Friday, May 13, 2011

Helping there, helping here

I'm just back from a great week on board the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, where I helped educate over 300 New York kids about the river, its history, a bit about sailing and a lot about environmental impact.

Twice a day I taught a little bit of traditional navigation, a bit of history, a bit about life in the river, a bit about life on the river, a little about climate change and more. (As I said to the kids, "I'm a not a teacher pretending to be a sailor; I'm a sailor pretending to be a teacher.") I learned a lot, too, about sailing a 105' gaff rigged sloop, about life on board and about how few of the 300 it might take to make a difference.

The impact of ships (and other programs) like Clearwater isn't felt just along the Hudson. Let's listen to Clearwater's message here in Boston, where we have a harbor that's gone from gross to great just like the Hudson River has. Let's be sure we teach the next generation (and remind ourselves) to "do the right thing."

Fair winds.

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