Contacts: 

Dave White, NYSG Coastal Recreation and Tourism Specialist, E: dgw9@cornell.edu, P: (315) 312-3042

Mercedes Niess, H. Lee White Maritime Museum Director, P: 315-342-0480

Kara Lynn Dunn, NYSG's Freelance Great Lakes Publicist E: karalynn@gisco.net, P: 315-465-7578

Oswego, NY, May 6, 2022 - New York Sea Grant (NYSG), the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, and Oswego City Fire Department will be providing the opportunity to learn how to boat safely, legally, and in an environmentally-friendly way at the 2022 Lake Ontario Water Festival on Saturday, May 21, and Sunday, May 22 along Oswego’s waterfront. The festival, hosted by the H. Lee White Maritime Museum, will be held from 10 AM to 5 PM along the West Pier and Wright’s Landing in Oswego, New York.

“The Lake Ontario Water Festival provides an exciting opportunity for families, boaters, and paddle sport enthusiasts to learn how to be safe, legal, and environmentally-friendly on New York’s fabulous waters, and one more opportunity to remind people that wearing a life jacket can save your life,” said David G. White, a Coastal Recreation and Tourism Specialist with NYSG, Oswego, New York.


NYSG's Coastal Recreation and Tourism Specialist Dave White, who sat down with the hosts of WWNY-TV 7's News This Morning on May 19th, says the Lake Ontario Water Festival is a great opportunity to learn more about the boating lifestyle. He also shared some safe-boating tips as we head into National Boat Safety Week. He somehow managed to talk anchor Makenzie Piatt into demonstrating an inflatable life vest. 

NYSG’s Discover Clean & Safe Boat equipped with the required and recommended gear for boating in New York will be on exhibit with “Clean, Drain, Dry” information for preventing the transport of aquatic invasive species. The exhibit will also have NYSG’s bilingual “Weather to Go: Boating Hazards” rack cards for free pickup to help people react to extreme weather-related boating and beach hazards. 

The USCG’s Oswego Station vessel will be dockside with information, exhibits, and recruiting opportunities. On Saturday, the Oswego City Fire Department will demonstrate in-water rescue; on Sunday, its rescue truck will be at the festival. 

The Boating Industries Association of Upstate New York will be on hand with new boats and dealers and dock manufacturers dockside to talk with festival visitors.

The NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (NMS) and members of the local Lake Ontario NMS Advisory Council will be sharing information about the status of the effort to designate a Lake Ontario NMS.

Festival visitors will be able to “meet and greet” underwater sonar and remotely-operated vehicle (ROV) specialists USCG-approved Captain Tim Caza and Dennis Gerber. They will showcase their latest shipwreck discoveries and ROV equipment near the H. Lee White Maritime Museum’s Derrick Boat 8.

The Lake Ontario Water Festival also includes museum tours, dockside presentations on the World War II tugboat LT-5, children’s activities, and the “Happy Pirates” performing troupe.


NY Sea Grant will be at the Lake Ontario Water Festival with its award-winning “Discover Clean and Safe Boat” equipped with all the required and recommended gear for being legal, safe, and environmentally-friendly on New York waters. Credit: NYSG 

More Info: New York Sea Grant

New York Sea Grant (NYSG), a cooperative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York (SUNY), is one of 34 university-based programs under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Sea Grant College Program.

Since 1971, NYSG has represented a statewide network of integrated research, education and extension services promoting coastal community economic vitality, environmental sustainability and citizen awareness and understanding about the State’s marine and Great Lakes resources.

Through NYSG’s efforts, the combined talents of university scientists and extension specialists help develop and transfer science-based information to many coastal user groups—businesses and industries, federal, state and local government decision-makers and agency managers, educators, the media and the interested public.

The program maintains Great Lakes offices at Cornell University, University at Buffalo, SUNY Oswego and the Wayne County Cooperative Extension office in Newark. In the State's marine waters, NYSG has offices at Stony Brook University and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Nassau County on Long Island; at Brooklyn College, with New York City Department of Environmental Protection in Queens and at Cornell Cooperative Extension in NYC and Elmsford and Kingston in the Hudson Valley.

For updates on Sea Grant activities: www.nyseagrant.org has RSS, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube links. NYSG offers a free e-list sign up via www.nyseagrant.org/nycoastlines for its flagship publication, NY Coastlines/Currents, which is published quarterly.