14 HOLIDAY 2013 boatingonthehudson.com
partment which for a nominal
fee promotes river access and
hands-on sailing and safety
instruction by experienced
captains to individuals new to
sailing and the river. The Sailing
Club also holds their monthly
meetings at the Ossining Boat
and Canoe Club.
The United States Coast Guard
Auxiliary 6-7 for their monthly
meetings, training sessions and
boating safety classes is also
hosted at Ossining Boat and
Canoe Club.
Sustainability events and proj-
ects with which Ossining Boat
and Canoe Club is involved
include Green Ossining’s Earth
Day/Stash The Trash, Riverkeep-
er’s RiverSweep, and OBCC’s
own unique alternative energy
undertaking: windmill-created
energy that illuminates the
decks.
The most important event on
the OBCC calendar is the com-
munity Toys for Tots toy drive.
For over a decade, OBCC has
collected thousands of toys for
local distribution to children in
need.
Other time-honored annual
traditions at OBCC are the Au-
gust Family Clambake and the
Donald Zerrilla Memorial “Hot
Pie” Scholarship Benefit Break-
fast, which benefits an Ossining
High School student’s pursuit of
higher learning. Both of these
events draw up to 200 people to
the waterfront for fun, food and
friendship.
Additional services provided to
the community by Ossining Boat
and Canoe Club include histori-
cal lectures and exhibits, a very
beautiful and moving Veteran’s
Ceremony to honor those lost at
sea, and the collection of daily
and yearly ramp fees on behalf
of the Town for those launching
boats on Ossining’s shore.
Most recently, OBCC joined
the Ossining Bicentennial and
Harborfest Celebration in grand
style by collaborating with Arts-
Westchester to bring the local
history of Ossining on the wa-
terfront right to the source. This
two-day, museum-quality ex-
hibit of boat-building, boatyard
and fishing artifacts, photogra-
phy, audio-visual presentations
and oral history was only the
beginning of what OBCC hopes
will be a long and enriching
tradition of connecting the com-
munity to its heritage. OBCC
also plans to offer outreach to
the students of Ossining High
School for waterfront education-
al opportunities.
The highlight of OBCC’s Har-
borfest event was, for many, a
fascinating and highly enter-
taining talk by naturalists Chris
Letts and Tom Lake about the
legendary Henry Gourdine, a
lifetime member of OBCC and
an original Hudson fisherman.
I have such wonderful memo-
ries of sitting on the large
veranda overlooking the river
with Henry, and enjoying his
stories of commercial fishing
during and afterWorldWar II.
Henry was always a gentleman,
and articulate in a manner of
speaking that gave resonance
to all he said. I would hang on
his every word as he told tale
of truck-loads of striped bass
that he had hauled in by a huge
half mile long seine net that
was anchored on either end by
concrete pillars on shore. He
Santa and Mrs. Claus visit OBCC’s Toys
For Tots program
The pièce de résistance at OBCC’s annual clambake:
Hudson-caught stuffed striped bass
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