Opening Day 2016

The 99th Annual San Francisco Bay Opening Day is set for April 24th. The theme for this year is "Heroes on the Bay". This is a fun event for those who want to decorate their boats and participate. For others, the committee boat is the Hornblower Spirit . This boat is a great way to watch all of the activities of Opening Day and will also include lunch aboard. Think about participating either by decorating your boat and joining the other 100+ boats on the Bay or joining fellow members of yacht clubs from Santa Cruz to Stockton and nearly 200 people on this fun cruise on the PICYA Opening Day Committee Boat. For more information about Opening Day 2016 go to http://picya.org/16-opening-day-on-the-bay

PICYA Foundation Scholarships

I would HIGHLY encourage members who have children or grandchildren of college age to apply for a PICYA Foundation Scholarship. They will be giving out 8 (count them EIGHT)  $2,500 scholarships. These scholarships are for students whose parents, grandparents, or guardians are members of a yacht club belonging to PICYA. Applicants must be graduating high school seniors of the current year, or college students continuing to pursue their educational goals. Application must be signed and submitted (received) by June 30, 2016. For more information and applications, please go to  http://picya.org/scholarships

PICYA Navigator

PICYA has instituted a monthly newsletter and it is called the PICYA Navigator. It goes out every second Tuesday of the month at 8am. It has a distribution of nearly 1,000 recipients of yacht clubs throughout the Bay and Delta. If you would like to share information on upcoming events at your  or items of interest to boating, send the information to PICYAnews@gmail.com. If you would like to subscribe, just go to http://picya.org/Navigator and click “Subscribe”.

PICYA in partnership with Connectu Media will launch the PICYA app for smart phones on Opening Day!  We will be helping to install and demo the app to attendees on the official PICYA Spectators Cruise and at delegates meetings. PICYA has provided the app infrastructure as a member club benefit to serve as an information hub to house regional affairs information, club and boating events for member clubs, PICYA conference and inter-club information.  If any club is interested in being among the first to have a personalized club app for just $89-99 per year, per club sign-up now via the link below. First come, first serve.  Clubs can drive the app from the content that already exists on their websites. Clubs could opt to use advanced functionality, such as push notifications to distribute important content or event information.

For Details:  https://connectumedia.com/picya/

Linda Blue - PICYA Vice Commodore and Communications Chair

The 2016 Northern California Yachting Yearbooks will be released on Opening Day on the Bay! Our new feature is a Boat Index!

Place your pre-order now - yearbooks will ship the last week in April. No PO BOX shipments. For orders under 20 Click Here. 
If your Club wants 20 + yearbooks please contact Patti Mangan, patti@imaginethatsf.com for a case discount order form.

RBOC Call-to-Action: Take Action Today to Protect Recreational Boater Funds from Being Pirated for Commercial Vessel Cleanup

RBOC is urging California Boaters to take action today to protect recreational boater funds from being pirated for commercial vessel cleanup.

Boaters are encouraged to contact their elected representatives on the Assembly Transportation Committee today and to urge a “no” vote on AB 2092 [Frazier] in the Assembly Committee on Transportation unless the bill is amended so that recreational boaters’ funds will not be used to rid the waterways of abandoned commercial vessels.

To take action: click here

The bill is currently scheduled to be considered, and voted on, at the April 18 hearing of the Assembly Transportation Committee.

For more information about this legislation and RBOC’s position: click here

Jerry Desmond - Director of Government Relations - RBOC

RBOC Legislative Day held on March 30, 2016

To get the latest information on the following Click Here

Key Boating Facts
Who We Are - RBOC
Vessel Operator Certification
Abandoned Watercraft Abatement Fund [AWAF] - AB 2092 [Frazier]
Boating Under the Influence - AB 1829 [Levine]
Non-Native Aquatic Species
Barriers to Navigation
Renewable Fuel Standard - Federal Legislation

Farewll to Friends CLICK HERE for registration form.

Easy Online Registration for Meals & Boat Parade:
Think you might be interested in attending ANY of the events during SBOD Weekend? Pre-Registration is free and saves you time and money! Sign up early and get a discount on events. Payment is not required at the time of registration, so even if you THINK you might attend, please sign up so we can try to have an accurate headcount for meals AND you can benefit from a pre-reg discount! We look forward to seeing everyone at SBOD!

Registration is EASY! Click here.

Kame Richards' Tidal Currents of the Bay
Wednesday April 20, 2016
7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Limited to 40 attendees

RSVP to:
Larry White, Vice Commodore for more information
larrywhite415@yahoo.com

This will be after the parade - easy afternoon option for those who disembark from the Hornblower and just stroll down to Pier 40 (half a mile)

Check out the Menu --- No registration needed

Jane Parsons joined Sportsmen YC in 2005.  In October 2008, she became our newest PICYA Delegate.   At that time, this is what I wrote:    “A more gracious or well-known lady in the local and yachting community would be hard, if not impossible, to find.  An Antioch resident for many years, Jane retired as Antioch’s City Treasurer after 21 years of service.  She is a Past Commodore of Driftwood YC and Past President of the Soroptimist International of Antioch.  Currently, Jane is serving as Antioch’s Chamber of Commerce Ambassador and is a committee member of Holiday De-Lites.”  A recent article in the Contra Costa Times honored Jane as a 2015 Citizen of the Year for Lifetime Achievement.   She is now the longest serving member of the Antioch Chamber’s Ambassadors, supporting Chamber mixers, ribbon cuttings, and more.    To quote Diane Gibson Gray, Antioch School Trustee and Director of the Arts and Cultural Foundation, “She is one of those rare individuals who serves quietly and always has a smile and wonderful attitude.”  Congratulations, Jane!

(photo courtesy Freda Lucido)

Darlene Dawson - PICYA Delegate

Take advantage of the following important FREE educational workshops on:
Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Prevention
Oil Spill Response Communication
To register for any of these workshops, please contact the Boating Clean and Green Program Coordinator Vivian Matuk at (415) 904-6905 or Vivian.Matuk@coastal.ca.gov
_____________________________________________________________
Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Prevention Workshops
Workshop participants will:
* Gain an understanding of the impacts AIS have on the environment;
* Learn to recognize them in their region;
* Learn how to take action and prevent spreading the invasive species by inspecting and cleaning equipment and watercraft.

Santa Cruz – May 19 (Registration Deadline: Friday, May 13)
* Time: 8:45 a.m. - 2:45 p.m.
* Location: Seymour Marine Discovery Center, La Feliz Room 100 Shaffer Road, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
* Partners: Seymour Marine Discovery Center and Save Our Shores
The workshops are being hosted by California State Parks Division of Boating and Waterways, California Coastal Commission, California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The California State Parks Division of Boating and Waterways (DBW’s)  and the California Coastal Commission’s Boating Clean & Green Program, the Bay Foundation (DBW’s Clean Vessel Act program) in partnership with the US Power Squadrons, the US Coast Guard Auxiliary and the Lake Berryessa Partnership will conduct more Dockwalker trainings this year.  If you are already a trained Dockwalker and were trained more than 3 years ago, please join us this year for a refresher class.

Dockwalkers are trained to engage members of the public and the boating community to adopt clean boating practices. Dockwalkers share clean boating information with boaters and distribute educational materials (boater kits), while visiting marinas, launch ramps, marine supply stores, boat shows and special events (i.e. regattas, opening days, among others).  As you realize, “Dockwalker” is only a generic term because you do not necessarily have to “walk the docks” in order to talk to boaters about safety and clean boating practices. Remember safety and the environment go hand in hand.

Training is FREE and Dockwalking is a fantastic way to interact with boaters to help keep California’s marinas, waterways, and ocean clean and healthy. The training provides an overview of environmentally-sound boating practices, information about how to conduct Dockwalking, and educational materials that Dockwalkers will distribute including the 2016 boater kits (attached photo).  These boater kits include; A Boater’s Guide to Keeping Pollutants Out of the Water; Oil Absorbent Pillow to capture oil leaks and drips; a variety of informative Clean and Safe Boating Resources including the “Environmental Boating Laws Every Recreational Boater Should Know,” the ABC’s of Boating Law, among others. Depending on your region, we may also provide the Delta Clean Boating map and the San Francisco Bay Area Clean Boating Map.  In addition, newly trained Southern California Dockwalkers will receive the new edition of the Southern California Boater’s Guide. This year we are also including a fuel bib.

In the last five years, more than 700 Dockwalkers have distributed over 90,000 boater kits statewide. Hours spent training or educating the public qualify as community service. 

Yacht Clubs believe that education is critical to successfully operating a clean boating facility and minimizing water quality impacts. Becoming a Dockwalker or having a staff person or yacht club members trained as Dockwalkers will provide you with the educational materials and tools to work with your tenants and visitors as partners in the clean marina/yacht club, clean water effort. Participation in the DOCKWALKER PROGRAM counts towards the nomination of the Club of the Year under the community service category

Download the flyer/registration form in PDF.

Upcoming Trainings
Tuesday, April 19 - Petaluma
6:30 pm to 8:30 pm
Petaluma Yacht Club
10 C St, Petaluma, CA 94952

Friday, April 29 - Vacaville
8:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Solano County Water Agency (Lake Berryessa Room)
810 Vaca Valley Pkwy #203, Vacaville, CA 95688

Tuesday , May 3 - San Rafael
7 pm to 9 pm
Loch Lomond Yacht Club
95 Loch Lomond Dr, San Rafael, CA

We hope you can join us at a training and become a volunteer Dockwalker! 
Please help us spread the word about the upcoming trainings.  Forward this email to your colleagues and people who might be interested in our program.  You can also include this information in your newsletters, calendars and bulletin boards.  If you want us to send you some copies of our flyers, please let us know.

To register for a training or if you have any questions, please feel free to contact Vivian Matuk at (415) 904-6905 or vmatuk@coastal.ca.gov.