On June 10, the celebratory crowd at Boothbay Region Boatyard in West Southport included local officials, folks from neighboring boatyards, Susan Swanton, executive director of Maine Marine Trade Association (MMTA), Barbi Coyne from Hodgdon Yachts, happy customers and boat owners and about 30 of the staff from the yard who were able, however briefly, to put down their tasks.
The occasion was the presentation of a silver award from the Maine Clean Boatyard and Marina Program (sponsored by MMTA) and the raising of the signifying banner over the property. Boothbay Region Boatyard is the first facility in the midcoast region to receive the award. Other yards and marinas in the area are just details away from receiving “clean” designations.
“What a pleasure to celebrate the environmental achievements of Boothbay Region Boatyard. This award recognizes their many ongoing efforts to ensure a clean boating environment for their customers, their willingness to be a good corporate citizen and their commitment to providing their staff a safe, clean workplace,” said Swanton.
Jeff Lowell, president of the yard, received the award and attributed the achievement to his crew.
“This yard has been working toward the goal of being environmentally friendly for more than 10 years,” said Swanton. “Now the whole idea is part of their culture. I was there during the work frenzy just before Memorial Day weekend and nobody had anymore than an eight-hour shift’s worth of debris accumulation. As boatyards go, it was spotless.”
“I think the program is fantastic,” said Service and Repair Manager Graham Wright. “It’s good for the environment, good for our relationship with our neighbors — we operate in a residential area — if we can take care of our own yard, we can take care of people’s boats.”