Director of the Neighborhood of Affordable Housing’s (NOAH) Community Building and Environment Department Chris Marchi envisions a Constitution Beach complete with a small boat house and kayaks that families can rent and paddle around the water’s edge.
However, Marchi needs support from the community for an upcoming event at the neighborhood’s only public beach.
“I can see a small boat house were we can store kayaks so residents can rent them for a nominal fee and enjoy the waters in East Boston like never before,” said Marchi. “There’s a great opportunity here to have kayak rentals, instructions and other activities that bring more people to the beach.”
Starting on Friday, August 7 and running every day through August 16 from 11 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., NOAH’s Community Building and Environment Department and Save the Harbor, Save the Bay will be offering free Kayaking at Constitution Beach. The event is funded through a Better Beaches Grant by Save the Harbor/Save the Bay to NOAH.
According to NOAH’s Youth Organizers, East Boston has an amazing 15 1/2 miles of coastline. That’s a little less than half of Boston’s total waterfront area. But, what is equally as amazing is the statistic that NOAH’s team of Youth Organizers uncovered in a Youth survey the conducted last summer. According to the survey more than 8 out of 10 East Boston residents reported never having used a kayak, canoe or rowboat along our waterfront.
“If you’re one of those people who have never been out paddling or rowing on our waterfront, you’ll never have a better chance to do that,” said Marchi. “This program is open to all, no experience is necessary and the best part is that it’s free.”
Kayaking is the easiest to learn and also one of the most enjoyable forms of boating there is. It’s growing in popularity each year and already featured at community boat houses on the Charles River and at various locations along the harbor.
This year, NOAH and their Youth Organizers have been working to expand opportunity for local families all over the community to learn about, explore, improve and most of all, get out and enjoy their local waterfront areas. So far NOAH has offered three neighborhood beach explorations, three beach clean-ups and a total of 15 days of kayaking in five different waterfront areas.
“Kayaking is amazingly fun and relaxing,” said Alma Acuna, a Youth Organizer at NOAH. “Out on the water, it is like a completely different world! It is so peaceful. I would recommend it to anybody.”
Acuna, who is helping NOAH organize the event, assures the public that kayaking is fun, easy and safe and that Constitution Beach is a great place to learn.
“The water’s calm and there’s plenty of room to explore”. she said. “We have already already provided boat experiences for over 200 East Boston residents this summer, but our goal is 1,000 so these next 10 upcoming days are critical. We want to show there is a need and desire for these types of programs on East Boston’s waterfront during the summer.”
Professional instruction throughout t
Scenes of East Boston residents enjoying the waterfront during a past NOAH kayaking event on the Chelsea Creek. NOAH will team up with Save the Harbor/Save the Bay for free kayaking lessons at Constitution Beach near the tennis courts starting on Friday, August 7 and running every day through August 16 from 11 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
he event will be provided by Boating in Boston, which operates 10 boathouses in the Greater Boston area and three sites in Washington, DC. All equipment and supplies will be provided.
For more information, call 617-818-4583.