“Coastie, the Tugboat,” the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary mascot.

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

John Steinbarge, USCGA, P: 315-635-7698

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

Syracuse, NY, February 6, 2019 - Would you like to try maneuvering a Boston Whaler on the water without any chance of shipwrecking? 

Do you need to know how to equip your boat to pass a vessel safety exam?

Would the kids like to meet “Coastie, the Tugboat,” the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary mascot?

Then, visit the new-look Boating Information Center at the February 14-17, 2019 Central NY Boat Show at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse, N.Y. New York Sea Grant has partnered with the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and Coast Guard Reserve, New York State Parks Marine Services Bureau, and America’s Boating Club: U.S. Power Squadron Syracuse Chapter to present the new exhibit at the boat show.

Coastie will welcome visitors to the Boating Information Center that includes the Boating Skills Virtual Trainer, at the show courtesy of America’s Boating Club: U.S. Power Squadron District 6, that allows the public to try driving a Boston Whaler on a 4-mile lake with varying levels of difficulty and wind and water conditions. Users can learn how to leave and return to the dock, turn, moor, make an emergency stop, and more.
 
The 2019 New York Sea Grant Discover Clean and Safe Boating educational vessel will be equipped to pass a vessel safety exam that provides boaters with a certificate of an approved inspection by U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary or U.S. Power Squadron personnel.

Information will be available on U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and U.S. Power Squadron boating safety classes and CNY Boat Show Boating Information Center visitors may register for a drawing for a free boating class registration. Anyone born after May 1, 1996, must pass an approved boater safety course to legally operate a motorboat or personal watercraft on NY waters.

Visitors to the exhibit will also be able to try driving a remote-controlled toy boat through a navigation course in a small pool. The New York State Parks Marine Services Bureau safety trailer will be set up in the exhibit.

A new information rack will have boater educational resources focused on:

• how to properly select a life vest or personal floatation device
• how to become a New York State-certified boating safety instructor
• vessel safety checks procedure
• marine law enforcement careers
• pleasure vessel noise levels and impaired boaters regulations
• Clean, Drain, Dry practices to slow the spread of aquatic invasive species, and
• volunteer opportunities with boating organizations.

The 2019 Central New York Boat Show hours are 1-9 pm on Thursday, February 14th and Friday, February 15th; 10 am-9 pm on Saturday, February 16th; and 10 am-5 pm on Sunday, February 17th. Show admission is $10 per person, 13 and younger free. Free parking and shuttle are provided. Learn more at www.cnyboatshow.com.


A past visitor to the Boating Information Center at the Central New York Boat Show using a virtual boating simulator. Credit: Brian P. Whattam.

To learn more about New York Sea Grant, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration cooperative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York, visit www.nyseagrant.org.

There's more information about U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 21 via the Auxiliary's Facebook page.

The America’s Boating Club: Syracuse Sail and Power Squadron is at www.usps.org.

And the NYS Parks Marine Services Bureau is at parks.ny.gov.


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 33 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, 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 in Long Island, Brooklyn College and Cornell Cooperative Extension in NYC and Kingston in the Hudson Valley.

For updates on Sea Grant activities: www.nyseagrant.org has RSS, Facebook, Twitter, 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. Our program also produces an occasional e-newsletter,"NOAA Sea Grant's Social Media Review," via its blog, www.nyseagrant.org/blog.