Our Club House gets a Make-Over

This is how it looks so far....more to come!

Sebago Canoe Club's Flushing Meadows Corona Park Aquatic Center Pool Sessions 2010/2011 Season

Sebago Canoe Club is proud to announce the start of their winter kayak instruction program at the Aquatic Center in Flushing Meadows Park (next to Citifield). Easy walk from the #7 train or free parking is available.

Sebago Canoe Club membership is not required, but Sebago members will be given priority this year. Non-members will be allowed, but will be determined through lottery and non-members can not participate any two weeks in a row.

The sessions will take place most Sunday’s from 9am to 11am

starting December 5th, 2010 and will run until April 3rd.

There will be some cancellations and rescheduling of sessions, determined by swim meet schedules.

Sebago offers the ONLY program that allows full sized sea kayaks in the pool. Other kayak types are allowed as well.

Our program usually has at least 2 ACA certified coaches each week.

The program is for people who have never been in a kayak or are new to kayaking and those who just want to sharpen their skills or learn to roll. Many sessions will have use of the diving area for those experienced kayakers who just want to practice. This is especially good for practicing rescues.

For the beginner: learn how to do a wet exit, learn rescues, learn how to do avoid a capsize.

For the intermediate paddler: sharpen your bracing skills, learn how to scull, learn advanced self rescue techniques and begin to master a roll.

For the more advanced: perfect your roll on both sides, practice your balance braces and finally learn to roll without a paddle.

Have more fun and be safe the first time you get back into the water this spring.

SPACE IS LIMITED and RESERVATIONS WILL BE TAKEN EVERY WEEK. You must RSVP!!!

Sebago members will be given priority until the previous Thursday afternoon of each week. A lottery will determine which non-members can participate on the Friday or Saturday before each session.

There is no penalty for cancellation, but it is important to email Steve if you should have to cancel, even if it is Sunday morning. This allows others to participate in your place.

Boats, paddles, PFD's and all equipment provided if needed (see cost below).

Swim caps are required for all participants. If you have one, bring it. If not, one will be provided.

SESSION COSTS

If you bring and share a boat $20.00

Without a boat $25.00

The standard ACA insurance fee will be required for non-ACA Members.(Sebago memmbership includes ACA membership)

You can also join the ACA at these sessions.

We'll be washing the boats out thoroughly before they get in the pool. A hose will be provided.

For those meeting at the Sebago Canoe Club to load boats and car pool, we will meet at at 7:30 AM. Others meet at the rear of the pool before 8:30AM to help move/prep boats and get ready for our time slot.

PLEASE be early, late arrival takes precious pool time away from others.

Reservations or questions contact Steve McAllister, preferably via email at brooklynkayak@gmail.com. If email is not an option call 917 496 1523.

Click for info about the pool.

Click for Directions. Be aware that we enter the facility from the rear entrance.

Thanks to Dorothy Lewandowski for this opportunity.

Work Day 9 years ago at Sebago

Here are several photos taken over 9 years ago, showing how the club looked before we had a path, ped. gate, only a few containers, no real garden, and an old tractor trailer carcass that used to be a container. Does the club look different today?

Reconstruction of Bridges on the Belt Parkway

This is an artists conception of the new Paedergat Bridge
Reconstruction of Bridges on the Belt Parkway
click on above text for a detailed PDF of the project.

Beginning in July of 2009, the Department of Transportation started reconstruction of seven bridges and their approaches on the Belt Parkway, over three local streets and four waterways. They are: Bay Ridge Avenue, Nostrand Avenue, Gerritsen Inlet, Mill Basin, Paerdegat Basin, Rockaway Parkway, and Fresh Creek Basin Bridges. All are original structures, which were built beginning in 1939. These structures have outlived their useful lives and must be replaced. See details of the reconstruction project (in pdf format) in English, Spanish, or Russian. The first contract to replace seven bridges on the Belt Parkway started in late October 2009. Contract No. 1 includes the replacement of three bridges: Fresh Creek Basin Bridge, Paerdegat Basin Bridge and Rockaway Parkway Bridge. As part of the scope of work, the contractor is required to establish staging areas. The use of these areas prevents the storage of materials, equipment or vehicles on local streets in surrounding residential communities. Staging area No.1 has been established on the Canarsie Circle near the eastbound parkway entrance. Staging area No.2 is being established in the paved area between the westbound parkway entrance service road and Canarsie Road. Staging area No.2 will be utilized for storage of construction material and equipment as well as the contractor's staff. Access into the staging area will be from the Rockaway Parkway service road and from Canarsie Road. Due to the nature of the work, the area must be available during both daytime and nighttime work hours. Every effort will be made to minimize impacts to the surrounding community. Beginning in February 2010, the East 8th Street Access Ramp over the Belt Parkway (also known as the Guider Avenue Bridge) will be fully closed to vehicles and pedestrians. DOT will begin the replacement of the bridge deck (concrete road surface), the steel structure, bridge columns and footings, and the bridge abutments will be replaced or repaired. The new bridge will meet modern safety standards include an improved walking/biking path and have a 75-year life. The anticipated completion date is May 2011. Drivers heading for the westbound Belt Parkway should head north on Coney Island Avenue, turn left onto Avenue Z, turn left onto Hubbard Street, and bear right onto the Shore Parkway Service Road. All pedestrians will use Coney Island Avenue. Beginning in March 2010, there will be intermittent lane closures at night in both directions. This may include full stoppage of traffic for 15-minute intervals between 1:00 am and 5:00 am, Monday through Friday.

A Particularly Rewarding SailComm Work Day

Hey guys...


Wat'cha watchin'?


Ooooohhhh!


It was a particularly rewarding workday for the Sebago Sailing Committee today - it's not just every day that a boat is resurrected!

This 420 has been on the grounds for several years after being donated by a club member a few years back. Unfortunately, for various reasons (primarily lack of knowledge about how to use the boat combined with plenty of boats that people DID know how to use), she's languished on her trailer gathering grime ever since them. A couple of us who have sail-curious family or significant others have looked at her with a lot of interest but none of us really had the time, energy, or skill to spearhead the process of getting her back into working order.

Well, among the numerous sailors who've joined the club this year are a couple of gentleman who have actually sailed these - and so today, they brought her back to life!

It turned out not to be all that difficult, either - listening to the guys talk, there are some structural repairs that need to be done before the boat can be put to regular use - but all the pieces were there & by the early afternoon, they'd gotten her fully rigged & deemed her ready for a trial spin on the Paerdegat - and there she is!

Oh - and speaking of nice old boats ending up in good hands?

A while back, Andy had found & posted a neat old brochure from the Sebago Boat Company. That post ended up drawing comments from a couple of people who were working on restorations. I always enjoy seeing old boats being cared for & loved & I asked Mike, who was working on renovating a "Fisherman's Friend" model that he'd had for 30 years, to let me know when he had pictures. Well, if you are on Facebook - click here to check out his album. Sweet!

Sebago Swim Support!

Had a lot of fun with Phil, Steve, Tony & a lot of other old friends at the CIBBOWS Veteran's Day Swim today!

Jamaica Bay's revival begins with mollusks

Oysters, plants cleaning the plumbing like Ty-D-Bowl

By Gary Buiso

Tuesday, October 19, 2010 8:10 PM

Troubled Jamaica Bay is going from stinky to stunning!

Pilot projects using natural water cleansers such as oysters, and improvements to the sewer system are yielding tangible results, according to a report released by the city on Monday and — more important — those who live and play along the 39-square-mile bay.

“In the past, we would observe a plume of discolored water atop Paerdegat Basin [one of the bay’s inlets], and people would be driven from their patios because of the horrendous smell,” said John Wright, a board member of the Sebago Canoe Club. “We are very pleased to see the progress.”

The bay, part of the National Park Service, borders Brooklyn, Queens and Nassau County, and includes approximately 142 square miles of meadowland, marshes, dunes and forests and open water — habitats that support 91 species of fish and 325 species of birds, reptiles, amphibians and small mammals.

Humans, such as Wright, and his 220-member club will also be the beneficiaries of a cleaner bay, but there is still a long way to go before it’s as clean as it could be.

To that end, the Department of Environmental Protection has tweaked its Jamaica Bay Watershed Protection plan, focusing on upgrades to the wastewater treatment plants that dump approximately 300 million gallons of treated wastewater in the bay every day.

That water has a high concentration of nitrogen, which results in poor water quality that allows harmful algae to thrive. The algae diminish the bay’s oxygen, killing wildlife.

The city — compelled by law by the state to do so — announced that it would invest $115 million to improve the overall water quality and mitigate marshland loss in Jamaica Bay, the bulk of the money going to the installation of new nitrogen control technologies at the four wastewater treatment plants located on the bay. The money, along with $95 million taxpayers previously committed, will reduce nitrogen in the bay by nearly 50 percent by 2020.

Agency commissioner Cas Holloway said the mayor has made the restoration of the bay “a special priority” in the effort to improve harbor water quality throughout the region.

“We are on track to achieve the goals outlined in the [plan] that will substantially improve the overall quality of the bay’s ecology,” he said.

The report notes that the city has already planted 1,000 eelgrass marine plants as part of a $350,000 pilot program to evaluate the potential for establishing small beds, which are seen as beneficial to fish and mollusks; and restored 10,000 oysters to help filter excess nutrients from the water.

A WNYC radio show about Jamaica Bay Oysters

New York City is the former oyster capitol of the world. There was a time when New York Harbor had over 350 square miles of oyster beds, half of the world supply. Street-side oyster vendors were as popular as hot dog carts are today. Local oysters were a delicious treat, they cleaned the waterways and they bolstered aquatic wildlife. But oysters have since disappeared from New York Harbor, mostly because of human intervention. Now, there are new efforts to reintroduce them in Jamaica Bay.

Mark Kurlansky, the author of The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell, and Jeffrey Levinton, distinguished professor of ecology and evolution at SUNY Stony Brook, visit The Brian Lehrer Show to talk about the history of oysters in New York Harbor, and plans to reintroduce them.

Listen to the whole show:
thanks to WNYC public radio

Jamaica Bay Oyster History

an oyster pushcart selling Jamaica Bay Oysters


Did you know that :

Canarsee Indians dug clams and oysters west of Coney Islands in Jamaica Bay in Brooklyn and Queens. Oysters were plentiful and popular with European settlers, but by 1810, the natural beds showed signs of exhaustion. In a short time, oyster planting and cultivation became a major metropolitan industry. From 1880 to 1920, New York was the undisputed oyster capital of the United States.

for more info about Oysters and Jamaica bay go to :
http://www.nyfoodmuseum.org/

Sebago Member Presents Program

Marcus at an earlier MKC Presentation

On October 19th, 2010, 7pm – 9pm (presentation will start promptly at 7:30pm) at the Pier 66 boathouse, Manhattan (three blocks north of Chelsea Piers, at the intersection of 26th Street and the Hudson River), Sebago Canoe Club member Marcus Demuth will present a program about his recent record setting circumnavigation of Great Britain. You can read about Marcus’ kayak adventures, paddling tips and more at his website. If you thought Marcus was only a sailor, be advised, his recent circumnavigation of Great Britain was by kayak, not laser.