HRIYC sailor Alex Innis has been working hard with his friend and filmmaker Tim to catch the story of ice boating and the Van Nostrand race . Here's a teaser they have put together. More to come!
Thursday, February 19, 2026
Monday, February 16, 2026
Sailing at Athens-on-Hudson - 2/16 update - sailing on hold
Galatea & Vixen - Hudson-Athens Lighthouse. 2/10/26 - I love this shot captured by Reid Bielenberg
2/16/26 update
---Monday - we have pulled boats from Murderers Creek and tucked them into a better protected cove a bit south of the Creek. We'll see how the river fares after this week's warm up and rain. No wind today either. Sailing paused for now.
A beautiful day on the ice on Sunday 2/15 with a good crowd of locals and visitors gathering around the historic vessels. Yet, another frustrating day of fickle winds. There were moments when the breeze picked up enough to get all six stern steerers sailing. Frank sailed Aurora all the way to the lighthouse, only to do a fair amount of pushing to get her back. Some lucky spectators got short rides/pushes including sailors as young as 4 or so and folks older than me! Otherwise enjoying life on the Hudson River with the community
2/14/26 update White Wings, Yellow Mustard
Dawn broke on Valentines Day without a puff of wind, and that continued until dusk arrived. We set sails on a few boats and enjoyed talking with visitors about the boats and history of sailing on the River. Enjoyed a conversation with someone from Alabama who learned about iceboats for the first time. He was driving by, saw these sails and said "what...???"
Best part of days like this is the famous hot dog center set up by former commodore Chris.
2/12/26
Ice boats in full swing at the state boat launch in Athens. This past weekend's deep freeze and the strong winds helped firm up the surface nicely. Not ideal ice but plenty fine for the old boats to sail across. Folks are skating as well.
More boats set up today - Thursday 2/12 - including Comet & Hound.
Aurora & Comet & Greyhound were out giving rides to a handful of onlookers and friends. A small group of bow steering boats joined the Hudson fleet. It was very nice to meet a few of the Saratoga ice group sailors - Paul & Tom had some fine sailing this afternoon.
Wind forecast is not favorable these next three days unfortunately.
On the ice at Athens currently:
Vixen, Galatea, Aurora, Greyhound, Comet, Hound. and the "Eerie" Lateen boat.
Down south at the Rhinecliff dock a few DNs set up to enjoy the beautiful plate of black ice, up to the Rhinecliff Bridge. Access with the big boats is too unwieldy at Rhinecliff, but DN launching is possible, with major caution and understanding the danger of tidal ice flow.
Tuesday, February 10, 2026
Ariel sails to victory for Ice Yacht Challenge Cup of America!
Hudson River Ice Yacht Club/ Orange Lake Ice Yacht Club reclaims the Van Nostrand Cup after 135 years!
Monday in Red Bank NJ, on the Navesink River.
Luke Lawrence & Max Lopez sail Ariel to 2 firsts in only the 4th running of the Ice Yacht Challenge Cup of America!
Brief recap:
HRIYC
Ariel: Luke Lawrence, Max Lopez 1st, 1st
Ice Queen: Rick Lawrence, Kevin Lawrence 2nd, ?
Whirlwind: Dan Lawrence, James Taylor
North Shrewsbury Ice Boat & Yacht Club
Ruth: Dave Disbrow, Jack Scott
Snowflake: Dan Clapp, Bryan Keeshen 3rd, ?
Georgie II: Steve Foster, Bob Sodon
Line up for second heat.
1st heat results: Ariel, Ice Queen, Snowflake
Heat 2 results: Ariel, didn’t matter…..
Skippers and crew from Race
Luke Lawrence & Max Lopez(r) accept Van Nostrand Cup in the Club House in Red Bank.
– A fuller accounting of the weekend will follow soon.
If you are interested in a history of the Cup go HERE.
NY Times article - hopefully it can open for you
Thursday, February 5, 2026
Boats on (finally) at Athens-on-Hudson - ICE NOT READY sadly
Vixen & Aurora on the ice Thursday
Two boats from the HRIYC are set up & rigged at Athens - the State Boat Launch - where we have sailed these past few years. Vixen took a short sail today and discovered that the ice is still not quite ready. Exploring further across the ice and drilling more found that there are still multiple, random spots with a slush layer under the snow covering. About 50 yards East off the set up area there is a large patch of slush/water under the surface that no boat will go through. We need several more very cold nights to hopefully (and finally) set up the ice surface. The cold is coming. I don't recommend setting up more boats at this point. Or walking far off the launch area. Will check and see if it is safe to sail on Sunday.
3+ inches of slush/water that will stop a boat, a skater and even our Golden Retriever... Not safe to walk through.
(my post I almost sent before heading up to Athens this afternoon...)
When we are displaying boats or doing talks on ice yachts we are regularly asked "When do you start sailing?"
An impossible question to answer, but the best I've come up with over the years is - 'We are often sailing on Super Bowl Sunday, so start to look at weather and blog posts around that week of February'. While we have had a deep freeze for a very long time it is now this week that the ice has shaped up to sail. Thickness is good and the snow pack has diminished enough for the boats to sail. ( Note - see above)
So here it is Super Bowl weekend and a few boats have begun setting up on the River at Athens. There is a nice plate of ice all along the shore from the Village to the northern end of Middle Ground Flats.
We had different weather conditions this weekend in 2022 at Athens.
Some of the boats in our Club are on their way to Red Bank NJ for races there this weekend.
Ariel, Ice Queen, & Whirlwind will take part in A boat races. Comet will also hit Jersey ice, perhaps joining D boat races. Race reports to be posted later this weekend.
And just spent the morning extracting Spider out of the Rokeby barns. She'll get dusted off and set up at Athens soon - it's been over 12 years since she's sailed.
Spider ready to be loaded up. Built by Victor Livingston of Kingston; circa 1920.
Ice is always unpredictable, especially when getting on. Where the shore and ice plate meet can have thin spots and open water. Use caution or simply watch from shore. Again, there are multiple slush spots today 2/5, with minimal ice thickness beneath. Use caution always.
Saturday, January 31, 2026
Still waiting.... last day of January
Latest ice checks promising, but thickness and surface conditions not quite there yet; See Ice Conditions
!Access to the river at Rhinecliff is tricky and dangerous. Not recommended unless you have an experienced group and safety tools!
Thursday, January 29, 2026
River looking promising!
River is locking up, many smooth stretches of ice in several locations. Several more nights with below zero should build good thickness. Still need to measure thoroughly. Expeditions happening next few days. Soon! Ice conditions tab upper right of this site.
Tuesday, January 27, 2026
Gildersleeve Prize
Ever since Ice Yachts have sailed the Hudson River, there has been racing between yachts & yacht clubs. Even today some ice boaters live just to race against fellow boaters. Whether for bragging rights or a silk pennant, racing brings out exciting moments of speed & drama.
What are some of the prizes that ice boaters raced for? Stumbling on an old email thread got me looking back at the races and rewards.
I've previously posted about one of the most exquisite trophies in ice yachting, The Van Nostrand Cup
I've also covered much of the history of the Ice Yacht Challenge Pennant of America, the 30 foot silk pennant established by Irving Grinnell in 1875.
What spurred this post was an email John Sperr (keeper of the HRIYC.org website) received from a woman 5 years ago. She had acquired a silver oil lamp trophy at an auction in western NY.
In lieu of silk pennants and silver Tiffany cups, there is always a race to be had for an oil lamp!
But what a beauty!
This is the Gildersleeve Prize, awarded to winner of the HRIYC race for third class yachts.
Third class boats had sail area between 350 -450 sq ft.
I found a news clipping of the race in John Roosevelt's scrapbook (from the FDR museum & library archives).
Edwards, outsailed Edmund Pendelton Rogers ( typo in clipping), sailing Snowflake, 38 ft in length and 444 sq ft sail. EP Rogers was Archibald Rogers father and secretary of the HRIYC at the time.
Who was Gildersleeve?
Judge Henry Alger Gildersleeve was born in Dutchess County and schooled in Poughkeepsie. He was a teacher before entering the Civl War in 1862. He engaged in campaigns in Gettysburg, the Carolinas and Georgia. He mustered out in 1865 and was noticed for his service by President Lincoln. He became a judge in NYC and was a founding member of the NRA. (yes that NRA). On the ice, he was a member of the Poughkeepsie Ice Yacht Club, and later, the Hudson River Ice Yacht Club.
Lewis Edwards kept his yacht Arrow at John Roosevelt's Ice Boat Barn at Roosevelt Point. Roosevelt housed his many boats along with several big boats of Club members.
Judge Gildersleeve had a long, successful, and at times controversial, career. He had the wherewithal to sponsor trophies for races in the 1880s.
Many thanks to Heather Mulloy for graciously sharing her pictures and for saving a piece of ice yachting history.
And, what other items have been offered up in races? a very short list of things that I will hopefully add to over time: ( in random order)
Glass cigar holder for 6th class races at Hyde Park Feb 1909 won by Comet
Silver Salver 1869 Haze Aaron Innis
silver pitcher 1871 Ella T.V. Johnston
Club plate 1872 Haze
Silver Plate 1872 Artic Jacob Buckhout
Silver Tiller 1881 Icicle JAR
And, my favorite:
circa 1888 4th class race of NHIYC boats; won by Puff; quoting the Pok Eagle: "This was a flour race. Only 4 boats sailed in the 4th class, giving every non-active member of the club a barrel of flour."
And loving cups of all shapes and sizes and designs:
Medals awarded to skippers winning the Ice Yacht Challenge Pennant of America"
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| Phantom 1881 |
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| Icicle 1899 |
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| Jack Frost 1893 |
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