New Things

Captain Khar

Welcome back to our blog! The special scoop for this week was all about seeing and doing new things.  We started the week off by visiting the USS Constitution Museum and the Coast Guard with special tours lead by their staff. At the Museum we learned what it was like to be on board a giant sail ship and what life was like in the 1400's. Luckily enough we already know how important it is to HAUL AWAY TOGETHER, so we were able to work together quickly and accurately to prep for a "battle". My favorite had to be the Coast Guard. They had a large building for their base located in the North End. Their boats were a lot cooler and equipped with  more (or even any) special technology than any boat I have ever been on. Their vessels had radars, bunkers, and even a siren that we were allowed to enter. It was fun, but now I know how serious they take their job, not only are they out there to patrol the water but they are also out there to save lives, help animals, and help clean the harbor. 

A STINGRAY!?

 Speaking of the various vessels we've boarded, over at CHV were see lots of boat traffic passing by the island coming in and out the harbor. Not only do we see the ferries from different islands but we also got a visit from a giant cruise ship. It had to be the biggest boat I've ever seen, and that includes the cargo ships that have passed by. There are multiple activities that take place on and off the dock of CHV. You can catch us fishing off the dock and pulling up crabs, skates, or fish. Or you can hang with us when it is low tide by the tide pools searching for asian short crabs, hermit crabs, and periwinkles. It always a friendly competition to see who can find the most of the evasive species. And on days when we run out of bait, we quickly come up with solutions to still run our program. Whether that means tide pooling or using hotdogs, we will always find a way to stay connected to the harbor. We find many critters at low tide. It amazes me how they are all hidden when its high tide. I also enjoy seeing the transformation from kids who're too afraid to hold a crab to bringing them right up to our touch tank.
Over at CHV, the fun does not end. Our energy always positively matches that of the campers. What makes CHV one of the best sites is not only due to our staff but the way we run our program. Everything is organized, we have a game plan about the day ahead and plan accordingly with the weather. We receive the schedule and we have everything set up for our groups and clubs before they arrive. I love how cooperative both my staff and campers are. We are patient with each other and work well together to bring them the ultimate fishing experience.

Unknown Organisms

Diving Into My Second Summer

Holding a Moon Jelly 

Hey there, I'm Briana Scata and I'm excited to be diving into my second year of programming with Save The Harbor/ Save The Bay as a Senior Harbor Educator!

My first fish of Summer 2017

During the fall and winter months, I taught physical education in an elementary school and was able to make lots of connections between STH/STB summer programs and our school! My students participated in many activities and games that I learned over the summer. I also spent my afternoons coaching field hockey in the fall and track and field in the winter and spring. This spring I participated in my first Shamrock Splash and got a taste of working with everyone at Save The Harbor/ Save The Bay again, I knew I needed to be back. After an incredible summer last year it was an easy decision to get on board for Summer of 2018.

Showing our staff and youth what the underside of a skate looks like

I cannot wait to continue to learn about Boston Harbor and see what else I can incorporate into teaching children during the school year. Working for Save The Harbor/ Save The Bay has truly given me a new perspective. 

Over and out for now!
Briana

Finally a Skate!!!!!

The campers very first skate

A Skate!! We finally caught a skate. Last year we used to catch skates by the dozens however this year it seemed as if all of the skates disappeared from Camp Harbor View. Personally I was shocked when Ty the LIT caught the skate, I saw his rod bending and him yelling "I got a fish" but I just assumed the line was stuck on a rock (since that his been happening a lot recently). After about minute you could see the skate being pulled through the water, all the campers started gathering Around Ty yelling "We got a fish", Ty made sure to correct them and announced "No , I got a fish." Still the Campers were all excited and Ty of course was just as excited.

Ty finally works up the courage to hold up his skate.

Once we reeled the skate up to the pier, it was Prestons turn. The hook was stuck in the skates mouth, and we had to release the hook from the skates mouth and throw it back into the water as fast as possible. This time everyone was gathered around Preston and it was his turn to get to work. After a few minutes of the fish squirming and the campers saying "that's disgusting", the fish was finally freed of the hooked and thrown back in the water.
Wednesday was a huge success, considering we caught a fish on the very first day of fishing club. And we all hope everyday could be like Wednesday.


Until Next Time, Abel

Roger That

Monday was a day for the books at Piers Park! Recently, we have been accomplishing things even the Sailing Center's oldest staff have never seen at their site. After almost landing a Striped Bass fishing from the docks we thought we could not do much else that folks have yet to see until Monday.

Carefully transporting from lobster trap to water

We began our dock time like any other day by pulling the crab traps first. Crab traps are our first activity because they are light, easy for kids to get out of the water, and usually are loaded with things for them to look at. When a few kids look like they're not interested in the crabs, tunicates, and mussels that usually come up with the crab trap we ask if they want to pull the lobster trap, I've never had anyone tell me no!

We have the Harbor Explorers take turns because it is so heavy, they usually pull until they need a break and a friend will step in to help. As it rose to the surface I heard screams, not just from the kids but from the staff too. I thought to myself, we must have so many lobsters! As I took a good look at the trap I realized we did not have any lobsters, just one large creature that looked tangled and gasping for air. We realized we pulled up a skate in our lobster trap!

He was definitely waving to us.

We quickly tried to think of what to do. We knew we had a skate, we knew it was tangled in the trap, but we had no idea how to get it out or what we were going to put it into. Thinking it would be best for the animal to be in water we lowered the trap to buy ourselves some time. We looked for gloves, I've been told to watch out for a skate's tail but I wasn't sure how dangerous it may or may not have been. Finally, we found some thick gloves. I put them on and we pulled up the trap. We had a large plastic wheelbarrow filled with water ready to put the creature in to be able to examine it.

I surprised myself with how willing I was to stick my hands in to untangle this creature that could potentially have hurt me in the process but I knew I had to get the skate out. Finally it was able to curl itself into a ball making it easy for me to pick it up. When we finally got it into the water my team felt so successful, the kids and the Piers Park staff were amazed. We could not stop gawking over the amazing animal in front of us. The kids decided to name him and listened intently as we taught them all about skates. We watched him swim around and it looked like he was waving his pectoral fin at us. He must have been a Jolly Roger because he got out of that trap!

Over and out,
Briana

Comparing the anatomy of a skate to a flounder with our Harbor Explorers 

A Skate Named Rodger

Hello everyone, Maeve here. As some of you may know, we get new kids at Piers Park every Monday although there are some returners. This monday at Piers Park was very eventful. One boy named Chase caught 3 crabs on a fishing rod and he had one big spider crab but he couldn’t get it on the dock fast enough. Luckily the weather has been really nice for the start of this week (unlike last week) but the dock heats up really fast. Alongside our usual crab catches we also caught a Skate for the first time since I’ve been at the site and it was weird because we caught it in the lobster trap. Since we had never had a skate before we had to act fast because they can’t be out of water for long. Luckily, we had a wheelbarrow on the dock that we quickly filled with water and put the skate in. He was a big skate and the kids decided to name him Rodger. Once Rodger got use to the barrel and he calmed down he was fine. He was very friendly actually and he let the kids touch his backside for a long time. A little girl named Sophia was having a blast just making up songs for Rodger and it was really funny.

The kids with Rodger

Happy Rodger

Sophia singing to Rodger

Another really awesome thing that happened on Tuesday was when Briana came to work with a lobster camera. We were so excited but to be honest we weren't quite sure how to use it. First we tested it to see how deep it could go by attaching it to the weight on a rod. We wanted to see a more sturdy picture so next we decided to put the camera on the lobster trap. It took a lot of time and energy because we had to keep pulling up the lobster trap which is weighed down by bricks but finally, with about 20 minutes left of camp we perfected the angle and everything! We got to see a live video of a crab right in front of the camera. When we were looking at it on the monitor we thought it was a big crab with huge legs but when we pulled the trap up it was actually a really small rock crab. Either way, it was still exciting for the staff and the kids to see and it is even better now that we perfected it. See you guys next time!

-Maeve Fittz

Skates in Georges?

Hi everyone,

I am back once again. This week, All Access Boston Harbor is out on Georges island once again for the second time this summer. The first week at Georges was great because we did something very new that we had never done before. We caught some striped bass. This week though, it has been a little different. On Tuesday, we did not catch anything and fishing didn't really go as planned because everyone wanted to fish and there was just not enough time for everyone to fish.

Tuesday was a little hectic but with the help of some of the JPAs, we were able to slow things down.
Yesterday (Wednesday) was our second day on the island. Fishing went really smooth because this time I made sure that it was more organized. I only let the groups who signed up for a time slot for fishing, fish and this time we had five different groups. I made fishing a first come first serve basis just to make it fair for every other group and myself as well so I wouldn't have a chaotic fishing moment. Many other groups that wanted to fish, could not fish because all time slots were already taken. When we got to Georges island, I casted a fishing rod which I call my especial rod and in five minutes I had already caught a skate. I was really excited to catch that skate because in all of my three summers working here, no one has ever caught a skate in Georges. It was not a fish but it was something cool and interesting for the kids. Unfortunately, the skate ended up escaping from the hook as I yelled out for a picture from Kharliya. Guess what though? It's cool because when I casted out one more rod, I ended up catching another skate and this time kids were around so I asked one of the kids to help me reel it in. We were able to bring the skate on to the dock when one of our JPAs whose name is Chris helped me take out the hook from its mouth. I was really shocked that we actually caught two skates out in Georges. We have not been lucky with the fishes at all but we have been very lucky with the skates every where we go. I am really looking forward into catching some more striped bass in Georges sometime tomorrow, next week or by the end of the summer. Fishing is becoming a hobby and I am loving it, especially knowing that I run fishing for All Access Boston Harbor.

Keep on fishing !!!

- Andrea Lopes

We had a fruitful day fishing today at Camp Harborview. Two children successfully hooked a skate a piece within minutes of casting. For the two of them this was their first time fishing, let alone actually catching a fish. They were both very excited about their catches and did not want to release them back into the ocean. However, after explaining to them that skates are in fact not fish, but actually rays, they promptly liberated their trophies and began fishing for bigger game; something they could take and home and eat with their families.

Also, today we caught a surplus of Red Rock Crabs in our crab traps. The kids gathered round and delighted in seeing the crabs crawling over one another. The campers were especially interested to see the legs missing from some of them, comparing them to starfish the way they are able to regenerate their limbs. A few children were reluctant to touch the crabs fearing that they would "pinch their fingers off." However, after a  quick demonstration of how and where to hold them, it wasn't long before the whole group was taking turns!

Sincerely,

Maxwilliams Iwuala

Crabs > Skate

It surely has been an epic week for the crew over at Save the Harbor. The highlight of my week would probably have to be watching Little T, from St. Marks, catch a skate off the dock. This was the first big catch after many bites over the course of the summer. Despite the skate being the biggest Spectacle moment all summer, another particularly small part of my week was highly memorable. This would definitely have to be watching one of my campers catch a crab using one of our ugly sticks. This was legit.

Mini caught a crab!

Excitement all around for the squad!

For the first time in five years I led fishing this past Tuesday on All Access Boston Harbor. The bait used to catch this small green crab was a squid. Interestingly enough most of the squid was gone and the crab was latched onto a fairly minor part of our intended bait. Mini was part of one of the last groups to attend my fishing clinic, it feels awesome to say that, and achieve this great accomplishment. It was about 2 p.m and most would normally understand that the day is over at this point but Mini put up a a good bargain. Her words were simply "Can i fish for crabs?" That's all she had to say to win me over.


One cast...... BAM, a crab. God written or luck? The world may never know (No, this isn't a tootsie pop advertisement). This was very fun for all of us on AABH to see and a great end for our first day out on the island this week.

Until next time,

Ahmed Hassan

Peddocks Island

Hi everyone,

This week, All Access is at Peddocks Island. Peddocks Island used to be my least favorite island, yet it has a better beach than Spectacle. I disliked Peddocks just because every where you would step last year, you would see goose poop. This year is totally different. It's like a miracle because there is no goose poop!  Now I can say that Peddocks is definitely my favorite island. 

       It's the biggest SPIDER CRAB!

These past two days has been amazing. Yesterday, we caught about fifty to seventy-five crabs. Most surprisingly, we caught LOTS of spider crabs. We normally catch more green crabs than any other type of crabs. I was also surprised that we caught several humongous red rock crabs.

      Caught in the pavilion on Tuesday

Today, Sam who's back with All Access went with us to Peddocks and guess what he caught on his first day in a matter of five minutes? A SKATE!!! Lord knows that I was excited when he caught the skate. The kids were also excited and I really mean that they were extremely happy when they got to wear the skate on their heads as a hat. It's really funny but I mean Sam is just amazing. For my lovely All Access coworkers, they should know that I always get too excited when we catch anything. Whenever I get crabs from the crab traps, I always call them my people. My love for sea creatures is unbelievable because I hated and I had a fear of all types of animals. Thanks to Save the Harbor, especially All Access who made me overcome my fear for sea creatures.

       Happy girl wearing the skate as

                             a hat 

           Sam reeling in the SKATE

Sea Creature Loving,

- Andrea Lopes

Recap of the First Two Days of All Access Boston Harbor's Return to Spectacle Island

Hello Friends, here is a recap of the first two days of fishing during our return to Spectacle Island.

Day 1:  On Tuesday Ahmed, Antonio and Drea successfully helped a camper reel in a skate!  The skate, which now rests in a pizza box at the Save the Harbor Save the Bay offices, was caught on a stationary rod that had been secured to a post on the pier.  Noticing that the line was taught, the AABH crew untied it and handed it to a camper who successfully landed the skate.  Once landed, Ahmed removed the hook from the skate’s mouth and allowed the campers to examine it.  JPA Antonio, who had not seen a live skate before, commented that the skate mouth looked “human.”

Day 2:  On Wednesday AABH provided the opportunity to fish to over 55 campers.  The campers took turns examining lures, bait, and casting their lines into the harbor.  Additionally, the campers were excited to find that our crab traps had landed over forty crabs and one lobster – all of which were eventually returned to the harbor. 

The return to Spectacle Island has produced strong results.  Hopefully, tomorrow AABH will continue to provide campers with opportunities to handle fishing gear and observe the animals living in Boston’s coastal waters. 

-John Tobin – Spectacle Island

Flounder Pounder

This Wednesday I had the pleasure of going out on the first of this summer's fishing trips that Save The Harbor charters for the campers at CHV.

The morning started with a quick run out to Long Island aboard the Belle, with Captain Charlie at the helm. Upon arrival at the CHV docks, we loaded up the kids from fishing club. They were eager to get started, and had high hopes for the day. I knew, of course, that these wishes would not go unfulfilled, as Capt. Charlie is very knowledgeable, and has put me in the right spot every time that I have been on his boat. 

Within a few minutes of leaving the dock we had reached our fishing destination and dropped anchor. Rods were quickly baited with sand worms, and dropped over the side. It did not take long before we had our first hit, a nice sized flounder fit for the cooler. I knew this was a good indicator for what was to come. Sure enough the day only got more exciting, with flounder after flounder being pulled over the gunwales. I counted at least 13 on the day, but keeping track was hard, and it may very well have been more.

Uno

Dos

Tres

While the flounder kept the action going throughout the day, the most exciting moments were when Greg, the lifeguard, hooked into a striper. While much too small to keep, it still put up a great fight, and had the whole boat clamoring to get a view. It also provided quite a nice photo opportunity for the group.

Charlie, the kids, Moby the Mop and a striper.

Of course it wouldn't be bait fishing without skates.

As time wound down, Charlie and I began cutting up the flounder. A nice stack of beautiful fillets, on ice, and ready to be sent home with the campers, was the result. A few opted to take their catch home whole as this is how their parents preferred to cook it. An awesome day out on the water to say the least and plenty of fish to show for it. Many thanks to Capt. Charlie and the kids who made the trip so fun.


- Happy to be catching,
              Tom Rebula

We caught our first skate today!!

As soon as we arrived at McDonough Sailing Center, Vinh and Andrea set off with two of our campers to collect the lobster traps and see what we caught over the weekend. We were eagerly awaiting their return hoping we would have some giant lobsters to look at. However, when the boat pulled up next to the dock we saw two slimy, stingray-looking fish in the middle of the hull! Everyone scurried over to see the new creatures- so many kids crowded around that the dock started to dip into the water! Once we asked everyone to step back, I got a good look at the fish- they were skates!

While most of the children were certain they were stingrays and were quite nervous to be around them, I reassured them that they were harmless. Skates and stingrays are very different- a skate gives birth to its young through egg cases (also known as mermaids purses- you can see them on the beach) while a stingray gives birth to its young live. Their bodies are also different- skates do not have stinging barbs on their tails, and they have two lobed fins whereas a stingray has one. Another fun fact is that skates are very closely related to sharks, they both have cartilage in their bodies instead of bones.

Once we braved picking up the skates out of the boat, we placed them in our touch tank for the whole camp to see. They immediately attracted attention from the campers, staff members, parents, and lifeguards. We allowed everyone to touch their backs to feel the spikes along their spines, then flipped one over to point out the gills, mouth, and nostrils. Everyone was fascinated by the skates and ecstatic that we caught something new- I can't wait to see what else we'll catch this week!

Andrea and some campers checking out the skate!

-Kelly Randall-

Familiar Faces in Interesting Spaces

It's Thi here!
Last week, we had a loyal returning group come out from East Boston. These kids and their staff have been coming on All Access Boston Harbor with Save The Harbor/Save The Bay for as long as I remember. I want to do a shout-out to the kids!! They are always so fun and passionate about everything around them, bubbling with questions.
We went to Spectacle Island last week and had the pleasure of taking out this group as long as a few others. On the twenty minute boat ride, I caught myself up with how things have been going with them and it felt so good to be approached and being told "Hey! I remember you!"

Sam taking the hook out of the skate

 After getting re-acquaintanced, we set off for a little competition to see who would catch the biggest fish. Alas, only one skate was caught along with the many green crabs that seem to have gotten more plentiful since last year (uh-oh!).

Daniel!!

Before heading back to the boat, everyone made sure to run into the waves, getting their knees wet as we had all promised David we would do.

What a great day that was!
All the best and stay wavy,
Thi Tran

Crazy Day at Spectacle Island

      On Thursday and Friday we met at the pavilion to wait for the kids to go out on All Access Boston Harbor. I helped  pull up the lobster pot and crab trap just as the kids started coming to meet up for the boat to Spectacle Island.  There were so many of them!  In the traps, we caught some green crabs, a lobster, and a starfish to show the kids.  The kids loved all of the sea animals we showed them, and they all wanted to hold them.
   

That day on the island, lots of kids wanted to fish and go swimming because it was so hot out.  The beach was full of kids swimming and standing just at the waters edge, trying to stay cool. On Friday we caught a skate using a piece of herring as bait, and it pulled hard!  We took it out of the water and made a print of it with paint and rice paper. We then used the skate for the lobster traps so it would be put to good use for the kids. 
I had fun that day on Spectacle Island where kids could have fun and hang out, and play some sports. But my favorite activities on the island was playing sports and swimming. On Friday the kids were hilarious because when we played soccer they pretended to be their favorite soccer team like Argentina and Brazil.


Carlos Garcia
      

Remembering Steve Irwin

The top of the skate which has the spikes.

During our day at Camp Harbor View we began fishing club and went out to the dock to catch some fish.  We grabbed some crabs for bait down by the seashore, hooked them onto our lines and began.  Some used fish bait which lead to the catching of crabs, however we were not catching any fish.  Finally someone had a bite and from the distance it looked like they were reeling up a fish.  But once it got closer we thought it was a stingray and the first thing everyone said was " is that the animal that killed that Steve Irwin guy?"  I was in the same boat as them. I thought it was a sting ray, one of  which had killed the famous Steve Irwin but we all learned something new that day because it was actually a skate, it looked exactly like a sting ray except it does not have a venomous stinger instead it has spikes all around it that protrude out to make it uncomfortable to hold.

The Skates face

After fishing we made some cool discoveries on our beach walk which including some coins, buttons and we even found an army badge which was different from what we normally see. We also found some more hermit crabs and fish head of a humongous striped bass which we had thrown into the water a day ago because it was too large to fit in our lobster trap. It washed up on shore with nothing but bone left, which meant we gave a few animals a very good meal for the night.

A few kids holding the eyeball of a fish we filleted

A campers new discoveries

-Maxwell Kennedy-Reid

First week, First Impressions

The fishing club at Camp Harbor View is fantastic to say the least. The kids in the club are hilarious and certainly hand out their fair share of good-natured ribbing, but they also have a deep interest in the things that my team and I are able to teach them. Despite our short time together, a number of them have already learned the knots necessary to set up their own fishing equipment- the most difficult and important skill for any fisherman.

On Wednesday we found a dead skate that had washed up on the beach at the camp, a fortunate turn of events, as I was unable to obtain fresh bait that morning. I was surprised at how many of the kids were excited to poke and prod the spiny skin. 

 

Learning about an interesting find on the beach

After giving a brief discussion about the physical characteristics and behavioral traits of the skate we sliced off the fins, which had yet to be eaten by crabs, to use as bait for the remainder of the period. While we have yet to catch any fish, the kids still seem to be enjoying the time with the rods in their hands, and they still get excited when they lift their bait out of the water to find a large green crab jealously holding onto their bait.

Unfortunately the club members will be switched for next week- just I feel that I am just getting to know them on a more personal level. I am thrilled to say that a number of those currently in the club will be coming back, and I am sure that the new additions will be equally as fun and engaged.