Winter. Ice. Snow. Cold. and the Nothing....

Our friend Ben recently recited this Wallace Stevens poem at an assembly at my school. Felt it was fitting for today. Happy New Year!

The Snow Man

Related Poem Content Details

BY WALLACE STEVENS

One must have a mind of winter 

To regard the frost and the boughs 

Of the pine-trees crusted with snow; 

And have been cold a long time 

To behold the junipers shagged with ice, 

The spruces rough in the distant glitter 

Of the January sun; and not to think 

Of any misery in the sound of the wind, 

In the sound of a few leaves, 

Which is the sound of the land 

Full of the same wind 

That is blowing in the same bare place 

For the listener, who listens in the snow, 

And, nothing himself, beholds 

Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is. 

Hawk set up on the eve of a New Year....

We met this morning at the Wallace Center, at the FDR Library in Hyde Park, to once again set up FDR's personal ice yacht Hawk. This is the 3rd time we have had the privilege to work with the National Park Service to display FDR's ice yacht. It will be on display through the end of January 2017. Members of the HRIYC will be available to talk briefly about FDR and his passion for ice yachting prior to the guided tours of his home. We are also excited to find out that funding has been made available to go toward the restoration of Hawk. Club members will be working with NPS to inventory parts and acquire, fashion, or build missing  parts. A new sail, gammon strap, sheer leg poles are a few of the items needed.
I've previously posted a bit about history of Hawk HERE.

Boat parts, brought out of warehouse storage at the FDR Historic Site.

Rudder post and stern runner. Finely crafted by George Buckhout, of Poughkeepsie.

Many hands make light work, especially when most of the backs out there are over 50...

28' backbone was brought to the visitors center on top of a pickup; very carefully tied down.
It travelled all of 1.5 miles from nearby NPS storage warehouse. 

Installing the rudder.

Challenge pennants from the Hudson River Ice Yacht Club. 

Hat's off to FDR, and his support of Ice Yachting!

Sheer legs could only be raised about 80% of the way.  Ceilings aren't high enough in the Visitors Center.

Not all parts exist; diamond stays will need to be made.

Detailed sketch of fittings for the bow, where the spars meet, by Club member Reid B.

Motley set up crew, with NPS staff. (photo thanks to Frank Wall)

The FDR library has only known of one photo of Hawk - one in which FDR is sailing it on the Crum Elbow stretch of the River. Years ago I acquired a copy of the shot below (from the FDR archives) of a line up before a 1911 race off Hyde Park. I have always assumed the lateen in this photo was a Hyde Park yacht named Dutchess (owned and sailed by Mark Reeves at that point). I had seen a list of the names of the yachts in the photo and the lateen was identified there as Dutchess.  Some talk arose about the photo at the set up. As I look more closely at the photo, I'm more convinced that this is Hawk, not Dutchess. An older photo of Dutchess reveals features that I don't seem to see here. Hawk was built within a year of Dutchess (George Buckhout built both yachts) to the same dimensions. Can't be 100% sure (yet) but I feel this is indeed Hawk, ready to race.
Is it likely FDR is nearby in this picture?  I'd say it is NOT likely.  All race records ( from 1901-1910) I've seen of Hawk have yet to show FDR at the helm of his boat.

Ice yacht line up, off Hyde Park landing, 1911. FDR's Hawk, far left.

Happy Holidays All!!

Fair Winds & Smooth Ice in the New Year!!

(Victorian Christmas Greetings, circa late - 1800s.  These images are taken from John A. Roosevelt's ice boat scrapbook.)

Ice Boating Art & Illustrations

Through the years I've come across more beautiful paintings and illustrations of ice yachting scenes. Magazine covers, book covers, calendars, and more.
A collection of images follow....

cover illustration 1900

H. Percy Ashley's sketch, for Rudder Magazine. December 1901.

Detail from antique print, circa 1878.

Detail of sketch from print, circa 1876.

Hand colored print from  John A. Roosevelt's scrapbook, 1899.
This was the cover illustration from an issue of Harpers Weekly, January 7, 1899.

From the scrapbook of John A. Roosevelt.

The Slee Brothers were photographers out of Poughkeepsie. The photos would be used to create illustrations and prints.
I haven't found a lot about the Slee Bros. yet. This is also from Roosevelt's collection. circa 1876.

An old print, circa 1881.  I found this in John A. Roosevelt's scrapbook. Ice yachts were a nuisance to those who preferred taking their Horses & sleighs out for a ride on the river. The speeding yachts would frighten the trotters, at times upsetting the sleigh and passengers onto the ice. As the iceboat men said at the time: "The river was made for boats, not for horses." 

Detail of print above. This print often comes up for sale on Ebay.   

Another magazine cover  from the John A. Roosevelt collection.  February 1899

I'm fairly certain this illustration came from observations on Orange Lake in the early 1900s. These are the 250 sq ft class yachts that Percy Ashley was designing and of which were being built at Orange Lake. Ashley promoted his designs through the pages of Rudder magazine.

Insurance calendar out of Vermont, 1917.

Detail of the calendar artwork above. I love this picture.

  

                                   Never heard of this magazine from 1919.

             Check out the racing mark in the background; same one as the illustration above it from 1917.

            Likely same artist, and may well be racing flags and boats from Orange Lake, NY. 

             Thanks to Bill Buchholz, for finding this illustration.  

Magazine cover 1927.  

This came from Ray Ruge's collection at the HRMM.

Another "Open Road" cover.  Thanks to Deb Whitehorse for posting this at 4Lakes.

Magazine cover 1921. 

Detail of cover above. The hollow backbone North Wind still sails with the HRIYC. 

Another via Deb Whitehorse. 

Iceboats have appeared in many advertisements from the early 1900s through today.
They have their fair share of alcohol related promotion!

Book Jacket cover art.

Who knew ice boats are featured in a recent Clive Cussler novel?
This illustration is adapted from photo images of Vixen, a Hudson River yacht and
a lateen yacht from Canada, images of which have been shown racing a motorcycle in the early 1900s.

Magazine cover 1927. 

Newspaper cover February 1883;  It may be that this is a Newspaper printed in NYC for German immigrants;  Ice Boats at Poughkeepsie.  (this is an image from a framed copy that Reid Beilenberg has)

Cover of a German book on ice yachts.
This is from Ray Ruge's collection.

Hallmark co-opts ice yachts too!

-I'll continue to add to this over time; enjoy.  Comments, other images welcome. 

and, of course, the Man of Steel providing a brisk breeze...      March 1948