Swimming is back in action this Winter and we need kids, volunteers and donors!

We've had some tough times getting the word out about all we're doing at CCB this past year. A hurricane, recession and the weirdest Halloween Snow storm ever made it tough to keep with website working and facebook flowing. But now that we're in the New Year, our twitter is tweeting, youtube yodeling and facebook all but frothing. A great shot of the kids and Volunteers from 2010- Please donate what you can to keep this important resource available to all kids ages 8-18

And while we've got your attention, we wanted to share a little news about a really cool program we've been running despite the storms, funding woes and publicity blackout. 

The CCB/CSC Learn to Swim for $1 Program is fully operational and back for another season of swimming. This winter, we host the program on Wednesday nights at 5:00 PM at 1494 Main Street. Cost for this program is just $1 per night per student. 

What's more, due to the great success and great partneship between CCB. Shehan and New Beginnings Family Academy, we're once again kicking off Friday Night Swimming at the CSC Pool this March 1.

The reason we can charge such an affordable price and offer this service to so many kids for just a buck, who need this lesson so badly, is (a) the kindness of volunteer instructors from Fairifled Prep, the USCG and area colleges and (b) the kindness of donors who pay the bills and keep the lights on. 

We need all three this and every Wednesday and Friday- Kids, volunteers and donations so here's what to do any of the above applies to you:

1) Kids should call Shehan Center at (203) 336-4468 for forms, sign ups and schedules

2) Volunteers should email Sarah at motti.sarah@gmail.com to arrange schedules and sign ups.

3) Donors should click here to make an important contribution that may just say the life of a disadvantaged kid who might otherwise never learn to swim. 

The Floating Boat House

">A albeit low-tech rendition of the the Floating Boat house Concept Please click to helpus reach our goalIn 2007, Connecticut Community Boating, Inc. was founded with a mission to educate, promote and provide access to every man, woman and child to Connecticut’s most important natural resource, Long Island Sound. Along with this mission, it was our aim to improve the quality of life for children and families in Connecticut and surrounding communities by using the many benefits the sports of boating, fishing and sailing can offer.

We have made many strides in the last five years and are now at critical mass to become Connecticut’s only public-access fleet that serves a region with more than 1.6 million residents.

Within five years, Connecticut Community Boating will grow to a statewide organization hosting as many as five floating boat houses and public fleets around the State. Our first planned site will be in the Bridgeport Boat Basin at the mouth of the Pequonnock River. Here we will moor our prototype and the first of the fleet of Floating Boat Houses using our existing 20X40’ concrete float and a 14X24’ A-Frame prefabricated building. We will also create a mooring fleet and moor our fleet of boats including the Fairfield University Sailing Stags. The total cost for this projected is estimate at $30,000.

Please take a look at photos on our Facebook Page of the pieces we hope to assemble to create this boat house to open May 1, 2012.

And help us raise the roof on our first floating boathouse by donating or becoming a member today!

Check out some other photos of the Floating Boathouse Concept

Ready about, we're almost there!

Taylor Walker, one of the founders of Team Chance shows a kid the ropes aboard a Big Boat. Walker hopes to show many kids the ropes this season aboard the newest addition to the CCB fleet "Stealth" a 26' EvelynIn a move bringing us closer to our goal to reopen Bridgeport waters for all, CCB met with City Officials Monday to discuss plans to create a waterfront facility at 1 Stratford Ave in Bridgeport. With several approvals left at both the City and State level, it is far from a done deal, but big things move slowly and every move forward is a positive move towards a cleaner, healthier and more vibrant waterfront and Long Island Sound. We continue to work with City officials to devise a plan for the Sliver by The River and what we are terming, “The Bridgeport Boat Basin” located at the mouth of the Pequonnock River directly beneath the Bridgeport Transportation Center.

Once approved we will continue to grow our fleet and will offer College and high school sailing opportunities for Fairfield University and with luck the public high schools of the Greater Bridgeport region. We believe this facility will grow the ever-increasing tide of high school sailing in our local waters and continue the fastest growing trend in local high school sports.

 This comes in conjunction with a project we are working on in Eastern Long Island Sound, Team Chance. Tayor Walker and Jay Greenfield, college students, set to work last summer to build a new program in the CCB fleet. Their idea was to provide low income children with a chance to experience big boat racing at the helm of a performance sail boat and mentor the kids as sailors and racers. This weekend, Team Chance launched their little girl, a 26’ Evelyn Sailboat called “Stealth” and are preparing to visit at least a half dozen community boating centers around the region to give the kids of community boating a chance see what it’s like race on a go-fast boat and try to raise funds to support youth sailing and community boating. Team Chance and the crew will sail into Bridgeport aboard Stealth later this summer and hope to provide some local sailors with a chance to win the Park City Regatta.

Laser Radial Sailors from area high schools start with a signal from the Pequod at Pequot Yacht Club this past Saturday for the annual regional sailing competition, The Fairfield Cup. Fairfield Prep, a continual supporter and great friend of CCB, ranked second out of fleet of ten teams who competed in 420's , lasers and laser radials. Congrats Prep on a strong showing and great season!This is a tack in a new direction for CCB. By intensifying our efforts to promote and participate in what we see as a growing trend for youth racing and sailing, a facet of sailing we have not previously delved into, we hope to further promote waterfront access for all. And with the huge growth this past spring in high school sailing in Fairfield County and the passions of our newest crewmates at Team Chance, we believe the waters of Connecticut have never looked better to provide every child with a chance to enjoy a day on the water.