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Rock the Dock a success despite cloudy skies and a last minute location change

2012-05-25T13:12:45Z

Marga's Dutch Apple pie was just one of the many awesome items that sold at the CCB GST Auction. The other big seller on the night was Quiche by Lorrain and Denz's signature clam pizza"This place is GREAT!" was the echo from most of the Dock Rockers last evening at CCB's Rock the Dock held at 305 Knowlton. The event, originally scheduled to be held at The Bridgeport Boat Basin in Downtown Bridgeport (which we are working feverishly to fundraise to build), was forced to be moved last minute due to safety concerns by the Bridgeport Police.

However, thanks to the hard work of all the CCB Volunteers, New Haven's The Amples, The Bridgeport Lobster Company and of course, Mike and the great folks at 305 Knowlton, the event went off without a hitch - even if rain threatened to wash the whole shebang into the Pequonnock River.

But when it was all said and done, the rain held off, the band rocked on, the food was delicous and the venue amazing. Add several dozen of our close friends, a really cool Auction with everything from legal services to quiche, you cant help but say it was a great freindraiser, if not a great fundraiser.

But we're not done cleaning up and we're certainly not done in the effort to build the Bridgeport Boat Basin- so if you couldn't make it last night, perhaps you can help with an apres party contribution- but either way, you really should have seen Marga's Dutch Apple Pie and if you were lucky got to taste it- It sold at auction for $20 to Rebecca H and family and by all accounts was epic- Thanks Marga and Deniz!

When life gives you lemons- Make (insert favorite beverage here)

2012-05-21T21:30:19Z

Due to unforeseen circumstances we are being forced to move the location of Rock the Dock, but we have an even cooler dock to rock! 305 Knowlton has graciously agreed to let us use their dock where we will enjoy:

a great raw bar from (we hope but TBD) our next door neighbors- The Bridgeport Lobster Company
Music by New Haven's own The Amples with a DJ to finish the night
,The GST (Goods, Services and Trade) Auction
and of course a little CCB cheer

It's be a la carte, so we can avoid the high cost of cover charge, but we will definitely be accepting cash, check or card to help us raise a boat load of capital for the Bridgeport Boat Basin

And here's the best part- we'll be offering boat rides down the Pequonnock to show you our new home at The BBB, and show you some of the famous swimming squirrels of the Pequonnock River.

It's turning out to be a better event than we could even hope to plan, thanks to some great community friends and a can-do spirit!

It'll be a great night of fun, food, music and boating in the Park City so dig deep and bring your friends!!!

The GST Auction

2012-05-15T21:18:02Z

Kevin W, The official Balladeer of CCB has tamed the crowds of kids at CCB with his roaring Ukulele- maybe you have a good talent or skill you could donate to help raise money for CCB?Do you have a special something you make or sell? How about a service thats in demand? Or maybe you just have a special talent you are itching to share with the world- What better way to profile what you do and raise money for a good cause than to auction it off.

On May 24th, we will host Rock the Dock on the decks of the Bridgeport Boat Basin. We will have music, food and lots of dockside fun. But even more so, we hope to raise a little money to support the building of the Bridgeport Boat Basin.

One fun way we thought to do that is to host a GST (Goods, Services or Talents) Auction.

To start it all off, CCB will offer a Two Day Personal Power Boating Instruction Course for Two and all the proceeds will benefit CCB. But what can you donate?

Do you play the Ukulele? How about contributing a personalized Happy Birthday Greeting for whomever you like with Ukulele accompaniment? Or maybe you grow the best tomatoes on your block? You could donate a six pack of garden fresh tomatoes to the high bidder when they come in this August. You really could donate anything you like and the best part, all the proceeds will benefit the building of the Bridgeport Boat Basin.

So get creative and dig deep. Art, jewelry, boat stuff, accounting services, sewing, grass cutting, snow shoveling, change rolling services, car washing...who knows- we'll auction anything off as long as its in decent taste and legal! So submit your bids toinfo@ctcommunityboating.org today.

The Vision is here, now the permit

2012-05-14T12:16:40Z

The design of the 40' Gangway will allow wheel chairs access to the water. The builders located in Westbrook, CT have given us a great break on many of the aspects of this project as well as a great discount, but we still need $3250 to bring this to Bridgeport- Please donate today http://www.ctcommunityboating.org/donate/It's exciting when you get your first look at the vision you've always had in your head, but failed to put on paper. It takes the skill and talent of good engineer and the exacting hand of a good draftsperson to take a few jumbled ideas, digest them into a simple elegant concept that can be shared with the world. The good folks at Ocean and Coastal Consulting in Trumbull did just that when they skeched the first images of The Bridgeport Boat Basin.

The vision includes as many as 12 moorings for our fleet and for transient boaters to visit the Park City's Downtown, a 60' dinghy dock to host our Junior and Adult Program and a 40' aluminum gangway that will be the start of the CCB Special Sailors Program. This program will provide everyone with access to the sport of boating, including those with special needs like our wounded warriors who are now returning home. What better way to help ease the pain of battle than to give a solider command of their own adapted vessel and introduce them to the special gifts boating and sailing can offer.

But to make this all happen, we need help. The dock was donated, but the permits cost money. The ramp is ordered, but a balance is due. And there are about 50,000 other things that need to be done and paid for to make this season happen. We need your help. Donation are critical to make this vision a reality.

Please share this vision with your friends and family and ask them to contribute online, by check or by phone. A few dollars from a few hundred friends goes a long way to building a better Connecticut- please donate today

Click here for a look at all the drawing we are submitting to the DEEP

Relics from the past, bring life to the future of the Bridgeport Boat Basin

2012-05-02T14:34:23Z

The Three Stone Sisters have quietly sat guarding the Bridgeport Waterfront for 150 years and this summer we will put them back to work serving children and families from across ConnecticutThe best part about being a young non-profit is our ability to be flexible. We're not some giant international NGO with six vice presidents and board of 45 of the world's most influential people. We're small, we're agile and when we see a great opportunity to do a good thing thats both smart and right, well...we can.

Last week when we were walking the docks with the DEEP and City officials, thinking about ways to bring Bridgeport Harbor back to life, it was low tide. You can learn a lot at low tide.

From the 100-year old Erie Canal barge that sits in the middle of the Bridgeport Boat Basin, to what we are calling "The Three Stone Sisters" that once held up the Old Bridgeport Train Station, we learned alot about what once was, and better still, what could be.

Looking at the impressive granite pillars, that hoisted above their heads hundreds of thousands of human souls and more than few roaring diesel locamotives from the 19th Century, the thought was raised "If it could do all that, why couldn't it hold the foundation of the Bridgeport Boat Basin?"

Well, we asked- and guess what- they can. Whether they belong to the Feds, The State, Metro North or The City, we're asking all of them and its pretty much a consensus at this point that the The Three Sisters , which now sit as derelict structures by DEEP standards, can brought back to life to once again serve the public and do good things for Bridgeport- What a great example of recylcing!

A drawing of The Bridgeport Boat Basin in 1924We have a few things left to do though like finish the engineering, which our good friends at Ocean and Coastal Consulting are feverishly slogging away at as you read this. We also have to order and build a 40' aluminum gangway that will allow wheel chairs to access the water as well as families from across the region. And of course, get permits and permission from every official from Hartford to Washington and everywhere in between. Most importantly, we gotta pay for it all.

So please donate what you can today. We're doing some very cool things in very intersting ways to make both Bridgeport and Connecticut a better place to live, work, laugh and play- and we NEED your help to do it.

The 40' Aluminum Gang Way

A skecth of the planned Dock

The Map

The Fairfield U Dinghy Dock is finally here

2012-04-18T09:47:35Z

Although the weather was beuatiful and the tides in our favor to start the day, what was supposed to be a 6-hour tow from Darien to Bridgeport turned into a 15-Hour marathon complete with starvation, dehydration, canabilsm and a daring rescue to end the day. (Well not really, I had bottled water, trail mix and a cooler full of fresh fruit and was alone, so canabalism really wasn't possible).

But the daring rescue did take place, when Rich Greenwood and Jane Apgar motored to the Penfield Light House at 8PM, after the expedition became bogged down in current unable to make the turn around the reef into Black Rock Harbor. The pair, driving a mastless C&C24 (a sail boat) with a 10 Horse outboard- tossed a line over to my bow and pulled the whole hot mess around the horn to safety at The Landfill.

But this dock wont be living at the landfill. This Saturday, April 21, we will kick off the construction phase of the Bridgeport Boat Basin, when we begin to build the Floating Boat House, repair The Fairfield U Dinghy Dock and otherwise kick this puppy into high gear. It is our hope that a huge contingent of volunteers come by to help our and they bring a ton of tools cause although the insurance for the stolen is supposed to be coming, it has been delayed to an insurance glicth and we have yet to replace a single hammer, drill bit or screw driver which thieves made off with on April 5th.

Hope to see you there- and check out yesterday's adventure

The 2012 CCB Annual Sponsorship Booklet is coming!!!

2012-04-12T13:29:26Z

Taylor and Jay chat with the kids of MRYC for a chalk talk in 2011- This year we hope to grow the program and serve even more kids and adults from Eastern, Mid-Sound and Western ConnecticutWe have to raise a boat load of capital in a hurry to make this summer happen in Bridgeport, New Haven, Madison and Mystic and are pulling out all stops. We are asking friends and supporters of CCB to hit the road and help us fill a 2012 Sponsorship Book featuring information about your favorite businesses and organizations here in Coastal Connecticut, from Greenwich to Stonington and everywhere in between.

Our toTo motivate you, our top five ad sellers will get some very cool prizes including hats and Tees from US Sailing to a weekend getaway for two.

But we need your help- Click here to download the forms for Ad Sales and Hit the road! We've got a very short time and have a very big need-

Much to do!!!

2012-04-11T10:29:17Z

With the kick off of an Initiative to Rebuild the Waterfront of Downtown Bridgeport, we have a ton to do. But wait there's more, we're still cleaning 100 Miles of Beaches, kicking off an awesome new Educational Intiative that combines swimming and science and Long Island Sound all in one and Building a Floating Boathouse on top of it.

If you'd like more info about any of the projects, we need the help in a big way!!!

This Friday our $1 Swim will kick off for the Next 8 weeks.

This Saturday - We'll be a Stratford, Milford and New Haven on Saturday and Compo Beach in Westport on Sunday.

For Stratford, we have gotten a lot of feedback. In addition to the Fairfield U team, there will be representatives from Boston University, Girl Scout Troop # 37188, Daisy Troop #37478, Stratford Community Girl Scouts, The Grace Episcopal Church's Youth Group.

In Milford, we are teaming up with Milford Earth Day volunteers and must meet at Eisenhower Park at 8 AM. The clean ups start around 8:45/9:00 (volunteers are bused from Eisenhower Park to respective beaches).

New Haven's clean up at Fort Hale will be on Saturday as well and could use a boat load of Volunteers from the Elm City.

Finally, on Sunday 4/15, we will be at Westport (Compo Beach). We will be working with a Westport Youth Group from 9 AM - 12 PM.

There is much to do and we need all sorts of help, email Info@ctcommunityboating.org if you can lend a hand!

Bridgeport, Black Rock and West Haven done- Now onto the rest of our 100 Miles

2012-03-31T16:35:21Z

Well one more in is in the record books and what a day it was- we tackled Bridgeport Harbor, Black Rock Harbor and New Haven Harbor with volunteers from Fairfield U and Black Rock Rotary. Thank you to all the volunteers who turned out to make today a great success. But wait there's more!

Join us next week at the Stewart B. McKinney Wildlife Refuge to tackle one of the biggest garbage pollution problems on our list of cleanup. Or if you like, join us for our clean up at Compo Beach in Westport, Long Wharf in New Haven or our clean ups yet to be scheduled in Milford, Stamford, Norwalk, East Haven or Guilford.

2012 Beach Clean Up Month

Damn the Rain, Full speed ahead

2012-03-31T11:05:45Z

So you can see from the radar scan below that the rain is expected to move out around 830 and we'll have a break in the rain (for the most part) from 9-1 when the drops are expected to fall again. Accordingly, the Beach Clean Ups scheduled for 9AM at Black Rock (St. Mary's), Downtown Bridgeport (1 Stratford Ave) and Sandy Point at West Haven will proceed as planned. Make sure you prepare for the weather- lots of wool, gloaves and hats, boots and rain gear!!!

See you at 9!