Noroton Yacht Club learns ways to safeguard the Sound

Written by The Darien Times
Friday, 21 August 2009 23:00

SoundWaters, the leading environmental education organization on Long Island Sound, delivered a presentation at Noroton Yacht Club in Darien on July 29, entitled “Beneath the Surface: How the Sailing Community Can Safeguard Long Island Sound.”

The presentation was conducted by Leigh Shemitz, executive director of SoundWaters, and was attended by many Darien residents and yacht club members.

There are 20 million people who live within 50 miles of Long Island Sound. Although the Sound is generally healthier than in previous years, it continues to have environmental challenges that require vigilance not only by environmentalists, but also by mariners. For example, 422,000 tons of garbage are dumped into U.S. waters every year from recreational boaters, which averages one pound of garbage per boater per boat trip. Long Island Sound is not immune from this problem. Eighty percent of marine debris comes from land-based pollution including storm water discharges, sewer overflow and littering from shore while 20 percent comes from boat debris including garbage, fishing nets and lines.

Recommendations were made for boaters to use less disposable materials while yachting, carrying less material or disposable items while on boat trips, picking up garbage floating on the Sound or its shores, and generally living by a backpacker’s creed to “carry in/carry out” all materials while boating.

Other things that boaters can do to be environmentally-conscious are to avoid using copper based anti-fouling paint, and avoid letting teak cleaners, anti-freezes, fuel oil, bilge water, batteries, all-purpose cleaners and waste oil spill into the Sound. In addition, chemicals used for lawn care often migrate in the watershed into the Sound, which impairs its health, one result of which is oxygen depletion in Sound harbors.

Sailing has a carbon neutral footprint due to its use of wind power, a renewal energy source. Motor boating, on the other hand, uses the equivalent of 20 pounds of carbon for every gallon of gasoline used.

SoundWaters is based on Holly Pond in Stamford, it operates a three-master, 80-foot schooner, a Coastal Education Center and has a mission to educate children and adults about the wonders, beauty and environmental challenges of Long Island Sound. The organization teaches over 14,000 students per year, including numerous Darien students from pre-school through high school. Many of Noroton Yacht Club’s junior sailors sailed on SoundWaters’ schooner this summer. Visit soundwaters.org.

Shemitz is responsible for setting strategic direction, developing programs, creating partnerships and overseeing operations and management of SoundWaters’ staff and budget. She earned a bachelor’s degree in history and literature from Harvard University, a master’s degree in forest science from Yale University and a Ph.D. in environmental health from Yale University. Shemitz has received numerous awards for her research, has participated in several forums on environmental topics and has been published in urban health journals. At Yale, she participates in ongoing research and outreach on a range of topics including forest health, air quality and urban land management.

For more information on SoundWaters, visit soundwaters.org. For more information on the Noroton Yacht Club, visit norotonyc.org.