Monday, October 15, 2007

Manchester High School

October 12-14,2007

When the students from Manchester HS arrived at the Island Beach State Park launch area the wind was gusting to over 40 mph. Rather than risking life, limb and the pontoon boat, Jim decided to do a program on Island Beach that afternoon and then go to Sedge the following morning. Joined by Dr. Stan Hales, Director of the Barnegat Bay National Estuary Program, we spent the afternoon in and around the Forked River Interpretive Center. After a tour of the building we hiked to the beach on the self-guided nature trail. It was chilly in the wind but this experience gave the students a better appreciation of the need to dress properly for the weather conditions.

All the students returned early the following morning and we were on the water in kayaks by 9:30 am (Sedge time.) Because we were a strong paddling group, we were able do our usual full day trip to Barnegat Inlet complete with lunch on the jetty rocks. (Fisherman on the jetty seemed oblivious to the eye shadow war paint on some of the boys’ faces.) We headed back stopping on our way to dig some soft- shelled clams in the water that continues to be in the high 60’s.

Dinner consisted of home made macaroni and cheese and meatballs with some of our usual seafood that we caught like clams and crabs. In addition, we experienced a new first on Sedge Island. We cooked and ate mud snails. Boiled with garlic and lots of spices and then dipped in butter, these snails were (in the opinion of some of the students) “delicious.” Everyone admitted that even though they were tasty, they were a lot of work for so little meat “worse than crabs.” A star lit sky encouraged some of the students to sleep out on the deck. The temperature dipped into the 40’s but some stuck it out for the entire night.

Special thanks to Shang Jen and Jake Raabe for helping out over the weekend. Other than a visit to Sedge with the Rutgers University Outdoor Club, Shang had spent very little time on the island. Sang helped with everything from teaching to cooking and cleaning. Jake, who has been coming to Sedge to since he was nine years old, helped many of the students learn to fish and throw a cast net

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hell yeah. My war paint was sick. They were oblivious because they couldn't see me, Jimbo.

Anonymous said...

sedge was a grand old time and just to make it clear, snails are delicious!