Aquatic classroom

Usually Zach Eddy and Ramiro Rodriguez like to spend their afternoons playing video games or watching TV.

But on Wednesday afternoon they found themselves in Newport’s Back Bay on kayaks. And they liked it.

“I just really like being out in the water,” said Zach, 13, as he waited to get his life jacket before boarding the kayak at the aquatic center. “It’s good exercise too.”

Ramiro agreed.

“And you get to relax on the water and talk to your friends,” the 12-year-old Costa Mesa boy added.

The Ensign Intermediate School boys were among 53 students who participated in the no-fee activity sponsored by the city’s parks and recreation department, the Newport Aquatic Center and the school.

The Wednesday kayaking activity was a sample of after-school activities the city offers through its parks and recreation department, said Joe Fuschetti, a physical education teacher at the school and a recreation specialist for the city.

On Wednesday, Zach, Ramiro and the other seventh- and eighth-graders spent four hours on the water.

If their parents are interested in similar water sports, they can enroll their children in the Afternoons on the Bay program at the Newport Sea Base, Fuschetti said. Afternoons on the Bay is separate from the Wednesday no-fee kayaking activity.

Parents pay a fee to enroll their children in the Afternoons on the Bay program, which is held on Mondays and Wednesdays and is for seventh- and eighth-graders. On Mondays, students learn fishing and kayaking, and on Wednesdays they learn the basics of sailing.

The program is open to Newport Beach and Costa Mesa youth. The fee is $65 for 10 weeks. Financial scholarships are available for those who cannot afford the fee, Fuschetti said.

Zach’s mother, Jeannie Eddy, is glad the kids can get off the couch and outdoors.

“It keeps kids out of trouble, and they learn a new skill,” Eddy said.

Newport Beach has a lot to offer in terms of water sports and ecology for young people, Fuschetti said.

“We live in the best area in the world right here,” Fuschetti said. “And the water provides so much enjoyment. The earlier kids get introduced to it, the better.”

For information about the Afternoons in the Bay program, call (949) 644-3156.