left to scatter and spread across the property and into the Stewart B. McKinney Wildlife refuge.

The latest beach cleanup is part of a campaign that began in 2009 and has continued over the last year and across the area to remediate  the garbage that lines the shores of "Lewis Gut" and Bridgeport Harbor. CCB has coordinated this effort as part of our mission to provide access to the waters of Long Island Sound with a belief that pollution is one of the issues that prevents individuals from using and appreciating our local waters.

Having removed more than 5000 bags of trash from the Landfill at Seaside Park and making headway on cleaning up some of the most polluted waters in Connecticut, CCB turned its efforts in 2009 and it eyes to Bridgeport Harbor in the hopes that one day soon, we will be allowed to access our fleet in the heart of the Park City in Bridgeport Harbor where we have already received permission to install a mooring fleet, but lack a shore-based location to launch from. This cleanup is part of ongoing effort to expand our reach on the water and promote and protect our greatest natural resource for the kids of today and future generations.

Beach Week will Close Tomorrow, But Not Until We Finish a Herculean Effort

It's been a very long week starting last Thursday at The Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Preserve when we kicked off an effort to clean the Greater Bridgeport Shoreline. And tomorrow when the clock strikes 2, Beach Week Cleanup 2010 will come to a close.

But before it does, we have one more assault to wage on the trash and debris that blankets our coastline. While we were cleaning one side of the refuge, we discovered an island and an inlet in the Great Salt Marsh that is no doubt one of the most neglected sites in all of Fairfield County.

Click on photo to see a satelite view of this location.

We saw foam billets by the hundreds, plastic bags and bottles by the thousands and enough Dunkin Donuts Cups, Duchess Wrappers, and McDonald's straws to wallpaper the Grand Canyon.

This discovery, much like the Storm last week that washed so much trash up on to shore, was a unique happenstance because of the first ever occurrence of Beach Week 2010 when we already had a host of cleanup efforts in the works. And with the final day of the week-long "Olympics of Trash Clean Up" still unscheduled, we knew exactly where to send the more than 150 volunteers scheduled to come lend a hand.

So tomorrow at 10AM, CCB and a host of other groups, individuals and organizations will arrive at the end of Long Beach Boulevard in Stratford. (600 Long Beach Blvd for you GPSers) There we will enter the Great Salt March and like a line of army ants, move the huge collection of debris to our staging area for municipal pick up.

Gloves, boots, hats and jackets will all be advisable as the Marsh is wet and muddy and the temps are expected to hover around 40 with a stiff easterly breeze. Also Garbage bags are in short supply as is water, snacks and anything else you will need- so please plan ahead.

Please call 203-382-3661 for more info and we will see you in the morning!!

The End of 2010 Beach Week Cleanup- But The Battle Will Rage On!

Today is our final day of our week-long marathon Beach Clean Up. It was hard work and it's hard to admit that so much progress is yet to be had, but the strides made by hundreds of volunteers this week cannot be ignored. Thank you to everyone who chipped in and helped us make a dent in the trash that lines our shores.

Why is it that with so much promise and so much hope for a brighter future in the winds these days, more people do not see that the future of Our State, Our City and Our Children flows freely in the waters that sit just feet from our homes. Long Island Sound, a treasure that built fortunes for our forefathers and a resource that holds so much promise for our future, is still assaulted by trash, by tainted run off and by neglect.

Our mission at CCB is to help show our community what LIS means to all of us. For the young, it is a classroom, a playground and a tutor that offers a host of benefits from lessons in self-worth to a life-time of education in exercise and healthy living. For adults, it is a chance to unwind and appreciate our community that is fully apart from the I-95 rat race. For those with special needs, it offers life skills, presents rewarding challenges resulting in developmental growth and a platform for fresh air and sunshine. And for our economy, LIS offers tourism dollars, business opportunities and lessons in green technology from by-gone eras.

The trash we pick up today may not alter the course of human events or even save a small portion of the wildlife we hope to protect. But it does help us mobilize and motivate those who have been shut out from the water and turned away from our greatest natural resource. By lending a hand in cleanup efforts we have shown our community some of the damage that is wrought from the senseless act of mis-disposal of trash. Our week-long effort has raised eyes from newspapers, TV and radio. And our efforts have helped show our political leadership that our residents care about LIS and that we expect great things from them for the future of our waters.

Today is the last day of Beach Week, but only the beginning of what is to come. We will mobilize our community by getting them sailing and caring about our waters. We will show a generation of kids who have been declined access to the water that LIS is their birthright and theirs to appreciate and learn from. When the last bag is stacked today, we will just be starting to tackle the issues that face our youth, our families and our community. We will teach every man, woman and child to sail and aid them in their enjoyment of Long Island Sound. We will host even more efforts to access the most remote regions of our waterfront with our fleet of 50 vessels and while there attempt to gather as much of the flotsam and jetsam that chokes our waterways.

This is just the start of what is to come and for those who have helped us this week, we pledge that your efforts will not be in vain. Your efforts are the seeds that will grow into a future of water awareness and will smooth the waves for a journey for every resident of our community who partakes of a warm summer day with sun and salt air that is as pristine as it was when the first Americans dropped anchor and called these waters home.

Thank you for all you have done and thank you for supporting Connecticut Community Boating. It is your hard work that has made this week a success and it is for you that we will continue to strive to make a difference in our community. Thank you.

The 2010 End of Winter Boat Bash- A Great Event and Wonderful Success!

Well the beef is all gone and the dishes are done, and all told we had a great turnout and big night for CCB at the 2010 End of Winter Boat Bash. With more than 100 in attendance we raised more than $1500 for the CCB Junior Program, but more importantly we got to have a wonderful night of community and got to honor one of Bridgeport's most dedicated sons, Capt. Bruce Williams.

We must thank all the dedicated staff and volunteers for the hard work they put in to make such a wonderful event:

•  Mike and Sherry Duffy- after three days of cooking, shopping, preparing, and promoting, You guys have to be the joint MVPs for the evening- You gotta let us know where you shop for your cape and mask, cause you're a super hero in our Book!
• The CCB Staff- Eleanor, Melissa, Mike and Matt and of course we can't forget you Jane- you guys put in a yeoman's effort with all your unpaid hard work- The Silent Auction, The CCB Program, The 2010 CCB Bull Roast were all hugely successful because of your hard work and dedication- Thank you!
• John and Ron of Cheers Catering- Thank you for helping us procure a monstrous chunk of meat for a delectable culinary experience- Ron was at the pit at 7AM and John stayed til 2 cleaning up- Thank you both for all your help and hard work!
• Kelli's Cakes- If you missed eating it, you can't miss the photo of this work of art- The butter cream frosting, The Mini-Buxton on the Bow of a Hunter and the amazing artistry in decorartions made this the hit of the party!
• The Sun Kings- Mark and the guys once again played a fabulous show and warmed the night up with the cool sounds of the steel pans and the Caribbean music- It's just wouldn't be a Boat Bash without you- thank you!!!
• All the donors, contributors, businesses and organizations that helped raise funds for the CCB Junior Program and provided us with so many awesome prizes and submissions for the CCB Silent Auction and the CCB Raffle, you guys rock!
• Ryan and the Fayerweather Crowd who helped us get a great venue for this event and helped us with a boat load of support to make it a success- Thank You! You can't beat FYC for a good old fashion Boating get-together! We certainly appreciate it, but from all accounts we may have to move to a bigger venue next year because of how big this event is growing- it's all thanks to you!

And for all those who joined us, got their memberships, purchased Buxton Bucks, contributed and much much more- Thank you one and all for making the night one for the record books and wonderful time for all!