Last Hurrah this weekend

Before i get into this update on boats, do know we will have another great weekend at Astor Point. Find your way there  ( Do not drive through Rokeby - the access road is a mess); and join us. Sailing will likely NOT go beyond noon or so do to softening ice. It'll be an amazing day none the less. Sunday may be cooler and sailing may go later in the day.  How to get there and what to expect??  Go to John Sperr's site  HRIYC.org  and all you need to know is in his most recent post. Thanks John.

Friday - Got down to Astor Point at 1:30 or so. Caught a  glimpse of the last boat slowly ghosting in to port... a diminishing breeze, and, more problematic, softening ice. Huge grooves were cut into the ice by the big boats as they sailed for a brief time today as the sun shone and the temperature rose. It was just 35 degrees or so when i arrived, but the strong rays of the sun made quick work of the hard ice. There was no sailing after 1:30.

Three Buckhout boats: Ariel, Ice Queen, Jack Frost

Saturday , we'll likely see sailing end before that time, if there is any breeze to push the boats.
Regardless it will be an amazing sight. More boats continue to arrive.
New Stern Steerers on the Ice:

Cold Wave - Fred Krause arrived from Long Island and set up this beautiful 40' boat, with 440 sq ft of sail. It has a unique double cockpit and has a long history in the Hudson Valley. She sailed in Red Bank in 1978 in an historic race for the Van Nostrand Cup.  It is one of the finest boats in the club (in my opinion...)

Dash - Wow!  was I ever excited to hear Dash made it to the ice. It has been in the hands of Eric Jappen of Rhinebeck for over 40 years and I might venture that it hasn't been on the ice in 100 years. Dash is a pretty little Cat boat - one main sail, no jib. 23 ' in length, 198 sq ft of sail.  Unfortunately it currently has no sail, but Eric is searching for one to fit  for the time being. Built by George Buckhout of Poughkeepsie, it originally was part of the George Ruppert fleet in Rhinebeck. Another Ruppert boat - North Star - is up at the NYS Museum in Albany.

Genevieve - Built in the Bronx for the Wrigley family. It sailed out in the mid-west until about 10 years ago. Based on a design by H. Percy Ashley, it has a huge cockpit. Brett Kolfrat of Cornwall brought her to the river this week. (I'll have more history soon).

Helen C. - a Red Bank Class C boat, circa 1939. She was originally gaff-rigged and was re-rigged as marconi rig in the 1940s. She is about 24' long. She is owned by Don Schreiber of Marlboro.

Greyhound - Originally from the Huntington fleet in Rhinebeck, this boat is 24'.

Eric & Neil work on setting up Dash, a Buckhout Cat boat, circa 1905.

Genevieve, with its skipper Brett.

With a nod to its original owners - the Wrigley's. 

Helen C. formerly a Red Bank NJ boat; This design was popular on the Navasink River in the 1930s-40s.

Teamwork to step the mast of the Cold Wave.

Genevieve's huge cockpit.

Resting up for another big weekend of sailing!