A bunch of third-graders went pelican riding recently and enjoyed it enormously. They didn't come home with feathers stuck to their legs and pelican bites though. These kids were smarter than that.
The Joseph Sibilly Elementary School children rode the Caribbean Pelican amphibious vehicle from the Coast Guard Dock at the east end of Charlotte Amalie Harbor, down Veterans Drive, through Frenchtown and into East Gregerie Channel for a harbor "cruise," and back to the dock. For some of the children, it was a first time on the water, and their first close look at Hassel Island.
"This is neat, except the water," said Andre Smith, who received a lot of splashing from his classmates. Dakota Whisler, on the other hand, thought Andre's splashing the high point of the trip.
The children gave the Pelican a new and thoroughly practical name, the "busboat."
Ashur Amaro said he'd seen old cisterns and lots of things under water that he hadn't seen before, "And we got to be copilots, too!"
Capt. Jim MacDougall allowed his small charges to sit in the copilots' seat. "But with their hands in their laps," he said, "I do the levers—the the swim gears."
As the craft lumbered into East Gregerie channel, MacDougall caught the children up on their St. Thomas history, pointing out the Danish Consulate, Government House, and other sights they hadn't seen from a water perspective before.
Teachers Sherlyn Hodge and Carry-Fran Curry, both native St. Thomians, enjoyed the trip as much as their students. "We've never done that before," said Hodge, "and the kids loved it."
Caribbean Pelican manager Claudia Keller said she encourages school students to take the ride.
"Lots of the kids have never done anything like this before, or even been in a boat," she said.
The Pelican has special rates for school students, $5 for children and $10 for accompanying adults. Keller asks that reservations be made at 774-7808.
