CONCORD, Mass. – The Cape Cod Canal will host the 14th annual Boating and Water Safety Day on Saturday, June 29, 2019 (rain or shine), from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Cape Cod Canal Visitor Center located at 60 Ed Moffitt Drive in Sandwich, Massachusetts, according to officials with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District.
The Corps has invited its partners to this event to help promote being safe and responsible while having fun on the water. The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) will also celebrate their new fishing exhibit recently installed at the Visitor Center. They will have staff on hand to engage with visitors as they interact with the exhibit. Then they'll invite visitors outside to join DMF staff who will teach them how to fish in the Cape Cod Canal. To celebrate the new exhibit, a representative from DMF is scheduled to speak about the exhibit and the partnership between DMF and the Corps at 11 a.m.
Partners will have exhibits and activities, and those partners include the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), the Massachusetts Environmental Police, the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, AmeriCorps Cape Cod, the American Red Cross, the Buzzards Bay Coalition, Whale and Dolphin Conservation, and the American Canoe Association.
Activities will be held at the Cape Cod Canal Visitor Center and the Sandwich Marina. Activities include dock tours of USCG and Corps boats, water safety and boating safety activities, games and prizes for the whole family, Dunk-a-Ranger (dunk tank), a new fishing exhibit, fishing clinic (equipment provided), free vessel safety checks by the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, promotional and informational handouts on water safety and boating safety, and a special visit by Bobber the Water Safety Dog. The Coast Guard Auxiliary also will have a damage control trailer where adults can test their skills at solving boat mechanical problems.
The Corps is responsible for operations and maintenance of the Cape Cod Canal, one of the Corps’ busiest projects and serving as the gateway to historic Cape Cod. Annual visitation to the Cape Cod Canal exceeds three million. The primary mission of the Cape Cod Canal staff is to provide safe navigation to the 14,000 commercial and recreational vessels that transit the 17.5 mile waterway each year. However, the 1,000 acres of land that surrounds the Canal provides diverse recreational opportunities such as hiking, fishing, biking, picnicking and ship watching.
The Cape Cod Canal Visitor Center offers insight into the rich history of the Cape Cod Canal. Exhibits include: a museum; a retired 40-foot Corps patrol boat; and live radar and camera images of the waterway.
Visitors can captain a virtual boat through the canal; investigate what’s inside ships transiting the canal; discover wildlife that live around the canal; view films about canal history, wildflowers and wildlife; participate in free interpretive programs; or relax with waterfront views from chairs on the front deck. Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., daily from May 1 – Oct. 27, phone: (508) 833-9678. Free admission.
For more information on recreation at the Cape Cod Canal visit the website at:
https://www.nae.usace.army.mil/Missions/Recreation/Cape-Cod-Canal/.
The website has additional information that can be downloaded, including: a Recreational Boating Safety Guide; a Self-Guided Bike/Hike Brochure; a Cape Cod Canal Visitor Center Brochure; a Canal Recreation Map; Service Road Safety Guidelines; the 2019 Tide Tables; and more.