Tag Archives: Cedar Point Yacht Club

Roundup: White Oak, Horseshoe Crabs, Shorefest …

The delay in removing a white oak tree on Appletree Trail was only temporary.

This was the scene yesterday:

(Photo/Cathy Morrison)

The property will be redeveloped, with a new home and pool.

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The final summer meet-up for Club 203 — Westport’s social group for adults with disabilities — is Monday (August 14, 6 to 7:30 p.m.) at MoCA. The evening includes a chance to make art.

Season 2 begins September 20. Details will be announced soon. Click here for more information on the club.

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As crabbers flock nightly to Sherwood Mill Pond and Old Mill Beach, they’ve lost one species: horseshoe crabs.

Yesterday, Governor Lamont signed a bill banning the harvest of horseshoe crabs in Connecticut waters.

The legislation was sought by advocates who say that the population in Long Island Sound has plummeted in recent years. Thousands of horseshoe crabs are captured each year, often for use by fishermen as bait in traps to catch whelk and eels.

Many are also captured by the biomedical industry, which uses blood from horseshoe crabs for vaccine research.

The population decline has also raised concerns from organizations dedicated to the conservation of birds, who say that migratory shorebirds like the red knot rely on horseshoe crab eggs for food during their annual migration to the Arctic.

New Jersey, Delaware and South Carolina have adopted similar bans.

Compo Beach horseshoe crab (Photo/Lauri Weiser)

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One of the most enjoyable sites for a fundraiser is the main pavilion at Sherwood Island State Park.

That’s the site for Shorefest. Set for September 8 (6 to 9 p.m.), it’s the only time of the year guests can stay at the park past sunset.

The evening includes food, live jazz piano, a silent auction (and of course, a Sherwood Island sunset).

Catering by Westfair Fish & Chips includes lobster, steak, salmon or vegetarian, plus appetizers, salad, dessert and beverages. Burgers and hot dogs are available for youngsters.

All proceeds support the habitat restoration, education and advocacy work of Friends of Sherwood Island State Park. Click here for tickets, and more information.

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MoCA’s annual benefit — set for September 30 (7 p.m.) — has a special theme: “The Surrealist Soirée.”

The evening includes imaginative décor, avant-garde performers, a DJ, auction, and catering by Marcia Selden. Guests are encouraged to “dress creatively in line with the evening’s surrealist theme.” Click here for tickets, and more information.

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Saugatuck Rowing Club has a world champion!

Rosie Lundberg of Westport won gold recently, in the women’s U19 4+ race at the World Junior Rowing Championships in Paris.

Two other SRC athletes competed as well. Fairfielderes Ella Casano placed 4th in the women’s U19 8+, while Fairfield’s George Bentley was 5th in the mens’ U19 4+. Both are coxwsains.

The World competition followed SRC’s strong performance at the US Rowing Summer Nationals in Ohio last month.

Rosie Lundberg (center) and her Saugatuck Rowing Club gold medal-winning teammates. (Photo/Row2k)

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Gabriele’s Italian Steakhouse welcomed a special guest the other night.

Governor Ned Lamont and his wife Annie dined at the restaurant, next to the Westport Country Playhouse.

A few diners chatted with the state’s leader, but most let him enjoy a good meal, quietly.

If they recognized him at all.

Governor Ned Lamont (left) and Danny Gabriele, owner of Gabriele’s Italian Steakhouse.

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If you’ve always wondered about “Uncovering the Non-Spherical Shapes of Bodies Beyond Neptune,” you’re in luck!

Darin Ragozzine — associate professor at Brigham Young University — will discuss that exact topic on next Tuesday (August 15, 8 p.m.), through the Westport Astronomical Society’s free science lecture series.

Click here for the YouTube livestream.

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Westporters are familiar with much of our town’s coastline.

But we don’t always get to see a view from Cedar Point Yacht Club.

Here’s a shot, for our daily “Westport … Naturally” feature:

(Photo/Eileen Lavigne Flug)

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And finally, musical giant Robbie Robertson died yesterday in Los Angeles, after a long illness.

The lead guitarist and chief songwriter for The Band — the seminal Americana folk/rock/country/gospel group (including 4 Canadians, and only 1 American) — was 81.

The New York Times obituary quotes him: “I wanted to write music that felt like it could’ve been written 50 years ago, tomorrow, yesterday — that had this lost-in-time quality.” Click here for the full story.

(From Westport to Neptune and beyond, “06880” is your hyper-local blog — and a non-profit. Please click here to support our work. Thank you!)

Roundup: Beached Yacht, Westport Playhouse, Little League …

This yacht ran aground right off the (well-marked) channel by Cedar Point Yacht Club.

(Photo/Gabriela Hayes)

It was a popular photo opp this weekend.

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“Dial M for Murder” is killing it.

The final show of the Westport Country Playhouse season is drawing large crowds.

So large, that the Playhouse is adding another performance. It’s Sunday, July 30 (3 p.m.). Click here for tickets, and more information.

Taking bows at the Playhouse (from left): Kate Abbruzzese, Krystal Lucas, Patrick Andrews, Kate Burton, Denver Milord. (Photo/Dave Matlow)

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What a finish!

Toby Slavin’s 2-out, bases loaded grand slam helped the Westport 12U Little League team win the district title yesterday.

They beat a very tough Fairfield National squad, 6-2 in 9 innings (regulation is 6).

And they did it even though the home team had a runner on 2nd with no outs in all 3 extra innings.

Oh, yeah: After his grand slam, Toby pitched his 2nd straight scoreless inning, to secure the win.

This is their third straight district championship, after winning at U-10 and U-11 . But it’s the first 12U district title for Westport since 2013, and only the third 12U title since 1957.

The sectional tourney — the next stop on the road to the Little League World Series in Williamsport — is tomorrow (Monday), 5:45 p.m. at Unity Park in Trumbull.

Congratulations to players Henry Ellis, Chase Landgraf, Toby Slavin, Grant Theisinger, Evan Sealove, Nolan Walters, Christopher Lambert, Luke Moneyhon, Jack McGrathm Torrey Rossetter, Miles Delorier and Justin Goldshore, and coaches Jonathon Ellis, Justin Walters, Marc Theisinger and Thomas Whelan.

District champs!

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Rachel Doran — the 2015 Staples High School graduate who died just before her senior year at Cornell University after a rare reaction to common medication — will be honored on August 12.

Cornell Human Ecology will remember her contributions to the campus through her “intellect, creativity, warmth and sense of humor.”

Her legacy will be recognized through the naming of an exhibit space in the Human Ecology Building, where she developed her talents as a curator.

Rachel Doran, at Cornell University.

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Johanna Keyser Rossi is a frequent contributor to “Westport … Naturally.” With images like these, it’s easy to see why.

(Photo/Johanna Keyser Rossi)

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And finally … today in 1941, Joe DiMaggio hit safely in his 56th consecutive game. More than 80 years later, it remains a Major League record.

(Where have you gone, Mrs. Robinson? We need you to help support “06880”! Please click here — and thank you!)

 

Pics Of The Day #1888

Sunset at Compo Beach … (Photo/Ken Runkel)

… and at Cedar Point (Photo/Howard Edelstein)

Pic Of The Day #1810

Cedar Point race season has begun (Photo/Lawrence Zlatkin)

Classic Connecticut, Says The New York Times

Today, the New York Times published a photo quiz.

They posted one archival image from each state. Readers were given a clue, and invited to guess which state was represented.

Here’s Connecticut’s image:

The caption says:

The 1993 Thistle Atlantic Coast Championships, seen here, kicked off at the Cedar Point Yacht Club in Westport, Conn. Fifty Thistle sailboats — 17-foot-long, single-masted, centerboard crafts, normally crewed by three people at a time — participated. Thistles are well suited to the light-air sailing encountered on calm summer days along the Constitution State’s shore.

It’s great that Times editors chose this photo to showcase our state.

Personally, I would have chosen a throwback tollbooth.

(Click here to see the entire Times piece. Hat tip: Jeff Manchester)

Pics Of The Day #777

Cedar Point Yacht Club’s OneDesign Regattas have gotten so big, there are now 2 of them.

The first of Westport’s big summer sailboat races was held this past weekend. The second event — for smaller boats — is set for late September.

CPYC hosted 450 sailors. They were supported by 100 volunteers.

Cedar Point Yacht Club was organized 132 years ago, in 1887. In 2019, it’s still going strong. It was just named US Sailing’s OneDesign Club of the Year.

Here’s some of this past weekend’s action.

(Photo copyright Stephen R. Cloutier)

(Photo copyright Stephen R. Cloutier)

Aerial view of Cedar Point Yacht Club (Photo copyright Stephen R. Cloutier)

Cedar Point Sails To National Honors

What do 8 regattas, a bagpiper, live bands, a lip-sync competition, cornhole tournament, blender party and lobster clambake have in common?

They were all part of last year’s Cedar Point Yacht Club festivities.

And all helped earn the Saugatuck Shores organization the 2018 National One-Design Award from US Sailing. The sport’s national governing body honored CPYC in Jacksonville, Florida last month for advancing sailing in this area — thanks in part to efforts like those.

Bob Karpel — commodore of the 132-year-old club — accepted the award.

Cedar Point Yacht Club sunset. (Photo/William Adler)

US Sailing cited specifically Cedar Point’s success in growing its fleet, and  hosting regattas that draw sailors from around the nation. Last year those included a multi-class one-design race with 560 sailors, the 66-boat Thistle Nationals, and Connecticut Olympics.

The club also supports youth sailing, with events like the 142-boat JSA of Long Island Sound Race  Week, and a 78-boat Opti area championship.

This summer, CPYC will host the Atlantic National Championships. In 2020: the Flying Scot Nationals.

Congrats to all. May the wind be always at your back!

Action from last year’s Cedar Point Yacht Club races.

 

Saugatuck Island: A Bridge To Somewhere

Alert “06880” reader, native Westporter — and active Saugatuck Island resident — William Adler writes:

In recent days, the Saugatuck Island bridge project has been given the final touches. Traffic is once again busy to and from this neighborhood on Westport’s westerly shores.

The Saugatuck Island Special Taxing District arranged for whitewashing of the bridge railings, and has restored landscaping that had been disrupted by heavy construction equipment.

The new bridge replaces a quaint timber structure of wooden pilings and rustic railings originally built in the 1920s.

The old bridge …

The old bridge was well past its intended lifespan in 2012, when it suffered structural damage in Superstorm Sandy.

The total cost of $2.1 million includes a $1.3 million FEMA grant. The town and SISTD split the remainder 50-50. Construction began last year.

The new bridge retains the feel of its predecessor, while providing greater safety, practicality and rock-solid durability. The single span of concrete deck sits on steel girders, with an asphalt surface. It is secured on 50-foot deep sheet pile abutments clad in concrete.

96 feet long and 20 feet wide, the bridge can hold 20 tons – more than sufficient to accommodate heavy emergency equipment, unlike its wooden predecessor. The bridge’s anticipated life span is 75 years.

… and the new.

The bridge completion comes as Saugatuck Island has been experiencing a housing boom. During the past 5 years, about 1/3 of the approximately 100 properties on the island have changed hands. Prices range from $700,000 to $9.8 million.

Others have been expanded, elevated or otherwise enhanced. New construction has increased the number of larger, higher-end luxury residences.

In addition to 400 Westport residents, the island is home to Cedar Point Yacht Club, established in 1887, and the Saugatuck Shores Club (1946).

SISTD was established in 1984 to tax island property owners for local community costs — mainly road maintenance.

The Saugatuck Island bridge, as seen from Canal Road.

As for Saugatuck Island itself: Near the end of the 19th century, the Army Corps of Engineers cut a canal between what is now Canal Road and Spriteview Avenue, to provide a faster, safer route for onion farmers to transport their goods to Norwalk.

The newly formed island was called “Greater Marsh Shores at Saugatuck.”

Pics Of The Day #412

This year’s Cedar Point Yacht Club “One Design” Regatta was the biggest in history. A record 106 boats and 560 sailors participated.

One North American and 3 regional championships were contested. Yesterday  began with little wind. In the afternoon, thunderstorms sparked things up quite a bit.

(Photo copyright/DanielForster.com

 

(Photo copyright/Daniel Forster.com)

(Photo copyright/DanielForster.com)

(Photo/Stephen Cloutier)

(Photo/Stephen Cloutier)

Did You Miss The Regatta?

This weekend, Cedar Point Yacht Club hosted a OneDesign Regatta — the largest on Long Island Sound. More than 400 sailors on 67 boats competed in 6 classes.

A squall blew in Saturday, just to make things even more interesting.

If you couldn’t be on the Sound for all the action, check out the videos here:

Though competitors came from all over the country, several current and former Westporters made their hometown proud.

Scott Reichhelm — part of a longtime CPYC family — skippered an Atlantic-class sailboat to win his class. He did it with a Westport crew too: Tim Dexter, Julia Knowlton and Robert Wylie.

Ron Marsilio finished 4th in that class. In the 1950s — when Cedar Point was based at Compo Basin — Atlantics were the largest fleet in the club.

Jon Friedwald — Staples Class of 2001 — was mainsail trimmer on Whirlwind. It sails out of City Island in the Bronx, and won the 36.7 class.

Westproters George and Alex Wilbanks placed 2nd in the J105 class.

Team Victure of Westport came in 3rd in the J70s, while Josh Goldman took 12th.

Staples High School grad and former Westporter Greg Imbruce finished 10th in the J109 class.

A crew member scrambles in high winds. (Photo/T2PTV)

“Nevermore,” a speedy J88, in rough seas Saturday afternoon at the Cedar Point Yacht Club OneDesign Regatta. (Photo/ Richard Gordon)

(Hat tips: William Adler and Jeff Manchester)