August 15, 2020

1st Underwater Clean-up of the Venice Yacht Club Marina
Sponsored by the District 8 IOBG – Venice Yacht Club Chapter
Venice, Florida

 

The International Order of Blue Gavel – Chapter of the Venice Yacht Club hosted the 1st underwater cleanup of the Venice Yacht Club Marina on Saturday, August 15, 2020.  SunCoast Reef Rovers (Venice Dive Club) conducted an underwater clean-up using 13 Divers, 5 topside helpers, Venice Sea Tow, Sarasota County Sheriff Marine Patrol, City of Venice Marine Patrol along with several volunteers to bring up approximately 1,250 pounds of debris. Items included anchor, crab traps, numerous ropes, few bottles, several boat ladders, some miscellaneous boat parts, fishing pole, sign, brooms, pieces of cement and two dock pylons.  

The limited amount of debris collected compared to prior year Higel Park Underwater Clean-up is a testament to the Venice Yacht Club members overall commitment to environmental stewardship and shows how we are doing to keep trash out of the local waters.

The IOBG hosted a wine grab on May 20th to raise funds for this event.  Donations included bottles of wine as well as cash donations from the IOBG and VYC membership. The wine grab raised a total of $833.00.  These dollars were used to cover expenses along with presenting a check to SunCoast Reef Rovers.

Upon completion of the event, P/C Melinda Short, President of the IOBG, Commodore of the Venice Yacht Club, Kitch Keitchen and BOD, Vince Pelliccia presented a check for $725.00 to SunCoast Reef Rovers/Volunteer Coordinator, Ken Lackmann.  This donation is to be used for future underwater clean-ups in the Venice area.  

Articles were placed in the Herald Tribune and the Venice Gondolier newspapers.

The IOBG and VYC are committed to the environmental stewardship of our waterways.
Photos by Bill Bowen.

Chowderfest 2017 – August 19th
Channel Islands Maritime Museum, Oxnard, California

Chowderfest 2017 at the Channel Islands Maritime Museum was for the third straight year, a huge success! The International Order of the Blue Gavel (IOBG District 16) working with local yachts clubs including Harbour Island Yacht Club, Pacific Corinthian Yacht Club, Channel Islands Yacht Club and Ventura Yacht Club with many museum volunteers supplied the worker power necessary to run the event. Over 1,400 visitors enjoyed the tastes of chowders and soups from local Ventura County restaurants. This year’s proceeds to CIMM was over $40,000 bringing a three-year total of nearly $100,000 being raised to run the museum’s educational programs.

Non-stop blues music was provided by Kelly’s Lot.  Kelly Zirbes arranged for musicians from her band and from other parts of the region to perform throughout the event.

The winners of this year events were: Sea Fresh for People’s Choice and Judges Choice categories. Additional winners that placed were Rhumb Line of Ventura, The Lookout Bar and Grill for its miniature bread bowls topped with bacon and the Greek Mediterranean Steak and Seafood of Ventura. Judges Choice awards resulted in a three-way tie between Kanaloa Seafood of Oxnard and Santa Barbara, The Greek of Ventura Harbor and Hook Line and Sinker of Oxnard. The River Ridge Golf Club won a non-category award for its un-chowder of chicken and sweet corn chowder. Other participants included Sabra Fish and Grill at the Collection, Spencer McKenzies and Roxbury Deli. Delicious desserts were provided by Nothing Bundt Cakes, Dottie’s Delights, Honey Cups and Missy’s Cupcakes. 805 Brewery supplied several types of their beer and several local wineries participated with tastings.