The GST Auction

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

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

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