Name Our Boats! Our ten harbor-faring tandem kayaks will bear historic and ecological names honoring our estuary, especially the East River. Choose up-to-ten!
The Oyster. These shellfish filter water and might reduce storm damage. They once covered the floor of our bays and straits.
The Striped Bass. New York State's official saltwater fish, though it breeds in fresh water.
The Sturgeon. An ancient species of huge fish. One washed ashore in 2011 was dubbed the "East River Monster."
The Adventure Galley. Infamous privateer Captain Kidd's ship, which sailed into the East River on July 4, 1696.
The Night Heron. Whether black or yellow crowned, these twilight stalkers of mud flats remind us of the vital intertidal zones of natural shorelines.
The Egret. Both white and snowy egrets highlight our mucky shores with brilliant whites. Protection of them sparked the formation of the Audubon Society.
The Spartina. Commonly called cordgrass, this species shelters and feeds a host of others while trapping carbon from the atmosphere.
The Onrust. Built by Lenape and Dutch together when the Tyger burnt, this "Restless" ship was the first Europeans used to sail up the East River.
The Gribble. The first clear sign that the Clean Water Act was working was old piers collapsing around the harbor. Why? Oxygen levels were high enough for these wood munchers to return.
The Great Houdini. Lower East Side sickly kid Erich Weiss swan in the East River to build his strength. He went on to fame with water escapes pioneered in our strait.
The Chessie. The manatee with wanderlust who swam to Rhode Island from Florida via the East River. He picked up his name when sighted in the Chesapeake Bay.
The Hussar. A British ship from the Revolutionary War that went down in the East River...with a fortune of gold on board?
The Comb Jelly. This most startling of bioluminescent indigenous estuary creatures is a delight to see on HarborLAB's Perseid Paddles.
The Rockweed. This bubbly seaweed is valued for its many medicinal uses.
The Ebb and Flood. Our tours are powered by both solar and lunar power -- our muscles draw energy from the photosynthesis of the plants we eat and the tidal currents that carry us are pulled by the moon.
The Pawkatuck. One native name for the East River, meaning "estuary with waterfalls," possibly a reference to Hell Gate white waters.
The Muscouta. Another native name for the East River, meaning "marshy place." This strait had many vital wetlands.
The Gotham Strait. An East River moniker reflecting its true identity as a tidal strait, and not a river, at the heart of our city.
The Great Blue Heron. The largest heron in North America, one can sometimes see it where the Bronx Kill meets the East River.
The Brothers. Two of the East River's greatest harbor heron refuges, and fascinating historic sites, are North Brother Island and South Brother Island.
The Jamaica Bay. Another great wildlife refuge and one of our favorite educational outings.
Other:
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