Seafaring Seniors Cruise the Harbor By Amy Fenimore "What they lacked in sea legs they made up for in spirit. Mildred Levy, 92, wore her blue and white striped shirt with an anchor-and-rope theme. Sam Shanker, 83, sported a pair of deck shoes, white pants and a white shirt. And as the boat set off from the safety of the North Cove marina at the World Financial Center into the Hudson River, Shanker yelled out, "Rock and Roll!" Shanker and Levy were among 21 residents of the Hallmark, a seniors residence in Battery Park City, who one pleasant morning last month joined the voyage aboard the Shearwater, an 82-foot-long double-masted schooner. The "Senior Sail," as it was called, was organized by Tom Berton, president of Shearwater Sailing, which docks its boat at North Cove, and Michelle Dewitt, the Hallmark's director of lifestyle programs. The Hallmark residents received a substantial price break, enjoying the morning cruise for only $5. "This was a test-run to see how senior-friendly boats would be," Dewitt said later. "And it was a huge success." Sail day was magnificent; the sun shone and the river sparkled. Although the wind and waves gave the boat a few good tosses, the passengers were unfazed. "I don't have to be on a boat to be unsteady like this" Arnold Pikelney, 92, quipped. As they sailed along, memories were jostled-of younger days, of boats once owned and trips once taken. "My sailboat was 14 feet long," recalled Harold Goldstein, 90. "Mine was 24 feet!" Rebecca Coven, 86, exclaimed. Edith Green, 79, who is wheelchair-bound, remembered a day on a sailboat many decades ago. "I was lying beneath the sail, my hair was blowing and it was so exhilarating," she said. "I never thought I would ever go for a sail again." Somewhere between Governors Island and the Statue of Liberty, Green did something else that is rare for her: she burst into song. Her first number was Gilbert and Sullivan's "I Sail the Ocean Blue." Others joined in. "I've always had a terrible voice," Green admitted, "but being on the water makes you so happy that you just want to sing."