Enjoy A 'Stay-Cation' On
Local South Shore Seas
By Marie Fricker
Senior News Correspondent

Plymouth - Martha Daniels of Weymouth shaded her eyes with a pink visor as she and her granddaughter, Jessica, 10, looked out from the deck of the Lightning at the sun splashed sea in front of them. They were among 43 passengers aboard the T Harbor Express this Saturday afternoon taking the 5:05 ferry from the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy. The trip had barely begun when the buildings of Boston materialized behind a haze of puffy fair weather clouds on the horizon.

“A lot of people don’t realize how beautiful it is to enter the city by sea,” said Daniels, brushing her windswept hair from her face. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it.” She and her granddaughter left the boat when it docked at the Marriott Long Wharf Hotel and walked over to the New England Aquarium for a day of undersea discovery. Other passengers headed for the shops of Faneuil Hall and the restaurants of the North End and one couple connected with the Salem Ferry at nearby Central Wharf.

Built in 1996, the Harbor Express’s two high speed catamarans, the Flying Cloud and the Lightning, operate year-round commuter service connecting Quincy, Hull, Boston and Logan Airport. The Harbor Express also runs harbor and sunset cruises throughout the summer season.

The ferries offer a “green” way of getting into the city, according to Joe Hajjar, PR Ambassador for the Water Transportation Alternatives (WTA), which oversees the Harbor Express. “We’re green because you don’t need to spend money on gas and you can park your car in our lot all day for $1,” said Hajjar, who encourages seniors to take advantage of the low fares this summer for outings on the sea. “Seniors pay $6 for a round trip to Boston and back and I’ve created a narrated tour for any group of 30 seniors or more. People catch the boat right here at the Fore River where the U.S.S. Salem is docked and some of these folks actually worked in this shipyard years ago, so it’s very nostalgic for them.”

Hajjar says many seniors take the Harbor ferry service just for the boat ride during the warm weather months. “If they don’t get off the vessel, we only charge them a one way fare for the round trip,” he said. “Where else could you get a nice 90 minute sightseeing tour of Boston Harbor for $3.00?”

South Shore seniors have a myriad of options for spending some quality time on the sea this summer. They can take the ferry at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy to Georges Island with free connections to Spectacle Island. The catamarans also leave Hingham Shipyard and Pemberton Point in Hull for service to Grape, Bumpkin, Peddocks, Georges, and Lovells Islands. Passengers can purchase two-island or six-island round trip fares. Discounted senior rates apply to all vessels and every boat is handicap accessible.

Another offering of the Water Transportation Alternatives is the Nathaniel Bowditch, a 92-foot high speed ferry, which departs from Central Wharf each day for a 45-minute trip along the New England coastline to Salem. “We offer cruise and dine packages to both Salem and Boston,” said Hajjar. “Seniors can take the boat ride to either city and get a 10% discount on major restaurants just for sailing with us.”

Seniors who are looking for a little more action than a smooth harbor cruise can hop aboard the WTA’s Voyager III for the New England Aquarium’s whale watching excursions along Stellwagen Bank. “This is the only boat in Boston that was purposely built for whale watching,” said Hajjar, “And we have more outside viewing space than any vessel in New England. The sightings are phenomenal.” The Voyager leaves the Aquarium’s dock daily at 10 a.m. from April through October for a three to four hour trip narrated by marine naturalists.

For Norwell senior Betty Coleman, 61, traveling by water is something she did as a downtown commuter for more than 20 years, but now her outings on the sea are purely recreational. “I used to skip the gridlock of the expressway by taking the boat out of Hingham,” said Coleman. “At that time, the ferry was a godsend, but now that I’m retired it’s just plain fun.”

For South Shore seniors who don’t mind making the drive over the bridge to Cape Cod, Hy-Line cruises offers seasonal water shuttles to both Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard from its Ocean Street Dock in Hyannis. Hy-Line also runs a one-hour Hyannisport Harbor cruise with views of the Kennedy Compound, as well as deep sea fishing trips on Nantucket Sound.

Closer to home are the many options provided by Boston Harbor Cruises during the summer months. Seniors are entitled to a discounted fare aboard the Salacia, the largest and fastest passenger-only catamaran in the U.S, which offers 90-minute service from Boston to Provincetown. The cat holds up to 600 people and travels at speeds up to 40 knots, which is faster than most speedboats.

Bonnie Powers, coordinator of group sales for the cruise company, says seniors make up a hefty portion of her passenger list on nearly every trip she offers. “Boston has the Freedom Trail and other walking tours, but seeing the city by sea is a totally different kind of experience,” said Powers. “We have quite a few senior groups aboard our vessels, and we welcome them with open arms.”

Boston Harbor Cruises offers a full slate of seafaring excursions for all age groups this summer. Among them are a 90-minute sunset cruise that includes a narrated tour of Boston Harbor, as well as an up-close look at the USS Constitution as the ship fires her cannon and lowers her flag in its ceremonial signaling of the day’s end.

Another senior-favorite, according to Powers, is the Charles River and Locks Tour, which features a narrated 90-minute trip through Boston’s inner Harbor and the Charles River. Passengers sail by the USS Constitution, the Bunker Hill Monument and the Old North Church before traveling along the Charles to enjoy sweeping views of the Boston and Cambridge skylines, Esplanade Park, MIT, Harvard, Beacon Hill and the Back Bay.

For lighthouse lovers who are eager to venture beyond the boundaries of the South Shore, Powers recommends the Northern Lights tour, which includes close-up views of Long Island Head and Deer Island Lights, Boston Light, the oldest lighthouse station in America, and nine other lighthouses on the North Shore. The tour ends with a sail by Thacher Island, the site of the only operating twin lighthouses in the country.

“For people who are fascinated by lighthouses, the Northern Lights tour is a must,” said Powers. “This is one of our most popular cruises for seniors, and they often bring their grandchildren.”

For those who’d prefer to remain in more familiar waters, the Plymouth County Board of Tourism promotes a number of nautical excursions on its Web site - seeplymouth. com. Bob Avila, director of sales for Captain John Boats, Inc., now in its 62nd year of business, is a former marine who has lived on the water all of his life.

“I am a boating enthusiast from childhood, so it isn’t hard for me to sell our product,” said Avila, who promotes the Plymouth area cruises run by his family-owned company. Captain John Boats offers deep sea fishing trips, whale watches, a Provincetown ferry and narrated Plymouth harbor day and sunset cruises.

“Our fishing trips on the Captain John and Son and the Captain John and Son II are a huge hit with seniors,” said Avila. “I would say that two thirds of the people on our full or half day deep sea excursions are over age 55. We get a lot of fathers, sons and grandfathers, and the people come from all over New England.”

If fishing is not your game, Captain John boats also offer Plymouth Harbor cruises aboard the Pilgrim Belle, an authentic Mississippi style paddle wheeler that takes passengers on a narrated tour past Plymouth Rock, the Mayflower II, Plymouth Beach, Clark’s Island and the beautiful Gurnet Point Lighthouse. “It’s an awesome trip for anyone who wants to learn a little local history,” said Avila. “And you also gain some insight about our own Plymouth fishing and lobstering industries.”

Speaking of lobstering, the “Lobster Tale,” a 45-foot vessel owned and operated by Captain Paul Quintal and his wife Jean, offers a hands-on lobster excursion on Plymouth Harbor, as well as an interactive Pirates Cruise where passengers battle an enemy pirate ship, and weeknight ice cream and wine-tasting cruises.

“We have a number of senior groups that charter our boat during the summer months,” said Jean Quintal, the captain’s wife and first mate. “The great thing about our cruises is that they are very relaxing for people of all ages. You can help out and haul in the lobster traps on our lobster excursions, or just sit back and observe. And we’re never more than a half a mile from land, so it’s a smooth sail the whole way.”

South Shore seniors have a wide selection when it comes to day cruises this summer, but WTA Ambassador Hajjar believes his T Harbor Express is still the best deal around.

“I like to call our ferry rides a ‘stay-cation,’ said Hajjar. “Many seniors can’t afford the gas to take road trips anymore, but they can pay a buck, leave their car in our lot for the day and set sail for adventure right in their own backyard. It doesn’t get any better than that.”