White Wings and Black Ice : November 2016

Saturday, November 26, 2016

Ray Ruge

Ray was known as the Mr. Ice Boat. He was active from as early as 1937 right through until his death, of cancer, in 1986. Ray designed, built and raced ice boats. He wrote prolifically about the sport: Encyclopedia entries; regular articles for Yachting magazine; stories in Boys Life and many other magazines and news columns in local papers. Ray corresponded with sailors around the world. His archives contain fascinating letters with Carl Bernard, of Wisconsin and Frank Drake, elder ice yachtsman who skippered boats for John A. Roosevelt. Ray built ice boats, and restored or uncovered dozens of historic stern steerers. One of his most important contributions, in my opinion, was reviving the interest in the old historic yachts. He was instrumental in locating, and getting back on the ice, dozens of old yachts that had been lying unused for years. He led restoration efforts on historic yachts including Whiff, Puff, Ariel, and Jack Frost. He sailed and raced Archie Rogers' Ariel, and John A. Roosevelt's Vixen. He mentored young sailors who continue his passion with ice yachts to this day. Ray helped to revitalize the old Hudson River Ice Yacht Club, reorganizing it in 1964. His favorite bow steerer - Charette, is now part of the New York State Museum. He would be proud of the recent acquisition and restoration of the Buckhout-built ice yacht Manhasset. He rubbed elbows with ice sailors who raced for the Ice Yacht Challenge Pennant of America - The Merritt Brothers of Chelsea; Frank Drake from New Hamburgh; George Buckhout of Poughkeepsie. He located the original Ice Yacht Challenge pennant and started that race back up after it sat idle for almost 30 years. He organized that race for a new version of the pennant ( the original went to the FDR Library & museum in Hyde Park). He raced (though lost) in that 1951 race on Greenwood Lake. Ray also located and helped organize a race for the Van Nostrand Challenge Cup in 1978. It had been raced for only one time previously - in 1891 on Orange Lake.
Ray left us way too early. I never met him, getting involved in this sport about 7 years later. His collected archives are housed at the Hudson River Maritime Museum in Kingston NY. It is a valuable trove of the history of the sport.
There is a lot more to Ray's life and recollections of readers would be most welcome. If you get a chance, make an appointment at the Museum to look through his archives. It is worth a few hours to immerse yourself in history of the sport.
some images from his life...

Ray took to the ice early. An undated photo (circa 1920) with his mom.

Ray founded the Hudson-Highland Ice boat club.
They sailed out of Piermont on the west side of the Hudson.

Ray was affiliated with the Orange Lake Ice Yacht Club.
That club's roots went back to 1889.
Here he is at their 1939 awards dinner. (Ray 3rd from left)

I believe this was at the EIYA race in 1970 at Croton. sitting on the plank of Ariel.

Ray raced actively throughout the late 30s and 1940s.
He captured many C class races aboard his bow steerer Charette.

Racing on Orange Lake, NY, 1939. C-1 is Ray's boat Charette.

"Ice Chips" was a column on winter sports - mainly ice boating,
that Ray wrote for a local paper in the 40s.
He was always trying to bring new folks into the world of ice yachting.

His beloved Charette, getting ready for shipment to the NYS Museum in Albany, 1975.
It was on display there for many years; It is in storage at this time.

The EIYA was a member association of ice yacht clubs in the northeast.
Member clubs were from NJ, Long Island, upstate NY, CT. Ray was instrumental in the establishment of the EIYA.
EIYA pretty much ceased to exist in the late 1990s.

Puff. Irving Grinnel's old yacht, circa 1870. Ray got a group of Hudson Valley sailors
to restore and sail Puff in the mid 1960s. He located her in the old Grinnel Barns in New Hamburgh.

Ray aboard Charette.

Ray wrote regularly on ice-boating in Yachting magazine.

Icicle was the first bow steerer that Ray built. anyone know where this lake is?

a brief video of Ruge, during a work party session on the renovation of Jack Frost, in 1972.

Early video footage of Ray Ruge sailing. Thanks to Chickawaukie Ice Boat Club in ME, for finding and uploading this.

Big Boat Gallery 1870-1900

Ice Yacht Virginia, with owner Judge H.A. Gildersleeve; circa 1880.

As it is the 140th anniversary of the Philadelphia Centennial, I thought I'd offer up a gallery of images of the historic big ice yachts of the Hudson River. It was at the 1876 Centennial that Irving Grinnell displayed his newest Ice Yacht Whiff. That display was the first time many Americans saw an ice yacht, one that was beautifully crafted by Jacob Buckhout of Poughkeepsie. Buckhout, and others, continued to build beautiful, big, wooden gaff-rigged ice yachts into the 20th century. Here is a gallery of some of them.

Viva, with owner J.C. Barron; circa 1880. 49' long; 493 sq ft of sail.

John A. Roosevelt's Icicle, circa 1883.

Vesper - one of the oldest photos (I venture) of a Poughkeepsie Ice Yacht - circa early 1870s?.
Vesper appears in an 1861 listing of ice yachts sailing off Poughkeepsie.
A good representation of the style of construction from the 1860s.

A very early photo of John A. Roosevelt's Icicle. This is the big 68' version, with 1070 sq ft of sail.
This photo comes from his ice boat scrap book - it was affixed to the inside cover of the very large leather bound book.

Another shot of ICICLE, off Roosevelt Point, likely from the late 1870s.

Irving Grinnell, aboard Whiff. Here's a news piece from that time that I love

Ice Yacht Haze, circa 1876. Aaron Innis, mayor of Poughkeepsie, sailed Haze for many years. This is the early version, built much like Whiff, with her mast stepped directly over the runner plank; big jib; long overhang on the boom;
heavy wooden side rails.

Another shot of Haze, from 1879.

Haze again, this time from 1883; Here she has been rebuilt in the "Scott" design.
Haze captured the Ice Yacht Challenge Pennant of America in 1884 and 1885.

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Northern Light. She was owned by J.C. Barron of Poughkeepsie. She won the Ice Yacht Challenge Pennant of America in 1885, the 2nd race for it that season.

a great write up of ice sailing at the end of the 1890s: Norman Wright

John R. Roosevelt's Santa Claus.

E. Harrison Sanford's Avalanche - 841 sq ft and weighing 3000 pounds! Not long after this, a squall threw him unceremoniously from the boat. He promptly dismantled this lateen rig and had it rebuilt as sloop rigged.

Archibald Rogers' Jack Frost, circa 1900.

Fleet off of Roger's Rock; Jack Frost center.

Thomas Newbold with his yacht Blizzard. I believe Blizzard is an early version of Jack Frost that Archie Rogers sailed. When Rogers had a new Frost built, he renamed the older version Blizzard. Newbold was his neighbor in Hyde Park.
Here, Blizzard carries 560 sq ft of sail and is 39 feet in length.

Arctic. This boat was built around 1860 and sailed through the 1920s. She burned up in a fire on the Hyde Park dock in the 1920s. She was owned by many of the well known ice yachters through 50+ years of sailing.

Here is the historic yacht Robert Scott. This was the boat that Jacob Buckhout & Captain Relyea re-designed, using wire stays and a mast stepped forward of the runner plank. The result: a better balanced, better handled speedy yacht. This boat had 499 sq ft of sail and, on its first real race in 1881 with J.A. Roosevelt's Icicle ( the huge version), easily out sailed her. Harrison Sanford quickly purchased her and re-named her Great Scott - as seen here.

All photos are digital images I took from historic pictures at the FDR Museum & Library.