Join Save the Harbor for a Free Fall Cruise to Discover the Treasures of Spectacle Island on Saturday, Oct. 24th

Please join us on Saturday, October 24th for our final free fall cruise of 2015 to Spectacle Island.

We will begin boarding the Provincetown II at Bay State Cruise Company’s dock at the World Trade Center in South Boston at 9:30 AM for a 10:00 AM departure. We will return by 2:30 PM.

Reservations are required. Though there is plenty of room on the boat, space is still limited, so please RSVP to Amy Gaylord via email or phone to reserve your space: Gaylord@savetheharbor.org or 617-451-2860 x1008! Please give us an accurate headcount so that we can accommodate as many guests as possible.

The Bay State Cruise Company dock is easily accessed via the MBTA’s Silver Line. Parking is available in various lots and garages in the area. For MBTA and driving directions, visit http://baystatecruisecompany.com/directions.php

The snack bar on Spectacle Island will be closed for the season, but the snack bar aboard the Provincetown II will be serving snacks and drinks. You are also welcome and encouraged to bring a picnic lunch, but please remember that the Boston Harbor Islands have a “carry-on, carry-off” policy. Please bring a bag for your trash, and remember to dress in warm layers, as the weather is often a bit cooler and breezier on the water and the islands!

Mass Humanities scholar and storyteller Norah Dooley will join us as Mary Read the Pirate. She will share her stories of Boston Harbor's past and encourage you to share your stories as well.

Thanks to our partners at the National Park Service, who are celebrating their 100th Anniversary, for helping to make this free fall cruise possible and for encouraging all of us to find our park and share our stories.

Learn more at http://findyourpark.com/find

Thanks to our partners at the Department of Conservation and Recreation and Bay State Cruise Company. Thanks as well to all our youth and beach program funders for their support.

Hope to see you on Boston Harbor on the 24th!

P.S. Find a blue marble on Spectacle Island - or any beach from Nahant to Nantasket - and you could win a pair of round trip flights on JetBlue to any domestic destination they serve from Boston’s Logan Airport as part of the 2015 “Simply Marble-ous” Treasure Hunt! Take a picture of yourself with a marble and email it to info@savetheharbor.org with your name, neighborhood, and contact information to enter the contest.

 You can also buy a Virtual Marble online today for just $10 for your chance to win. The winner will be chosen on October 31st.

To find out more about Save the Harbor/Save the Bay and the work we do to restore and protect Boston Harbor, the Boston Harbor Islands and the region’s public beaches from Nahant to Nantasket, visit our website.

To find out more about our free beach and island programs read our blog Sea, Sand & Sky and follow savetheharbor on Facebook and Twitter.

Save the Harbor's free youth environmental education and family programs are made possible with Leadership Grants from Bay State Cruise Company, The Boston Foundation, The Coca-Cola Foundation and Distrigas/GDF SUEZ.

Save the Harbor is grateful for Partnership Grants from Forrest Berkley & Marcie Tyre Berkley, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Boston Properties – Atlantic Wharf, The Chiofaro Company, The Clowes Fund, Marion L. Decrow Memorial Foundation, Alice Willard Dorr Foundation, Eastern Salt Company Inc., The Fallon Company, Hampshire House Corporation – Cheers for Children, John Hancock Financial Services, Inc., Mass Humanities, Massachusetts Bay Lines, Massachusetts Port Authority, National Grid Foundation, P&G Gillette, William E & Bertha E. Schrafft Charitable Trust and Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation.

Save the Harbor also appreciates funding support from 3A Marine Service, Arbella Insurance Group Charitable Foundation, Andus Baker & Rowan Murphy Family Fund, Bay State Federal Savings Charitable Foundation, Blue Hills Bank Pavilion, BOMA Boston, Boston Bruins Foundation, Boston Global Investors, Breckinridge Capital Advisors, Andrew J. Calamare, Camp Harbor View Foundation, Carnival Foundation, Circle Furniture, The Daily Catch Seaport, Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation, Paul & Phyllis Fireman Charitable Foundation, Thomas & Lucinda Foley, Legal Sea Foods, Ms. Wallace M. Leonard Foundation, Mass Bay Credit Union, HYM Investment Group Inc., Sherry & Alan Leventhal Family Foundation, Lovett-Woodsum Foundation, Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, National Park Service, Nicholson Foundation, Randy Peeler & Kate Kellogg, Reebok Foundation, Rockland Trust – Peoples Federal Foundation, Skanska, South Boston Community Development Foundation, Spectra Energy, Lawrence J. & Anne Rubenstein Foundation, Senior Housing Property Trust, South Boston Community Development Foundation, Storm Duds, Matthew J. & Gilda F. Strazzula Foundation, TD Bank Charitable Foundation, UDR, and Kyle & Sara Warwick.

Special thanks to the hundreds of individual donors 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 for their support.

No Sun but Plenty of Fun at Spectacle Island

      Last Saturday, I did something I've never done before and that was visit a harbor island outside of the summer. Although I was working, I still had never gone to Spectacle Island in the fall. It was nice to take a break from school and link up with some friends and take about 360 people out to the island.

      I went around to many tables asking if people had ever been to an island with us and many said yes. It was  nice to know that we left a good impression on them about the harbor, enough for them to want to take the trip with us again. A family I hung out with for most of the trip was the Cox family. She came out with her brother and 4 nephews. She was from Waltham and the rest of her family was from Roxbury. She had came a longer way to show her family a nice time in the islands. She had came with us before but she had visited George's Island and this would be her first time on Spectacle. They were very intrigued by treasure beach as they lasted almost half on hour searching for sea glass. Then they went to the top of the hill and took many pictures of the view. 

I enjoyed going to the top of the hill again since I hadn't been up there all summer and wanted to remember the feeling.

Thank you, 

Ivaniel Diaz

360 Participants Enjoy Free Cruise to Spectacle Island

On Saturday, September 26^th, 360 people visited Spectacle Island aboard Bay State Cruise Company’s Provincetown II for Save the Harbor/Save the Bay’s first free fall cruise of the 2015 season. 

 Sunny skies and temperatures in the 60's provided perfect weather for hiking the trails and hunting for artifacts on Treasure Beach.

Mass Humanities Scholar and award-winning storyteller Norah Dooley shared stories of Boston Harbor's history as Mary Read the Pirate, and helped island visitors search for treasure.  She will join us again in October for our second free fall cruise of the season on October 24.

Save the Harbor high school staffers Daynaja Depina of Dorchester, Jayda Chandool of Mattapan, and Abdullahi Abdi of Roxbury welcomed cruise participants and enjoyed the view from the top of the North Drumlin.

The Santos family from Lawrence, and the De Los Santos family from Ashland, enjoyed a picnic lunch on Spectacle Island.

Some lucky treasure hunters found JetBlue marbles and entered the “Simply Marble-ous” Treasure Hunt for a chance to win a pair of round-trip JetBlue flights to any domestic destination they serve from Boston’s Logan Airport! Keep an eye out on Boston’s beaches for a blue marble of your own—we will accept entries until October 31^st—just send us an email at info@savetheharbor.org with a photo of yourself with your marble, your name, neighborhood, and your contact information!

Nataly Wickham and Kristin Fahning, opera singers and students at the New England Conservatory, enjoyed taking advantage of a free opportunity to see Boston from a new perspective.

Save the Harbor/Save the Bay will host one more free fall cruise to Spectacle Island this year on October 24^th to celebrate the end of another great season on Boston Harbor.

If you would like to join Save the Harbor/Save the Bay on the 24^th, please RSVP to Gaylord@savetheharbor.org.

Save the Harbor's free youth environmental education and family programs are made possible with Leadership Grants from Bay State Cruise Company, The Boston Foundation, Distrigas/GDF SUEZ, and The Coca-Cola Foundation.

Save the Harbor is grateful for Partnership Grants from Forrest Berkley & Marcie Tyre Berkley, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, The Chiofaro Company, The Clowes Fund, Marion L. Decrow Memorial Foundation, Alice Willard Dorr Foundation, The Fallon Company, Hampshire House Corporation – Cheers for Children, John Hancock Financial Services, Inc., Mass Humanities, Massachusetts Bay Lines, Massachusetts Environmental Trust, Massachusetts Port Authority, National Grid Foundation, P&G Gillette, William E & Bertha E. Schrafft Charitable Trust, and Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation.

Save the Harbor also appreciates funding support from 3A Marine Service, Arbella Insurance Group Charitable Foundation, Andus Baker & Rowan Murphy Family Fund, Blue Hills Bank Pavilion, BOMA, Boston Bruins Foundation, Boston Global Investors, Boston Properties – Atlantic Wharf, Breckinridge Capital Advisors, Andrew J. Calamare, Carnival Foundation, Circle Furniture, The Daily Catch Seaport, Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation, Ms. Wallace M. Leonard Foundation, Paul & Phyllis Fireman Charitable Foundation, Thomas & Lucinda Foley, HYM Investment Group Inc., Lovett-Woodsum Foundation, Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, National Park Service, Nicholson Foundation, P&G Gillette, Reebok Foundation, Rockland Trust – Peoples Federal Foundation, Skanska, South Boston Community Development Foundation, Spectra Energy, Matthew J. & Gilda F. Strazzula Foundation, Lawrence J. & Anne Rubenstein Foundation, Senior Housing Property Trust, South Boston Community Development Foundation, TD Bank Charitable Foundation, Kyle & Sara Warwick, and the hundreds of individual donors who help make these programs possible.

 Save the Harbor would also like to thank 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 for their support.

Free Fall Cruise to Spectacle Island Saturday Sept. 26th!

On Saturday, September 26^th, Save the Harbor/Save the Bay will host a free “Treasures of Spectacle Island” cruise to spend a beautiful fall day in the Boston Harbor Islands National Park! Come enjoy the view from the highest hill on the Boston Harbor Islands, and hunt for sea glass on Treasure Beach.

Thanks to our partners at Mass Humanities, this year we are excited to announce that storyteller Norah Dooley will join us as Mary Read the Pirate, to share stories of shipwrecks, ghosts and pirates of Boston Harbor and to encourage you to share your stories as well.

We will begin boarding the Provincetown II at Bay State Cruise Company’s dock at the World Trade Center in South Boston at 9:30 AM for a 10:00 AM departure. We will return by 2:30 PM.

The snack bar on Spectacle Island will be open as well as the snack bar aboard the Provincetown II. You are also welcome to bring a picnic lunch—please remember that the Boston Harbor Islands have a “carry-on, carry-off” policy, so bring a bag for your trash!

Keep an eye out for marbles while exploring the beach—you could win a pair of JetBlue flights to any domestic destination they serve from Boston’s Logan Airport as part of the 2015 “Simply Marble-ous” Treasure Hunt! Take a picture of yourself with a marble and email it to info@savetheharbor.org with your name, neighborhood, and contact information to enter the contest! A winner will be chosen on October 31^st.

The Bay State Cruise Company dock is easily accessed via the MBTA’s Silver Line. Parking is available in various lots and garages in the area. For MBTA and driving directions, visit http://baystatecruisecompany.com/directions.php

Reservations are required. Though there is plenty of room on the boat, space is still limited, so please RSVP to Amy Gaylord via email or phone to reserve your space: Gaylord@savetheharbor.org or 617-451-2860 x1008! Please give us an accurate headcount so that we can accommodate as many guests as possible. 

Save the Harbor's free youth environmental education and family programs are made possible with Leadership Grants from Bay State Cruise Company, The Boston Foundation, Distrigas/GDF SUEZ, and The Coca-Cola Foundation.

Save the Harbor is grateful for Partnership Grants from Forrest Berkley & Marcie Tyre Berkley, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, The Chiofaro Company, The Clowes Fund, Marion L. Decrow Memorial Foundation, Alice Willard Dorr Foundation, The Fallon Company, Hampshire House Corporation – Cheers for Children, John Hancock Financial Services, Inc., Mass Humanities, Massachusetts Bay Lines, Massachusetts Environmental Trust, Massachusetts Port Authority, National Grid Foundation, P&G Gillette, William E & Bertha E. Schrafft Charitable Trust, and Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation. 

Save the Harbor also appreciates funding support from 3A Marine Service, Arbella Insurance Group Charitable Foundation, Andus Baker & Rowan Murphy Family Fund, Blue Hills Bank Pavilion, BOMA, Boston Bruins Foundation, Boston Global Investors, Boston Properties – Atlantic Wharf, Breckinridge Capital Advisors, Andrew J. Calamare, Carnival Foundation, Circle Furniture, The Daily Catch Seaport, Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation, Ms. Wallace M. Leonard Foundation, Paul & Phyllis Fireman Charitable Foundation, Thomas & Lucinda Foley, HYM Investment Group Inc., Lovett-Woodsum Foundation, Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, National Park Service, Nicholson Foundation, P&G Gillette, Reebok Foundation, Rockland Trust – Peoples Federal Foundation, Skanska, South Boston Community Development Foundation, Spectra Energy, Matthew J. & Gilda F. Strazzula Foundation, Lawrence J. & Anne Rubenstein Foundation, Senior Housing Property Trust, South Boston Community Development Foundation, TD Bank Charitable Foundation, Kyle & Sara Warwick, and the hundreds of individual donors who help make these programs possible.

 Save the Harbor would also like to thank 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 for their support.