Saturday Was A Wonderful Day For The First Annual NHYC Outreach For Kids 2008

This past Saturday NHYC sponsored 28 kids from P.A.L. ( Police Athletic League ) on a luncheon river cruise on the paddle boat ‘Liberty Belle’ which is docked in Burlington NJ. NHYC wanted to give something back to local kids and thought it would be a good idea to promote river safety as well as give them some knowledge about tides, currents and a little bit of history on the Delaware River. Here are some pictures and little write up on the day which I think you will find a good read.

Philadelphia Police Officers Schneider ( Tacony PAL ) & Zenak ( Wissinoming PAL ) showed up at the Burlington Promenade around noon with 2 vans of kids. The Officers presented NHYC with a plaque and a box of PAL tee-shirts for our generousity. ( truly a very nice gesture ) The kids were seated on park grandstands in front of the ‘Liberty Belle’ and were given a little itinerary of the afternoons events, and given a questionnaire where they were asked to grab any NHYC members to help them with the answers. This is where I encountered my first memorable moment of the afternoon …. one the little girls raised her hand and started waving it back and forth to ask a question. Her question was “ how come if I throw rock this big in the water it sinks – but, how come that big boat doesn’t sink ??? LOL ( making the OK hand gesture to give an example of how big said rock is ). LOL I told her it is called displacement and she would learn about that later …. but not to worry, the boat wasn’t going to sink.

We all then boarded the ship a little after noon just like a cruise ship where each kid posed on the gang plank along side of a NHYC banner and a throw ring which had NHYC OUTREACH 2008 on it. These pictures were then given to 2 NHYC members who printed them out onsite and placed them on a nice border with cute nautical stickers to be given to the kids before they left the ship.

Once all the kids were onboard they were allowed to get soft drinks ( unlimited ), get some soft pretzels and Tasty Kakes and were asked to be seated in the dining area where U.S.C.G.A. Officers Jim Brennan, Ted Archer and Eileen O'Day spoke to them for a ½ hour or so on water safety, tides and currents. Jim & Ted also went over questions on a questionnaire that I made up which was given to them earlier and spent time explaining each question and answer. Here are some of the questions that were on the questionnaire that were discussed ….

· If the tide on the Delaware River is coming in, what direction in the water in the river flowing? Up river or down river?

· The current in the Delaware River is strong enough to have you float the length of a football field in just a few minutes …. True or False ?

· Name a bridge that crosses the Delaware River.

· Is the Delaware River Fresh Water, Brackish Water, or Salt Water ?

· How long does it take for the tide on the Delaware River to change from High Tide to Low Tide?

· If you are standing in Phila., what state is across the Delaware River?

· What famous General who later became President crossed the Delaware River on December 25^th 1776 to defeat the British at the Battle of Trenton?

· What does PFD stand for?

· What is the name of the boat that we are on?

· Many people fish in the Delaware River, name two types of fish that are caught in the Delaware River.

· The water in the Delaware River will rise about 1 foot per hour on an incoming tide and fall about 1 foot per hour on an outgoing tide. If High Tide was at 1:00 PM, and it is now 3:00 PM how many feet has the water in the Delaware dropped?

· What city and state is the “ Liberty Belle ” docked at?

· What is the name of the Fort on the Delaware River below Philadelphia where 400 Revolutionary Soldiers fought off 2000 British Soldiers and 250 British Ships from coming up the Delaware River to attack Philadelphia in 1777?

· The Delaware River has markers to let boaters and ships captains know where the channel is, they are called ‘channel markers’. The channel is where the deepest water is and keeps boats and ships from hitting the bottom and running aground. What color are the channel markers on the Delaware River?

· The water from the Delaware River runs into what Bay?

· What is the back of the ship called?

· What is the front of the boat called?

During the discussion on how strong the currents are on the river and how hard it is to swim against the current this is where I encountered my 2^nd memorable moment of the afternoon … a little guy in the back raised his hand and spoke on a incident he was involved in last year regarding currents LOL ‘ last year, in my pool, at my house, my grand pop, he made a huge wave in our pool and I couldn’t swim in that either “ LOL

After the questionnaire discussion was over I asked them to make me a deal …. If they promised to take these questionnaires home and show them to their brothers and sisters, other family members and schoolmates, we would give them MOVIE TICKETS!! They all agreed and I presented The PAL Officers with 33 movies tickets so that they could plan another outing with the kids to the movies on NHYC.

They then made their way to the food line where they had cheese steaks, chicken fingers, 2 different types of french fries, and desserts.

Right after the meal the boat pulled away from the dock and all the kids flew to the back of the boat to view the paddle wheel. They were then allowed to go out on the three decks and view the river on the 2 hour cruise. They were all amazed when we went under the Turnpike Bridge and when a tugboat went by and blew the horn for them. This is where many of our members spoke to them about certain areas and showed them channel markers, and tide flow.

Once back at the dock they were allowed to dance, eat and drink some more, and do what kids do when they are around other kids …. HAVE FUN !

We then gathered them back into the dining area and asked questions about the Delaware and water safety where the two winners were given tickets to Great Adventure and The NJ Aquarium. I then called up a child from each table and asked them to tell us their names and presented each child with a goodie bag which included a t-shirt from the event, USCGA safety pamphlets, coloring books, candy and snacks, and the picture taken of them boarding the boat. This is where I encountered another very touching and memorable moment …. one of the youngest and smallest girls came running up to me and wrapped her arms around me and said thank you very much …. WOW ! - I was floored!

This was our first NHYC Outreach For Kids and hopefully I will be there for many many more in the years to come as this was a wonderful event for the kids, but also for all the adults who showed up and spent time with the kids.

Thanks to Maire Cirone for her work on this event and more importantly, thanks has to go out to River Winds YC and Harbor Light YC for their generous donations for this event as well as the members of Neshaminy Harbor YC who came thru with goodie bags, tee shirts, movie tickets, NJ Aquarium & Great Adventure tickets, candy and snacks, the pictures, and cash donations. A very special thank you to USCGA Officers Brennan, Archer, O'Day, and the Blackeby’s for their efforts.

Officers and kids from Tacony PAL Center and Wissinoming PAL Center present a plaque to NHYC Commodore Jusino in front of The Liberty Belle In Burlington NJ

Please note the little girl on the top row with her hand raised ….this the little girl who asked how is it that a little rock sinks to the bottom but that big boat floats. LOL