Sea Scout Ship 41 wins 2012 Interlux Waterfront Challenge $20,000 national award

Sea Scout Ship 41 of Bay Village, Ohio, is the winner of the 2012 Interlux Waterfront Challenge.
The scouts developed a unique solution to help combat the growth of harmful algae in Lake Erie.

Fort Lauderdale, Florida (USA), October 25, 2012 – At the opening today of the 2012 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, Interlux® announced the winners of the 2012 Interlux Waterfront Challenge.

The annual Interlux Waterfront Challenge awards funds to community groups for creating sustainable waterfront environmental improvements in their communities.

The national winner, to receive a $20,000 check from Interlux, is Sea Scout Ship 41 of Bay Village, Ohio.

Sea Scout Ship 41 researched the significant problem of harmful algae blooms in Lake Erie and developed O’Tumbler, a vertical wind turbine that circulates oxygen-rich water to help stimulate the growth of plankton and provide a food rich habitat for fish. “This has been a super opportunity for our Sea Scouts to study, brainstorm and develop practical solutions to real life environmental problems. We look forward to using the Interlux award to further educate our community to help protect our great natural resource, Lake Erie,” said Richard Gash, Skipper of Sea Scout Ship 41.

“The goal of the Interlux Waterfront Challenge is to encourage community participation in sustainable projects to protect and preserve our marine environment. Our 2012 national winner is an outstanding example of what can be accomplished when we all work together,” said Jim Seidel, Interlux North America marketing manager.

Three other organizations will receive checks of $4,500 each as the regional winners of the 2012 Waterfront Challenge: Paddle Without Pollution (Pittsburgh, PA), for organizing kayakers and canoeists to paddle the shorelines and channels of Pittsburgh’s three rivers, picking up trash and monitoring the water conditions; South River Federation (Edgewater, MD), for organizing volunteers to remove trash from the South River, a key tributary of the Chesapeake Bay; and the Sea Scavenger Conservancy (San Francisco, CA), for organizing a children’s environmental education program and cleanup day to remove trash from the Misson Bay shoreline.

The judges for the 2012 Interlux Waterfront Challenge were: Thom Dammrich, President of the National Marine Manufacturers Association; Fred Daoust, General Manager, Interlux North America; John Kelly, Chairman of the American Coatings Association Antifouling Working Group and a member of the California State Lands Commission Fouling Technical Advisory Group; Dan Pingaro, CEO of Sailors for the Sea; and Susan Shingledecker, Director of Environmental Programs for the BoatU.S. Foundation for Boating Safety & Clean Water.

In addition, nearly 4,000 boaters helped the judges choose the regional award winners by voting for their favorite project at the Interlux Waterfront Challenge page on Facebook.

Information about the 2013 Interlux Waterfront Challenge will be available in February.