The New York Sea Grant Inflate-A-Fleet educational exhibit that made its debut on the New York City waterfront in 2017, above, is coming to the Central NY Boat Show February 15-18, 2018. Credit: Dave White/NYSG

Contacts:
 
Dave White, New York Sea Grant, Recreation and Tourism Specialist, P: 315-312- 3042, E: dgw9@cornell.edu

Drew Wickham, CNY Boat Show Manager, P: 585-526-5460

Kara Lynn Dunn, NYSG Great Lakes Publicist, P: 315.465.7578, E: karalynn@gisco.net


Media Note: Thursday, February 15 will be Career Day at the CNY Boat Show. Participating exhibitors will be talking with visitors about job opportunities in the marine industry and local openings.

Oswego, NY, February 2, 2018 - New York Sea Grant is bringing its Inflate-A-Fleet to the February 15-18, 2018 Central New York Boat Show, sponsored by the Boating Industry Association of Upstate NY at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse, NY. 

The traveling exhibit that debuted in New York City in 2017 consists of assorted inflatable and folding vessels, including a boat, kayak, and backpack paddleboard. These unusual vessels are the educational tools for the 2018 New York Sea Grant Discover Clean and Safe Boating campaign with a Get Out on the Water: Everyone Can Enjoy Boating theme.

“Every year we select a different style of boat to showcase the diverse ways to enjoy the fabulous waters of New York State and to teach how to be safe, in compliance with boating law, and environmentally-friendly on the water,” says Discover Clean and Safe Boating campaign creator and award-winning boating educator Dave White, a Great Lakes coastal recreation and tourism specialist with New York Sea Grant, Oswego, NY.

White notes that the unique Inflate-A-Fleet components are considered boating vessels subject to applicable boating laws and standards.

“We cannot wait to see visitors react to the Inflate-A-Fleet. The Central New York Boat Show showcases all the ways someone can get involved in boating and our partnership with New York Sea Grant always provides a fun experience to learn how to do boating properly,” says Central New York Boat Show Manager Drew Wickham.


Over 6,500 people visited Pier 26 in TriBeCa, New York in mid-September 2017 to experience the many hands-on science activities of SUBMERGE, which included the debut of New York Sea Grant's "Inflate-A-Fleet" educational exhibit. This marked a return of NYSG's statewide family-friendly "Discover Clean and Safe Boating" campaign in New York City; NYSG Recreation and Tourism Specialist Dave White's last visit to educate on the many benefits of boating clean and safe was in July 2013 for The Waterfront Alliance's City of Water Day on Governor's Island. Credit: Hudson River Park

Discover Clean and Safe Boating activities at the 2018 show include a 15-minute introduction to the Suddenly In Command training offered by the US Coast Guard Auxiliary and New York Sea Grant aboard a pontoon boat in the Oneida Lake Marina Booth E-21 in the Exhibit Center building on Thursday and Friday at 6:30 pm, and on Saturday and Sunday at 2:30 pm. The introduction covers the key points of the training designed to help a passenger who is not a boater manage the boat in the event of an unexpected emergency on the water.

The Great Shipwrecks of NY’s Great Lakes exhibit will be on display at Booth H-14 in the Horticulture Building. New York Sea Grant developed the exhibit highlighting details about historic shipwrecks in waters across New York State.

New York Sea Grant has received New York State, National Association of Boating Law Administrators, and U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary awards for the Discover Clean and Safe Boating campaign.

The Central New York Boat Show features more than 500 boats; water recreation equipment; marine accessories; and waterfront destinations, tourism organizations, and law enforcement agencies in three buildings at the NYS Fairgrounds. Show hours are 1-9 pm on Thursday, February 15 and Friday, February 16, 10 am-9 pm on Saturday, February 17, and 10 am-5 pm on Sunday, February 18. Show admission is $10 per person, 13 and younger free. Free parking and shuttle are provided. Learn more at www.cnyboatshow.com.

More Info: New York Sea Grant

New York Sea Grant (NYSG), a cooperative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York, is one of 33 university-based programs under the National Sea Grant College Program (NSGCP) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The NSGCP engages this network of the nation’s top universities in conducting scientific research, education, training and extension projects designed to foster science-based decisions about the use and conservation of our aquatic resources. Through its statewide network of integrated services, NYSG has been promoting coastal vitality, environmental sustainability, and citizen awareness about the State’s marine and Great Lakes resources since 1971.

New York Sea Grant maintains Great Lakes offices at Cornell University, SUNY 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, Brooklyn College and Cornell Cooperative Extension’s NYC and Kingston locations.

For updates on Sea Grant activities: www.nyseagrant.org has RSS, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube links. NYSG produces a monthly e-newsletter, "NOAA Sea Grant's Social Media Review," via its blog, www.nyseagrant.org/blog. Our program also offers a free e-list sign up via www.nyseagrant.org/coastlines for its flagship publication, NY Coastlines/Currents, which is published quarterly.