Chappaquoit Yacht Club seeks seasonal sailing floats in West Falmouth Harbor; commission asks for depth and shellfish surveys

The Chappaquoit Yacht Club on Tuesday presented plans to place three seasonal sailing floats and eco‑moorings in West Falmouth Harbor to support a community youth sailing program, but the Falmouth Conservation Commission continued the item and asked the club to secure professional water‑depth and shellfish surveys.

Michael Jackson, representing the club, said the proposal is intended to preserve youth sailing access after the club lost its home on Chappaquoit Island and to run weekday lessons from modular floats. "Our kids deserve local access to safe and healthy boating fun," Jackson said, describing two larger "4/20" floats and an OptiFloat configured to store and rig small sailing craft and to be removed from the water outside the season.

Jackson told the commission that the project has a 10a permit that specifies latitudes and longitudes for moorings and requires a spring site visit; he said the floats would use eco‑moorings "to prevent scouring" and be placed where there is at least 3 feet of depth at low tide. He also said Upper Cape Technical Vocational School students are slated to build the floats, and that the club has converted to a community nonprofit to expand access.

Jennifer Lincoln, conservation staff, told the commission the project is reviewed under the Wetlands Protection Act and the Falmouth Wetlands Bylaw and flagged three priorities for the record: verified water depth, potential eelgrass and shellfish impacts, and the velocity zone. "We do need to see that on a survey plan," Lincoln said, noting the commission should receive shellfish‑constable and harbor‑master comments before closing the hearing.

Commissioners pressed for specifics about the floats' draft, storm‑safety measures and who would ferry children to the floats. Jackson said coach boats with prop protectors and carpooling from town docks were part of the plan. Commissioners said a professional, gridded water‑depth survey and an eelgrass/shellfish review were necessary to evaluate grounding and resource impacts; several commissioners explicitly urged the board to request a professional survey rather than rely solely on the applicant's measurements.

After discussion, the commission voted to continue the hearing to March 4 so the yacht club can report progress on surveys and site coordination with the shellfish constable and harbor master. The commission asked that any survey results be provided with enough lead time for volunteer commissioners to review them before the next hearing.