Boats Out (and snowed in) on the Ice so Far...

Valentines Day 2014
The storm on Thursday brought over 20 inches to northern Dutchess County.
I'm off to dig out boats from this amazing blanket of white. Buried boat photos follow...

Boreas, Cyclone, North Wind.
Masts sticking up out of the snow.

Flicker is barely visible over the bowsprit of North Wind.

Plank of Cyclone buried by 20+ inches.
There is a layer of slush under all this snow,
which is quickly diminishing through saturation.

The back deck in Red Hook.

February 6

Well, Wednesday brought  9" of snow at my house in Red Hook, about 6 miles east of where the boats are currently buried.   We are out of commission for awhile, although I have seen 12 " of snow reduced to a beautiful surface of snow ice within 6 days.

The table on my back deck with 9" of fresh
powder - the skiers are happy!

We'll see how the ice transforms over the next week.
Meanwhile here is an update of the old stern steerers out on the ice, waiting for the ice to clear up. We've had great Valentines Day sailing in past years!












Tivoli Bay:

Aurora    

Aurora on Tivoli South Bay. Photo courtesy of Chris Kendall

I don't know much of the history of Aurora, though I'll venture it was likely built around 1910.  It carries about 250 sq ft of sail.  Aurora  is a good example of  a later design period (post 1883) in which the mast is stepped forward of the runner plank and wire rigging is used.  This created a lighter, more balanced boat that didn’t spin out as easily as the earlier designs. It was previously owned by the late John Rose and is now owned by Frank Wall of Ghent, NY. 

North Wind    

Current HRIYC Commodore Chris Kendall at the helm of the 1896 yacht, North Wind.

North Wind (circa 1896) is 29’ long and has about 240 sq ft of sail.  Designed by H. Percy Ashley (a well-regarded authority on ice boating and iceboat design), at Orange Lake, it sailed there for many years, owned by the Hughes family.  It was involved in a serious collision with the Gale, a sister boat, on Orange Lake in the 1930s.  It demonstrates a design evolution with its lighter weight hollow backbone and hollow spars.  Earlier yachts were created from solid lengths of timber. It is owned by Reid Beilenberg of Germantown.

Historical note: North Wind and Aurora have sailed together for over 40 years. In 1973 they raced each other during the Eastern Ice Yacht Association’s Championship on Greenwood Lake, January 18, 1973.

According to an article in the Evening News (from Newburgh?):

“Aurora,” owned by Chuck Merkel of Montrose and a member of the Hudson River (Ice Yacht) Club took second in Class X. Reid Bielenberg of Garrison sailing “North Wind,” formerly owned by the late Ed Hughes of Newburgh, was third.  (Class X boats have a  sail area up to 250 sq ft.) 

Cyclone   

Cyclone on the Hudson River at Athens, 2009. Photo by Lawrie Hill

Cyclone was built in 1901 in Hyde Park by Charles Van Loan.  It was originally owned by Herman Livingston Rogers, son of Archie Rogers.  The Rogers family had one of the largest collections of ice boats in the mid-Hudson area at the turn of the century.  Included among their boats was Archie Rogers’ Jack Frost, 4 time winner of the Ice Yacht Challenge Pennant of America.  Cyclone likely sailed the Hudson River off of the Rogers estate in Hyde Park.  The runner plank and sails are not original.  It is owned & sailed by Lisa & Brian Reid of Red Hook. 

Puff

Emilie Hauser at the helm of her boat Puff, one of the oldest boats on the ice.

Puff (circa 1874) is 27' in length and carries 236 sq ft of sail. It was originally part of Irving Grinnell’s fleet of ice boats and sailed with the New Hamburgh Ice Yacht Club. It is very similar in design as Whiff (see earlier post on Whiff), though a bit smaller. Grinnell, a good friend of FDR and an avid champion of ice boating, was a founding member of the New Hamburgh Ice Yacht Club, established in 1869. In 1881, Grinnell put up a 30 foot silk pennant to signify supremacy in ice yacht racing. The "Ice Yacht Challenge Pennant of America", was never won by Grinnell, but was claimed four times each by John Roosevelt's Icicle, and Archie Rogers' Jack Frost.  Grinnell was also a commodore of the New York Yacht Club.
Puff was in disrepair when HRIYC members Roger Hausch, Peter Mund and Krum rebuilt her at Orange Lake in the early 1960s, at which time the rig was redesigned. Puff won many races on Orange Lake in the 1960's, its home ice for many years after it was removed from the Grinnell estate. Subsequently,  Puff was owned by John Allen,  R.Cobe from Verplank, B. Benson of Sleightburgh / Pt. Ewen and then acquired by the late Michael Corey of Kingston in 1998.  Puff is now owned by Corey’s family

Boreas  

Sloop Captain Steve Schwartz, at the helm of Boreas. photo courtesy of Chris Kendall

Boreas was built in New Hampshire in 1927 and sailed lakes in that region until it came to the Hudson Valley about ten years ago. Boreas is 24’ long with 198 sq ft of sail. It is marconi rigged.  It is owned by Steve Schwartz of Poughkeepsie.

Flicker     

Flicker, on its first sail back on the Hudson River in 1996 after returning to the Hudson Valley,
on beautiful black ice at Esopus Flats.

Flicker has a unique style and was known as a 'Westchester One Design'. It was designed by Dick Moeller, who helped establish the Eastern Ice Yacht Association in the late 1930s. It is cat-rigged and at least 8 of them were built. They were owned and sailed by members of the Westchester Ice Sailing Club, which was quite active  from 1947 into the late 80s. Art O’Connor of WISC obtained Flicker (then called HIC) from John Childs. John Hardeman and I obtained it from Art about 15 years ago. It is one of only 2 known surviving examples of this style boat. Stefan Hydacker has been maintaining and sailing it recently.  



Astor Point

Vixen                built 1885         Length: 31’                            sail area:  340 sq ft 

Reid Beilenberg at the helm, sailing off Astor Point, Barrytown-on-Hudson. Photo courtesy of Ned Gerard.

Vixen  was built by the brothers Charles and William Merritt of Carthage Landing (now Chelsea) in 1885.  It was the first successful lateen-rigged ice yacht.  Originally named Eugene, the Merritt brothers sailed the boat up to Poughkeepsie in 1887 where races were taking place. This swift, and well-balanced yacht quickly caught the attention of FDR’s uncle John A. Roosevelt who purchased it on the spot and renamed her Vixen. Interestingly, when FDR's mother commissioned George Buckhout to build an ice yacht as a Christmas gift for her son, it was a lateen-rigged boat (called Hawk)  that he received. Vixen was later acquired and relocated to Orange Lake, outside of Newburgh where it sailed for many years in the 1930s, 40s and 50s.  It is now owned and sailed by Reid Beilenberg of Germantown.  This is the last surviving lateen-rigged ice yacht from that era. 

Hound       built circa 1905           Length: 25’                 sail area:  240 sq ft.

Skipper Glen Burger taking the kids out for a fast sail on Hound.
Photo Courtesy Ned Gerard.

Hound  was originally from the Hull Estate in Staatsburgh and likely sailed the Hudson there in the early 1900s.  Hound  is a good example of  the later design period (post 1883) in which the mast is stepped forward of the runner plank and wire rigging is used.  This created a lighter, more balanced boat that didn’t spin out as easily as the earlier designs. She is owned and sailed by Glen and Emerson Burger of Staatsburgh.

Orion             built  1906           Length: 25’                 sail area:  230 sq ft.

Past HRIYC commodore Bob Wills steers his yacht Orion off of Astor Point.
Photo courtesy of Ned Gerard.

Orion was built at the Malden Brick factory at Malden-on-Hudson in 1906. It eventually relocated to Long Island where the McInerney family sailed her on Lake Ronkokoma. The boat was nameless when she was obtained by Bob Wills, who christened her Orion on Tivoli Bay in 2010.  Owner: Bob Wills, Rhinecliff 

Floater            built circa 1900        Length: 16"6"            Sail Area: 90 sq ft

Doc Shuter at the helm of Floater, Tivoli Bay.
Photo courtesy of Chris Kendall.

One of the smallest boats in the fleet, Floater was built in Glasco circa 1900. It is named after an incident involving a previous owner/skipper who discovered that it did indeed float after sailing into the channel. Fortunately all were rescued safely. Current owners are Doc & Kate Shuter, of Glasco.