State park revamps boat tour
Delaware Seashore State Park's Island Discovery Tour is a relaxed 2.5-hour tour around the Indian River Bay led by park experts who educate participants on Inland Bays marine creatures and the importance of preserving their environments.
“So many people come to the beach to go to the beach,” says guide Laura Scharle. "The tour gives people who don't often see crabs a different perspective."
Park officials invited employees of Seashore State Park and their families on a trial run in June.
Laurie Valunas, whose husband and father-in-law have both worked for Seashore State Park, was enthusiastic about the tour.
“I like to see what hasn't been destroyed by man,” she says.
The tour stops for lunch at an island in the bay known as Lynch Thicket, where participants can explore and learn about the island's marsh. Tour guide and park naturalist Lowell Markey says marshes are essential to marine wildlife and keeping healthy bays because they break down materials harmful to the bays and act like sponges when absorbing water.
Also on the island, guides demonstrate how to catch small fish like mummichogs and silversides using a net, catching tiny crabs in the process. Lynch Thicket also offers a chance to see the occasional beached horseshoe crab.
The tour is a revamped version of the former Estuarine Ecology Tour offered by Delaware Seashore State Park in partnership with the Sand Dollar cruise boat owned and operated by Harry Caswell Inc.
Capt. Larry Karpinski of the Sand Dollar, who Markey said was instrumental in bringing pontoon boat tours to Delaware Seashore State Park, said “It's very interesting, not knowing what happens out here in the water.”
On the way back from Lynch Thicket, Markey and Askin explained how to tell whether an Atlantic blue crab is male or female.
The tour is offered every Thursday, 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
In addition to a morning Island Discovery Tour, the park also offers an afternoon sightseeing tour, 1:30-3 p.m., leaving from the marina.
The tours officially kicked off June 26 and run every Thursday. Participants should wear closed-toed shoes for the interactive morning tour due to the various water activities; they are not necessary for the afternoon sightseeing tour.
For more information or any questions about the tours, call Sand Dollar Tours at 302-858-7038 or go to www.sanddollardewey.com.
