The Charles River: a VERY Interactive Experience

there were enough crabs for EVERYONE!

         Hi again! Instead of the usual Carson Beach routine, on Wednesdays and Thursdays I am at Courageous Sailing Center and Community Boating on the Charles. These sites have had some amazing makeovers and are even more more fun than last year. At Courageous we met some EXTREMELY excited kids. Their excitement to get out on the dock and pull up traps was very motivating. The ropes of the traps were completely covered in barnacles, sea squirts and mussels. Some of them were so encased in sea life that it was almost impossible to pull the traps up, but we were well rewarded for all the effort we put in. The traps were absolutely covered in two types of crabs (green and rock), as well as sea squirts, a few lobster claws and an enormous sea star.

After such success we hoped for the same with the fishing- unfortunately, none of the fish were cooperating with us. They did, however, gain important knowledge about harbor life, fishing safety and how to cast. It was a lot of fun teaching the kids about bait and how fishing rods worked. Children have this insatiable excitement for the world around them and they bring out that excited little kid in everyone. Even though our hooks came up empty, they were excited for next time, as am I!

Crab Racing at Courageous

After Courageous' great turn out, we made our way over to Community Boating on the Charles River. That was also A LOT of fun, I had never been to Community Boating so it was a great new experience. The kids were just as excited to fish in the Charles River as they were at Courageous. And we were much more productive in the Charles. We caught a white perch, which we promptly named Freckles- the name most definitely fit. It was a really pretty fish with silvery grey scales and sharp spines on the back. We were very safe handling the fish and it happily swam away once we released it. After fishing, we quickly hopped into the kayaks for a quick paddle in the inner parts of the Charles. We had quite a few races including racing backwards, and an impromptu obstacle course involving buoys, moored sail boats and a lot of happy campers. I had a lot of trouble maneuvering away from happy splashing and docking.

I had quite the happy train ride home

Freckles looking very dapper 

while smelling of the Charles. But with Save the Harbor's immense cleaning up effort, it was only the faint smell of fish and nothing more.
I really love the sites I was placed at this summer and I hope to come see some of your happy faces if not at Carson Beach then at Courageous Sailing Center or at Community Boating on the Charles.

Stay safe in the sun,
Ruth Scott