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Holiday 2018
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Disponible en línea en español.
Gunther Hoaner,
creator of the
CYC Arch.
The Mohawk Hudson
Council of Yacht Clubs,
Inc.
by
Jeffrey L. Hill, Vice Commodore
T
he Mohawk Hudson Council of Yacht Clubs, Inc. (MHCYC) was formed by
a number of yacht and boat clubs on the northern portion of the Hudson River
and the eastern portion of the Mohawk River. The geographical boundaries of the
council are: on the South – the north side of the Mid-Hudson Bridge; the North
– one mile north of Lock 7 on the Champlain Canal;d the West – one mile west of
Lock 9 on the Mohawk River and the East – the eastern border of New York State.
There are 20 clubs within that area that make up the MHCYC membership.
As stated in the council by-laws, the MHCYC has three purposes. The first
purpose is to act as a clearing house to prevent competing activities being
sponsored by member clubs. The second objective is to promote courtesy and
safety on the water and good will among member clubs. The third goal is to, act
as a coordinator between the MHCYC and the state agencies represented before
the legislature or its members. All of the activities of the council fall under one
or more of the purposes listed. To help achieve these goals, the council maintains
a website, Facebook and Twitter accounts to make communication among the
clubs easier and to promote the activities of the clubs to those who are not from a
member club.
While the maintenance of a calendar of member club events is among the most
important functions of the council, equally important is promoting courtesy on the
water and safe boating. To help achieve that goal, the MHCYC over the last year
has been working with the New York State Sheriffs Association and the New York
State Department of Parks and Recreation to establish a program that will provide
the various sheriffs’ marine patrols with an inventory of safety equipment that can
be loaned to boaters that have been stopped and found not to have the necessary
required safety equipment. Among the items that the sheriffs’ patrols will
have available will be personal floatation devices, visual and audible signaling
devices, fire extinguishers, flashlights and copies of the New York State Safe
Boating Guidebooks. This program will be in full swing at the start of the 2019
boating season.
In the past, the MHCYC has sponsored “Flare Ups” designed to instruct
boaters in the proper use of safety flares and guns before a boater might have
to use one for the first time. This program has been run in conjunction with
members of the United States Power Squadron, which also promotes safe
boating, provides boat safety inspections and provides a number of boating
courses that are open to the public.
The MHCYC also has a working relationship with its sister council, the
Hudson River Boat and Yacht Club Association, which represents its member
clubs from theMid-Hudson Bridge near Poughkeepsie south along the Hudson
River to the New York Harbor. This relationship provides a reciprocal docking
program among the 53 clubs that make up the two councils’ memberships.
Going forward, while some of the council’s clubs have been successful
in attracting younger families with younger children as members of their
respective clubs, that is not the general trend at this time. As we approach
the 2019 boating season, the MHCYC Bridge is planning on establishing a
committeve to investigate new ideas to develop a program aimed at generating
the interest of younger families in the sport of boating. As members of boating
clubs, we recognize the need to attract new boaters and hopefully add them to
our membership ranks. It will be the goal of this new committee to develop an
educational program that the council can use to promote our sport.
From left to right:
George Budesheim - Treasurer MHCYC, Larry Govel - Vice Commodore CYC, Peter Bullock - CYC, Michelle Beaumont
- Secretary CYC, Jeff Hill - Vice Commodore MHCYC, Joyce Giordiano - Treasurer CYC, Jason Jump - Commodore CYC, Creig Cullum -
Commodore MHCYC, Eric Holsopple - CYC, Brian Lydon - CYC, Don Kern - CYC, Joe Reh - Secretary MHCYC, Michael Spinner - CYC,
Photos Courtesy of Gail Bullock