Our Commitment to Sustainability & Our Bay
Every Lesson and Charter Plants 25 Oyster in Moriches Bay
In 2021, we partnered with Long Island Vibes for a fundraiser that raised over $1000 for the Moriches Bay Project. But we've realized that we needed an ongoing commitment to sustainability in order to make a difference, not just a fundraiser here and there. So in May of 2023 we announced that going forwards, we will plant 25 oysters in Moriches Bay for every lesson and charter through a partnership with the Moriches Bay Project.
The mission of the Moriches Bay Project is to improve the quality of the water in Moriches Bay and turn it back to its natural state of health. This is achieved through oyster farming. Why plant oysters in the bay? Oysters may be small, but they make a major impact on water quality- an adult oyster filters 50 gallons of water every day! Between their founding in 2009 and 2021, the Moriches Bay Project planted more than 2.5 million oysters in Moriches Bay. You can learn more about the Moriches Bay Project here, and we hope you'll considering making a donation.
Our Transition to Electric Propulsion
When we started Moriches Island Sailing, we bought a 2.5hp Yamaha Four Stroke for our Flying Scot. We didn't use it very often, but it was there in case the wind died or if there was an emergency. Still, we never liked the idea of a noisy, fossil fuel burning outboard on our sailboat. So we've swapped out our Yamaha for an electric outboard, Torqeedo's Travel 1103CS. Not only is the Torqeedo much quieter than our Yamaha, but it has no direct emissions. It wasn't cheap; at $2950, it was almost three times as much as the Yamaha. But if we want a cleaner bay, we need to put our money where our mouth is!
Our 13' Boston Whaler and 24' Eastern are still powered by combustion outboards- for now! We are planning to repower our Whaler with an electric outboard by the summer of 2026. And as electric outboards become more readily available and in higher horsepower ratings, we'll repower our Eastern as well.
Our Partnership with EMO Electric
EMO Electric's mission is to make boating more sustainable by repowering boats with electric outboards. They're also working on designing and building a purpose built electric power catamaran and integrating solar charging into homes and marinas. We purchased our electric outboard from EMO Electric, and we're excited to announce a partnership with them to provide electric outboard demos. Customers can come aboard our Flying Scot to try out Torqeedo's Travel 1109CS or ePropulsion's Spirit Evo.