Discover Clean & Safe Sailboat, New Watercraft Inspection Educator at Great Upstate Boat Show March 30-April 1

2012 Clean Marina Education

Contacts:

• Dave White, New York Sea Grant, Recreation/Tourism Specialist, P: 315.312.3042, E: dgw9@cornell.edu


• Roger Phinney, Eastern NY Marine Trades Association, 518-791-0070

Oswego, NY, March 15, 2012 - The 2012 Discover Clean & Safe Sailboat will visit the Eastern NY Marine Trades Association Great Upstate Boat Show at the Adirondack Sports Complex in Queensbury, NY, March 30 through April 1.

The 17-foot Com-Pac Sun Cat is the educational vessel for the 2012 Discover Clean & Safe Boating campaign developed by New York Sea Grant to educate boaters about all the gear required and recommended for legal, safe and environmentally-friendly boating on New York’s waters.

Matt Brincka, one of several new-in-2012 New York Sea Grant Aquatic Invasive Species and Watercraft Inspection Educators, will be at the exhibit to help boaters identify ways they can voluntarily help slow or prevent the spread of invasive species.

Aquatic invasive species – species not native to the local ecosystem - can damage boat engines and steering equipment, reduce native game fish populations, degrade ecosystems, make lakes and rivers unusable by boaters and swimmers, and impact the economies of waterfront communities.

National Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers information will be available at the Discover Clean & Safe Boating exhibit.

Great Upstate Boat Show Manager Roger Phinney says, “We are pleased to welcome New York Sea Grant and the 2012 edition of its award-winning Discover Clean & Safe Boating campaign. This exhibit provides critical information to the boating community and is a great complement to the show’s Safe Boating Course.”

The exhibit’s sponsors include New York Sea Grant, the Eastern NY Marine Trades Association, The Skaneateles Sailboat Shop, Marathon Boat Group, Morgan Recreational Supply, Taylor Made Products, the Boating Industries Association of Upstate New York, and Arney’s Marina of Sodus Point.

For more info on the Discover Clean & Safe Boat, contact Dave White, New York Sea Grant, Oswego, NY, 315-312-3042.

More information on the Great Upstate Boat Show is online at www.greatupstateboatshow.com.

A schedule of the Eastern NY Marine Trades Association NYS Safe Boating courses is online at www.enymta.com.

2011 Great Upstate Boat Show Quick Facts: www.greatupstateboatshow.com

• The Great Upstate Boat Show is held at the Adirondack Sports Complex in Queensbury, NY.
• Hours: Fri, March 30, 11am-8pm; Sat, March 31, 9am-7pm; Sun, April, 10am-5pm
• Admission: Adults: $8; children 11 & younger: free w/parent; Friday: 2 for 1 admission

New York Sea Grant (NYSG), a statewide network of integrated research, education and extension services promoting coastal vitality, environmental sustainability, and citizen awareness about the State’s marine and Great Lakes resources, has been “Bringing Science to the Shore” for more than 40 years. NYSG, one of 32 university-based programs under the National Sea Grant College Program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is a cooperative program of the State University of New York and Cornell University. The National Sea Grant College Program engages this network of the nation’s top universities in conducting scientific research, education, training and extension projects designed to foster science-based decisions about the use and conservation of our aquatic resources.

For updates on Sea Grant activities: www.nyseagrant.org has RSS, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube links.