Winous Point Marsh Conservancy Pilot Training

Opie Rohrer (left) and Jeff Miller (right) of Winous Point Marsh Conservancy,

receive their Class III Hovercraft Pilot Certificates from instructor Chris Fitzgerald.

The Winous Point Marsh Conservancy preserves a 5,500-acre marsh and maintains a wildlife habitat on the shores of Lake Erie’s Sandusky Bay in Point Clinton, Ohio USA. The Winous Point Shooting Club, a part of the Conservancy, is the oldest duck hunting club in North America, founded in 1856.

At times, weather can make the marsh difficult to reach. Strong winds can blow the water out of the access bay, which then becomes mud and soft sand and, in winter, thin ice can be a problem. The punt boats and Louisiana pero boats normally used by the club cannot operate in these conditions.

A club member who has experience in aviation recommended that the club purchase a hovercraft because it could easily travel over mud, sand and thin ice. The new Winous Point Neoteric HoverTrek™ will be used to ferry hunters to suitable hunting spots.

Because Opie and Jeff have experience building the club’s punt boats, they purchased a Neoteric partially assembled hovercraft kit and are assembling their Deluxe Model 3706 four-passenger hovercraft themselves.