After two years in the making, the Yonkers Demo went off without a hitch. There were some nervous email exchanges, in the days preceding. The weather forecast was looking to be a washout. To add insult to injury, a sewage spill threatened to keep us out of the water. On Friday, we got word, the spill was contained, advisory was lifted and all private water quality tests came back clean. After a stray shower moved through on Saturday morning, the participants were treated to glorious day. In all 20 boats were on display, ready for on water trials. The steady southerly wind provided for some real world paddling conditions, that the participants could get a feel for what the boats are capable of and the feedback was fantastic.

I met many new faces and forged some new friendships. We had a better than anticipated turn out, and the demo was a huge success. This would not have been possible without the support and endless energy of the Yonkers Paddling and Rowing Club members. We also had support from a few volunteers from Pier 96. The Beczak Environmental Center provided the venue and staff for the kids activity.

Again, a huge thank you to everyone who helped with boat schlepping and on water perimeter support. It was due to their effort, that this event was such a success. Talk is already underway for next year. We will certainly bring more smiling, CLC faces, as this event could blossom into one of our largest demos.

A special thank you goes out to Dan Thaler, who spearheaded the effort to bring us together and gathered the volunteers. He put in many hours helping with the coordination and ground support.