Just to have the ability to maybe ignite that spark in one of the little ones, makes it worth it ... I get a lot out of it.”

Bill Chace

Capt. Bill Chace has loved the ocean all his life. Now he is sharing his passion with families who in many cases have never seen the water’s beauty for themselves.

Chace, a retired commercial fisherman who volunteers with the harbormaster and as part of the town’s shellfish relay program, has taken on a new “job” in his retirement — volunteer captain for a new river tour pilot program started this summer by the Westport River Watershed Alliance.

Just after 1 p.m. Sunday, Capt. Chace shoved off from a private dock at Westport Point and steered his 24-foot Phoenix toward The Let. Aboard was a family from New Bedford and a few other guests, including river guide Bill Sherden, an alliance board member.

They headed east, under the Route 88 bridge, into Horseneck Channel and Taber Point, meandering, listening and looking. Along the way, Sherden spoke about the river’s ecology and answered questions about osprey and fish, a commercial oyster farm they passed, and countless other topics. When the hour-long tour ended, Chace’s smile was as big as the family’s.

“Just to have the ability to maybe ignite that spark in one of the little ones, makes it worth it,” he said. “I get a lot out of it.”

Filling a boat and a need

River tours have long been a dream at the WRWA, executive director Deborah Weaver said Monday, and indeed research by the organization during its recent development of a strategic plan clearly shows the need, she said.

“We did a whole lot of interviews; what people think about us, what they think about the river,” she said. “One thing that came through loud and clear was that families that didn’t have any opportunity to access the river had a hard time connecting with why it was important. We realized there was a big gap out there.”

Even as they confirmed the need and benefit of running tours, WRWA officials didn’t have the means to start conducting them on their own, for a variety of reasons.

Then one day months back, Chace walked through the door.

“I was looking for something to do and feeling the need to give back a little bit,” he said. “It seemed like a good fit for me — I had the skill and a boat and the time. They needed a good platform and somebody who knows the river.”

So Chace was welcomed warmly and over the spring and early summer the pilot program evolved. In June, Weaver led volunteers interested in guiding tours on test trips, serving as the guide while volunteers served as families and asked questions. A handbook was created, a series of dates were settled on, and the tours started in July.

Though they didn’t do any advertising, alliance officials had no problem filling the boat for each of the 11 trips run so far, by reaching out to the families of kids enrolled in the organization’s summer programs.

“I didn’t know if anyone would respond, but in two days we had all 11 spots filled,” Weaver said.

So far, the trips have been fantastic, Weaver said, and “everyone who’s done it has had a terrific time.”

They aim to start the tours at high tide if possible, and to date families have traveled into The Let and the Westport River’s east and west branches. The tours generally last at least an hour, and a big component is education — Weaver said it’s endlessly rewarding to watch guests as they see things they’ve never seen before.

“They really love it,” she said. “A lot of them have never seen what it’s like and there’s so much to see.”

Change of pace

Chace feels the same way, and said he loves showing off his “beloved Westport.”

It’s been a long love affair.

His family owned a 65-foot commercial fishing boat, and he started fishing commercially in 1972. He went from trapping lobster to working in Westport’s swordfish fleet in the 70s, using spotter pilots to chase the lucrative fishery as far out as Georges Bank. After a stint in the Coast Guard, he headed west, working in Alaska and the Bering Sea on a trawler and also long-lining for codfish.

“We had a great time up there. Then I realized I was getting kind of old for it so I went into the Merchant Marine” and ran tugs and barges up and down the East Coast. He retired in 2020.

Chace said the trips have been rewarding and he believes the program has the potential to make a difference, as some things are only appreciated when they’re seen and experienced firsthand. And he joked that “if Georges Bank and the Bering Sea didn’t get me, I’ll be OK in the Westport River.”

What’s next?

Weaver said that as of this week, tours are done for the season. But they’ll be back in late Spring 2025, though the alliance needs more volunteer tour guides (contact the WRWA if interested).

And Weaver said the program’s early success proves there is plenty of potential for growth:

“If I could find a funder it would be clear that we can do so much more than this,” she said. For now, “we are very thankful” to Capt. Chace. “It would do a lot of good for the community to have this as a robust program.”

Added alliance president Michael Sullivan:

“We are so grateful to Bill for helping us move forward on our long-standing desire to provide a fun and educational experience for individuals and families who may not have ready access to the river.“