OSWEGO – New York Sea Grant (NYSG), US Coast Guard (USCG), USCG Auxiliary, and Oswego City Fire Department will provide the opportunity to learn how to boat safely, legally, and in an environmentally friendly manner at the 2022 Lake Ontario Water Festival on Saturday, May 21 and Sunday May 22 along the Oswego waterfront.
The festival, hosted by the H. Lee White Maritime Museum, will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. along West Pier and Wright Landing in Oswego, New York.
“The Lake Ontario Water Festival provides an exciting opportunity for families, boaters and kayaking enthusiasts to learn how to be safe, legal and environmentally friendly in the great waters of New York, and another opportunity to remind people to wear a life jacket,” said David J. White II, NYSG tourism and coastal recreation specialist in Oswego, New York.
NYSG is one of 34 undergraduate programs under the National Marine Atmospheric and Oceanic Scholarship Program (NOAA). NYSG’s Discover Clean and Safe equipped with required and recommended equipment for New York boats will be displayed with “clean, drain, dry” information to prevent transfer of invasive aquatic species. The exhibit will also feature NYSG “Weather to Go: Boating Hazards” bilingual stand cards for free pick-up to help people respond to severe weather-related boating and beach hazards.
USCG Lines’ ship Oswego will be at the quayside with information, exhibitions, and employment opportunities. On Saturday, the Oswego City Fire Department will offer in-water rescues; On Sunday, her rescue truck will be at the festival.
The Boat Industries Association of upstate New York will be on hand with new boats, dealers, and dock manufacturers to speak with festival visitors.
The NOAA Office of National Marine Reserves (NMS) and a member of the Lake Ontario NMS Advisory Board will share information on the status of efforts to designate the Lake Ontario NMS.
Festival visitors will be able to meet and greet underwater sonar and remotely operated vehicle (ROV) specialists from USCG Captain Tim Caza and Dennis Gerber. They will display their latest discoveries of shipwrecks and ROV equipment near Derrick Boat 8 at the H. Lee White Maritime Museum.
The Lake Ontario Water Festival also includes museum tours, quayside performances around a WWII L-5 tugboat, children’s activities, and the Happy Pirates band.
The New York Sea Grant celebrates its fiftieth anniversary as a collaborative program of Cornell University and State University of New York. Since 1971, NYSG has represented a statewide network of integrated research, education, and extension services that advance coastal community economic vitality, environmental sustainability, and citizen awareness and understanding of the state’s marine and Great Lakes resources. Learn more at www.nyseagrant.org.
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