Eco-Cruise with Captain Hugh Carola

These are the trips you’ve seen on TV and read about in The New York Times, The Record and the Star-Ledger. The ones you’ve always wanted to take, so…

Come join us for an incredible journey on the Hackensack River, through the marshes of the New Jersey Meadowlands, and more!

Eco-Cruises are fun, educational tours aboard Hackensack Riverkeeper’s specially rigged 30-foot pontoon boats, the r/v Robert H. Boyle II and the r/v Geraldine Theresa. Captain Bill Sheehan started the program in 1994 to increase awareness of the lower Hackensack River as a vital natural and recreational resource. Since then more than 75,000 people have explored the river with us. This Eco-Cruise includes 2 ½ hours on the water and are fully narrated by Waterspirit board member, Capt. Hugh Carola, a US Coast Guard-licensed captain. This eco-cruise can accomodate up to seven guests from up to two COVID-19 pods. The winning bidder can choose from one of three itineraries:

MEADOWLANDS DISCOVERY (M) – This trip takes participants on an excursion through the lower tidal reaches of the Hackensack River and its wildlife-rich estuary, the Meadowlands. The shallow draft of our boats enables us to visit numerous wetlands including the Mill Creek Marsh, Kingsland Creek and the Berry’s Creek Canal; the highlight of every Meadowlands Eco-Cruise being the Sawmill Creek Wildlife Management Area – the “Jewel of the Meadowlands”. The Sawmill is home to a staggering amount of birdlife including shorebirds, ducks, herons, raptors and more.

BOATING THROUGH BERGEN (B) – Join us for a trip up the Hackensack River from the southern Meadowlands to heart of the city of Hackensack. Taking the route once traveled by the coastal schooners and steamers that carried cargo to and from Bergen County, we will pass the ruins of their former docks and landings and discuss the region’s all-but-forgotten maritime history. Before turning back, we will travel upriver to the Court Street Bridge and offer participants an opportunity to get an up-close view of the USS Ling, a World War II submarine that was wrecked by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

EXCURSION AROUND THE BAY (E) – Conditions permitting, this trip will take you down the Hackensack River, the entire length of Newark Bay to Staten Island and back to explore this integral part of New York Harbor. Among other sights, we will pass Kearny Point, the former site of Federal Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., where hundreds of warships, Liberty and Victory ships were built during the WWII; and the busy docks of Ports Newark and Elizabeth where ocean-going cargo vessels are loaded and unloaded. On the way back upriver we explore the Bayonne bayshore, home to numerous parks and historic sites.

Read more about these eco-cruises at: https://www.hackensackriverkeeper.org/activities-and-events/eco-cruises/

• Name : Hugh Carola