Yacht Clubs of Maryland’s Bay Breeze July 2021 Please Distribute to Your Members Visit us at: www.yachtclubsofmaryland.com If your club is not already a member of Yacht Clubs of Maryland, we would love to have you join us. To join, please contact R/C Tom Stevens who will guide you through the process YCM 2020-2021 Officers and Board Members Commodore – Mike Gaff (Red Eye YC) Vice Commodore – George Stromberg (Bodkin YC) Rear Commodore – Tom Stevens (Crescent YC) Legislative Affairs Officer – Scott Gundaker (Wellwood YC) Treasurer – Faye Broseker (Riverside YC) Secretary – Mike Bruns (Baltimore YC) IPC Board Member – Barry Scott (Otter Point YC) Board Member – Kate Cramblett (Miles River YC) Board Member – Ted Wooden (Middle River YC) Board Member – Janet Yodris- (Key YC) Supply Officer – Joe Hellner (Belvedere) Chaplain – Anna Davis (White Rocks) July 28th – Virtual Board Meeting (Zoom YCM Committees Audit Committee - Ron Peffer (PC Eastern YC) By-Law Committee - Joe Hellner (PC Belvedere YC) Chairperson - Cheryl Blakey (PC Wellwood YC) - Phil Hock (PC Baltimore YC) Finance Committee - Faye Broseker (PC Riverside YC, YCM Treasurer) - Ryan Peters (PC Crescent YC, PC YCM) - Larry Korpanty (PC Maryland YC) Nominating Committee - Barry Scott (PC Otter Point YC, IPC YCM Commodore) - Janet Yodris (PC Key YC, PC YCM) - Joe Broseker (PC 3C’s) YCM NOMINATING COMMITTEE REPORT: 2022 SLATE COMMODORE’S REPORT Mike Gaff [email protected] Opening are finally done and yet we still have two Balls left, Middle River Yacht Club on July 24th and Bodkin Yacht Club on August 14th. Although a little untraditional for their time of year, they are such to be a blast. This past month we crowned a new Queen of the Chesapeake. Although there can only be one winner, all the Princesses did a fantastic job and you should all be very proud of yourself whether you competed or not. All of the young ladies represented their respective Clubs with grace and poise and were the bright and shining star of their Yacht Club. I've seen that Boating Season is in full blast with clubs like Crescent, Baltimore, Bodkin, Galloway, etc taking their vacation cruise. I only hope to see that same enthusiasm July 30 - Aug 1 when Yacht Clubs of Maryland has their cruise to North Point Marina in Rock Hall, MD. I believe we are up above 35 boats. I'm not sure if there are any other availability, but be sure to give them a call. I'm enjoying this time of year and the weather and hope you do the same. Commodore Michael Gaff (443) 682-1785 Vice Commodore’s Report George Stromberg [email protected] Hello to all out there in our Yacht Club Community. Well, the Dog days of Summer arrived early this year along with five named storms and one that just missed us as it raced up the Eastern Shore to New England. When working or boating in these hot and humid days be sure to drink plenty of water. Alcohol just dehydrates you no matter how cold the beer is and how good it tastes. Many Thanks to Sue Haven YC for hosting our June 30th Membership Meeting. P/C Steve Reed and his hard-working crew of V/C Tony, Lady Jayn and P/C Pete made it all happen and the dinner was great. Please remember to remind your appointed YCM Delegates to attend these very informative meetings that are only held four times a year. Any input to YCM from an appointed Delegate or Member of the Yacht Club Community is always welcome. Looking forward to the Revived YCM Summer Cruise 2021 at North Point Marina in Rock Hall Maryland Friday, July 30 – Sunday, August 1st. 40 Boat slips reserved and motel rooms are fully booked. We hope to continue this tradition in 2022. Be on the lookout for the announcement and details on the YCM Calendar of Events for 2022. Many thanks to all the members of The Marine Trades Association for the Fireworks Display again this year. Please patronize these businesses. They are all great folks and work tirelessly for the boating community. As of this writing there are a lot of events coming up within our YCM Member Clubs. Please make an attempt to attend and support as many of these as you can. Since becoming an Officer here at YCM I have found that the 25-minute drive from here over to the Member Clubs in Middle River is not so bad after all. Hats off to those from the Eastern Shore who cross the Bay Bridge to attend events meetings. Wishing everyone a safe and enjoyable boating season. Be a Sober Skipper and bring them home safe. “For whatever we lose {like a you or a me}, It’s always our self we find in the sea.” E.F.Cummings VC George Stromberg (410) 746-8581 Rear Commodore’s Report Tom Stevens [email protected] Ahoy!! I hope that everyone is enjoying this beautiful summer weather! Now that Openings are officially over, we have lots of time for more fun on our boats. Remember boating safety first, fun comes second. The Queen of The Chesapeake Pageant was held on June 26th. All of the princesses did an amazing job and represented each of their clubs with pride and grace! It is now time to support all of our clubs on the bay! I know that all the clubs on the bay would love to see each and everyone of you at their events. Make sure to keep an eye on the emails and Yacht Club Community Forum on Facebook, for the most up to date flyers of the happenings around the bay. Both of the communications are full of useful information. Our next YCM event will be the Annual YCM Golf Tournament on October 11th at Rocky Point Golf Course. This is our biggest fund raiser of the year. I would ask you at this time to please consider supporting us by sponsoring a hole for the tournament, and also, signing up to play in it. There will be a lot of information going out over the next few months so please make sure to look for that. Stay Safe and Happy Summer R/C Tom Stevens (410) 303-8339 Legislative Affairs Officer’s Report Scott Gundaker [email protected] 2021 MARYLAND LEGISLATIVE SESSION After a whirlwind session, Maryland's 442nd General Assembly adjourned this year with some solid wins for the Bay—and one major disappointment. CBF staff and advocates lobbied on dozens of bills this year to advance clean water legislation and to stop or amend bills that would harm the Chesapeake Bay. Climate Change When this year’s session kicked off in January, we had a chance to put Maryland among the world’s leaders in reducing harmful emissions that are causing climate change through the introduction of the Climate Solutions Now Act of 2021. Different versions of the legislation passed both chambers with bipartisan support but, unfortunately, consensus could not be reached and the bill failed to pass. Some of the legislation’s components were added to other bills that were approved: • The goal to plant 5 million trees by 2030 was shifted to another bill, HB 991, and approved. This will provide funding and coordination to plant 5 million trees in eight years, including 500,000 in urban areas, starting in 2023. • Changes to the state’s Environmental Justice Commission passed the General Assembly as a standalone bill, HB 1207. • Legislators also approved SB 137, a bill to transition the state’s transit bus fleet to zero-emission buses. Additionally, the Transit Safety and Investment Act passed, which mandates sufficient funding from the Transportation Trust Fund for the next six years to repair and ensure the transit system is operational as identified by the MTA. The bill also supports a Western Maryland MARC Rail extension study. Investment in transit helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions and Bay-fouling nitrous oxides and produces roughly twice the number of jobs per dollar as the same investment in roads. Environmental Education Funding The General Assembly was able to restore critical funding to CBF’s outdoor education programs. For 40 years, Maryland has maintained a contract with CBF’s outdoor education program through the State Aided Educational Institutions Program (SAI). For the second year in a row, the Governor’s proposed budget eliminated entirely the funding for CBF’s state education contract. This funding provides roughly 10,000 Maryland students and teachers in public, private, and charter schools each year with meaningful outdoor education experiences. Thanks to Maryland General Assembly and our advocates, students and teachers will once again be able to take part in hands-on investigations into the Chesapeake and its rivers, the issues plaguing them, and ways to help restore them. Runoff Pollution Climate change has brought stronger and more frequent rainstorms to the region, but the country’s and states’ long-term precipitation models have not kept pace with higher rain totals. This has caused rainfall estimates for—and the runoff control practices that rely on them—to underestimate the realities we’re seeing year after year. To begin to address this issue, the General Assembly passed legislation requiring the Maryland Department of the Environment to incorporate the most recent precipitation data available into their stormwater management plans and regulations. The legislation aims to ensure Maryland officials are aware of and working to control increasing stormwater runoff due to more severe storms. Polluted stormwater runoff occurs when rainwater picks up pollutants such as oil, fertilizer, and sediment from roads, roofs, and other impervious surfaces and then the water flows into nearby streams, rivers, and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay.