Pins on pins on pins!

Today my crew and I went for two separate cruises with Camp Harbor View on the Fredrick L. Nolan Jr., a ship owned and operated by Boston Harbor Cruises.

The morning started with a meeting of the captain and crew on Long Wharf. They were extremely inviting and helpful. After the brief intro, we headed over to Camp Harbor View to begin the day of cruises.

Upon arrival, three of the camps lighthouses- around 300 kids- loaded on to the Fredrick Nolan for their trip around Boston Harbor and its islands. The second group of around 200 would come on the following tour. I was amazed that we were able to bring so many kids out to the harbor islands in just one day.

Enjoying the sun and the views from the upper deck

As we headed out Will Clark and I talked about each of the major harbor islands as we passed. The kids were slightly disgusted to learn about the finer points of the waste treatment that happens on Deer Island, and even more so when they learned that the solids removed during the process are used for fertilizer in various agricultural industries. A number of the campers who had not heard the story of the Woman in Black also came up to inquire about the story as we passed Georges Island.

The boat then continued on towards Boston Light, where, after getting a good view of America's oldest lighthouse, we turned around and headed back towards Castle Island and the inner harbor. At this point we opened up the mic to all the campers and staff so that they could display their singing and rap skills, as well as their camp spirit. It was great to see how excited everyone got when they or their friends had a chance to get on the microphone. Most of the performances were extremely impressive, particularly some the young singers.

A CHV Camper turning the mic back over after showing his skills

All in all the event was very successful and I believe that it provided a novel view of Boston Harbor to many of the kids on the boat, particular those that had never been on a boat. I cannot wait to help run this event again during the second session at Camp Harbor View.

- Be excellent to each other and party on dudes, Tom Rebula