Wrapping up Share the Harbor Cruise Season with Two Harbor Tours

Passengers on the top deck out near Deer Island

Sunday's weather proved to be spectacular for our two Share the Harbor cruises aboard the Mass Bay Lines' Freedom. More than three hundred passengers arrived at Rowes Wharf to spend a few hours cruising around the Boston Harbor eager to learn more about certain landmarks in each waterfront neighborhood. Aboard was our trusty narrator David Coffin, who was the guide to learning more about the urban natural resource that is the Boston Harbor.

Collecting a Treasure Hunt before boarding

Equipped with treasure hunts, visitors on both cruises were welcomed aboard by Mass Bay Lines crew members and Save the Harbor youth staffers alike. They took their seats across all three levels, and prepared
to set out on a narrated adventure on the water. David kicked off his narration with the Boston Tea Party as we passed the Fort Point Channel, before cruising out past the seaport and Castle Island on our way towards Spectacle Island.

While approaching Spectacle, people learned the way that Boston once removed trash from the city was to ferry it out to Spectacle Island. In order for the island to be transformed into the National and State Park that it is today, the trash was burned in a fire that lasted ten years. For many of the people aboard who had visited Spectacle Island, they were shocked to learn that the island had such a rich history. Past Spectacle, there lies a black and white structure that emerges from a question mark shaped island. Cruisers learned of the scary history from the age of sail when this island was used to scare away those who should not enter the inner harbor.

David pointing out a nearby landmark for guests

With the turnaround slowly occurring out in front of Deer Island, all aboard learned where the sewage from Boston and the surrounding towns is sent to be treated. David even remarked that the water is so clean that people can drink it, which is a testament to the feat of engineering that the sewage treatment plant is.

People in line for cruise two excited to embark on their trip

To wrap up the cruise, we looped around the inner harbor past Logan Airport and the rest of East Boston towards Charlestown where we caught a great glimpse of the Tobin Bridge, Bunker Hill Monument, and of course Old Ironside also known as the USS Constitution. We then headed back to Rowes Wharf to dock and pick up the next group of folks who were lining up for cruise number two.




Overall, we had a spectacular day weather wise, great turnout from the public, and many new facts that we once did not know about the Boston Harbor. Although this concludes our Share the Harbor Cruises for 2019, we are excited to expand upon such a successful program in 2020. Stay Tuned!

A huge thank you to Mass Bay Lines for making these two harbor tours possible.

Save the Harbor's free Share the Harbor Cruises are made possible with Leadership Grants from Cronin Development, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, and Bay State Cruise Company.

Save the Harbor is grateful for Leadership Grants from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, The Boston Foundation, The Coca-Cola Foundation, Exelon Generation, and John Hancock Financial Services.

Save the Harbor is also grateful for Partnership Grants from the Boston Bruins Foundation, Boston Properties – Atlantic Wharf, Boston Properties—200 Clarendon, The Daily Catch Seaport, Davis Family Charitable Foundation, Eastern Salt Company, Inc., Engie, Fan Pier - The Fallon Company, Highland Street Foundation, Hood Business Park, The HYM Investment Group, LLC, IR+M Charitable Fund, The Llewellyn Foundation, Massachusetts Port Authority, National Grid Foundation, P & G Gillette, Lawrence J. and Anne Rubenstein Charitable Foundation, William E. Schrafft & Bertha E. Schrafft Charitable Trust, Clinton H. & Wilma T. Shattuck Charitable Trust, and Vertex.

Save the Harbor also appreciates Stewardship Grants from the Camp Harbor View Foundation, Circle Furniture, Comcast, Copeland Family Foundation, The Cricket Foundation, Cruise Industry Charitable Foundation, Davis Family Charitable Foundation, Elizabeth Elser Doolittle Charitable Trust, Dorr Charitable Foundation, Enbridge, Tom & Lucinda Foley, Foundation for Sustainability and Innovation, The Kershaw Foundation – Cheers for Children, George Lewis - Haven Trust, Liberty Bay Credit Union, Lovett Woodsum Foundation, Maine Community Foundation, MarineMax Russo, Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, Nicholson Foundation, Pabis Foundation, REI, RMR Real Estate Services, Rockland Trust Pavilion, Skanska, Abbot & Dorothy H. Stevens Foundation, TD Charitable Foundation, and Tishman Speyer.

Save the Harbor would also like to thank our Program Funders Andus Baker & Rowan Murphy Family Fund, MA Attorney General’s Office Healthy Summer and Youths Jobs Program, The Paul and Edith Babson Foundation, Beacon Capital Partners, LLC, Andrew Calamare & Marianne Connolly, Cell Signaling Technology, Diversified Automotive, Legal Sea Foods, Miss Wallace M. Leonard Foundation, Mass Bay Credit Union, Matthew J. & Gilda F. Strazzula Foundation, UDR, and Kyle & Sara Warwick.

Save the Harbor would also like to extend our gratitude to our Supporters 3A Marine Service, The Bay State Federal Savings Charitable Foundation, Cresset Group, Massachusetts Marine Educational Trust, Randy Peeler & Kate Kellogg.

Special thanks as well to the hundreds of individual donors for their support and to our partners at the Department of Conservation and Recreation, the Metropolitan Beaches Commission, the Boston Centers for Youth and Families and the YMCA of Greater Boston.