Happy Holidays 2022

 Happy Holidays! 

Wishing everyone smooth sailing in 2023!   Wheeee! 

some other holiday favorites...

From John A.Roosevelt's scrapbook 

Dust off Rudolphe...

More Glass slides - from Livingston Estate

 Some old glass slides courtesy of the Hudson River Maritime Museum, provide us with some new images of ice boating/ice motoring in the early 1900s.  I'm  still gathering more information on these, which were described as being acquired from "a reject pile at a house auction in the 1960s. "  Thank goodness for collectors/pack rats! 

These were noted as being from a Livingston estate, likely Charles Victor Livingston who lived in Ulster County, in a TuscanVilla-styled house on the shore, just south of where the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge now crosses.  Ricky Aldrich,  who knew Victor noted that he built both the ice yacht Rip Van Winkle and the 2 motorized ice yachts. Victor gave the Rip and another iceboat he built, Spider, to Ricky's father, in the 30s.

These first two are truly unique - a motorized ice yacht.  This is a one of a kind creation, likely circa 1910? George Buckhout was experimenting with a motorized ice boat around that time. Who knows if this ever had a chance to speed down the ice on the Hudson.  Those seats sure look comfortable!  

All images are  Courtesy of Hudson River Maritime Museum        HRMM

Clearly 2 different versions, Both bow steering;  Note the skeg that protects the front runner in first image.  

Rip Van Winkle is part of the Rokeby collection in Barrytown. It last sailed in March of 2014 off of Rokeby.  Early pictures of the Rip, and other Rokeby ice boats were subject of a previous post, Ice Yachts off Astor Point 

The Livingston slides collection has several earlier images of Rip. 

These appear to be taken on the ice just below Victor Livingston's house, on the west shore of the Hudson.

Ice Yachts  Prima,  Rip Van Winkle,  unknown.  early 1900s 

 Rip,   at Astor Point??

another unidentified ice yacht from Livingston collection. 

Rip Van Winkle (r) Aurora (L)  off Rokeby, March 2014.  (image courtesy Rueters news images)
 

Manhasset set up at Hudson Winter Walk

 Ice Yacht Manhasset was set up this past weekend for the annual "Winter Walk" festival in Hudson. It was the first full set up for Manhasset since its restoration. Rain in the afternoon and shifty winds in the evening prevented the main sail from being hoisted. She's a beauty. Always fun to talk to amazed festival attendees about the old yachts.  Lots of history to share about this 1906 George Buckhout built, gaff-rigger, double cock pit stern steerer.  Read about the restoration also.  

We hope to next get Manhasset onto the ice.  That would be its first time on the Hudson River! 

2 Pickup trucks with racks to bring all the pieces... 

Sorting out the rigging to step the mast.
Set up crew Chris, Dock, Reid, Sam, Bob & Frank.

                    Reid's Gin Pole was necessary to hoist the mast. 

                            Rains stopped just as the evening & event began.  

Happy Holidays!

2022 Annual Meeting of Hudson River Ice Yacht Club

 Join us for the Annual Meeting of the

                 Hudson River Ice Yacht Club 

Sunday, December 4, 2022

2:00 – 5:00 pm

Hudson Hall

327 Warren Street, Hudson, N.Y.

Join us for our Annual Meeting & Pot Luck; And, stop by to see a display of Ice Yacht Manhasset, a few blocks away at Olde Hudson, 449 Warren Street.

 

Pot Luck : Bring a covered dish, drink or dessert to share

Meeting at 3:30 pm

Election of Officers to take place – 

Note:  current Commodore (Bob Wills) and Treasurer (John Sperr) will be stepping down this year.   

Club dues ($25) are due

Vintage Glass Slides Discovered!

 An old friend who has been volunteering at the Hyde Park Historical Society let me know about several boxes of old glass slides of Ice Boats that were discovered.  A very cool find!  Many of the images are also found in the archives of the FDR museum & Library nearby in Hyde Park.  Still, access to some new images dating from 1880s to early 1900s is quite exciting. Plans are underway to use a proper scan tool to digitize these images, so that the 60+ slides images can be seen on-line.  These are some pictures taken with my phone of the glass slides. 

  E. Harrison Sanford's Avalanche, here, sloop-rigged;  circa 1888. 

 Irving Grinnell, aboard his Centennial yacht Whiff. 

Archibald Rogers' speedy yacht Ariel, 1893.  She sails today out of Orange Lake. 

Line up at the start of a race at Rogers Boat House, Hyde Park. 

Stepping the mast on Jack Frost (?)

Crew of the Icicle, John A. Roosevelt's champion yacht. Willie Smith (l); Robert Gibson (c); Thomas Scott (r);    Willie Smith often skippered Icicle in races, as well as being at the helm of Vixen, or Ellen Roosevelt's Flight in club races.  His yacht Greyhound, was on the ice this winter in Athens (2022).

Ice Yacht Scud, from the Red Bank Ice Boat & Yacht Club, capsized during the 1902 race for the Ice Yacht Challenge Pennant of America. 

Here's a view of what these glass plates look like and their size. 

 Excited to make accessible all the images from these glass slides.  Stay tuned!

Some more photos of Hudson River Ice Yachts on the Hudson River at Athens

Now that the ice boats are back safe in barns, garages and sheds, here are a few pictures from the past week or so. 

Many thanks to all those who share their images with me to help  Chronicle the sailing days of these historic craft.  

Greene County Historian & photographer Jonathan Palmer shared some wonderful photos. 

This next set is courtesy of and copyright by Jonathan Palmer. 

     Not the usual backdrop; that's the variety of the Athens shoreline. 

     Vixen cockpit, as seen from the plank. 

     Stepping the mast on Mary Ellen. 

      Dismantle time...

     Last day crew..  many sore backs...

Long time area resident and friend of HRIYC, Andy Wainwright has been shooting ice yachts on the Hudson  River since the 1980s.  

Longest active Club Skipper, Reid, with Vixen. 

Commodore Bob & club secretary, on Orion 

Happy Valentines Day!

 

Ice is unsafe! Boats coming off this weekend See Ice Conditions----------->

Super Bowl Sunday update:

--Ironically Super Bowl Sunday has traditionally been a day for ice boating. I recall many years of sailing all day & then watching the game later on that evening.  Members of our sailing club managed a day on the ice this year, but alas it was to dismantle and put the yachts away for the season.  Deteriorating, unsafe  ice at our access point on Murderers Creek, as well as forecast for rain & temperatures in the 50s mid week, led to the call to get the fleet off the ice.  We had the safety of a nearby cove to get the boats on shore.  A large crew helped get all boats off in the course of 4 hours Sunday.   

We marveled at the engineering of the lateen rigged frame of Vixen, dismantling parts crafted in 1885! 

Getting prepped to drop the mast on Boreas. 

Mary Ellen dates to the 1870s.... 

Galatea, dates to 1885 or so.  Many hands were needed to get her heavy backbone & plank off the ice,

2-12-22  update,  

Some very cold days ahead.  Might some of the fleet get a day or two more?? Ice check on Sunday to see...  Galatea adds a new( or quite old actually) set of sails... 

 

The warming spell has compromised the ice and don't look for any sailing here this weekend. 

This past week saw a few boats out on the ice. Wednesday was described as "Epic."  Beautiful ice, perfect winds and a full day of full speed runs from the village dock to the north end of Middle Ground Flats. By late in the day the warm temps led to softening ice, and the boats were carving deep grooves in the ice. Time to drop sail.  

photos courtesy of Bob Wills

Orion on the Hudson, off of the Stewart House, Athens 

Orion & Vixen, pausing during an Epic day on the ice, 2/9/22

Mighty Fine Day on the Ice! Sunday Feb. 6 Athens, NY

A mighty fine day for sailing on the frozen Hudson Sunday!  Sunshine, a stiff & steady wind, and a steady crowd of onlookers.  New Club boats showed up, including Boreas & Galatea.   Also several bow steerers:  Dns, An Arrow, Lockley Skimmers, Mike's home built bow steerer,  and skaters, and kite skiers.            Many first time iceboat rides were had. 

Had a chance to skipper Bob Will's Orion for a few sails, taking a couple that had been waiting since 2014 to catch a ride.  They were quite happy.  Reid gave many rides, non stop all day on Vixen. Bob took many guests on Orion and Greyhound, Mary Ellen and just rigged Galatea got friends out for rides.  A glorious day.  

Meanwhile sailing continues on Orange Lake, including A boat races between the Hudson River fleet and ice boats from the North Shrewsbury Ice Boat & Yacht Club. The Lake has similar surface conditions as the Hudson. Rumor has it Ice Queen swept the 2 races Sunday. 

Winds may be a bit too light the next few days to get through the thin layer of sticky crust.  But you never know - wind could be better than forecast. Will have to watch how the stretch of 40 degree days this week will impact thickness. Stay tuned...   

And, Sailing happening on Orange Lake also  - follow link

  HRIYC at Orange Lake 2-5-22 

Galatea Arrives (above). .... (below) Using an A frame style gin pole to step the mast.

A short bit of history/info on Galatea, including the infamous 'wreck of the Galatea'.

Boreas was built in New Hampshire in 1927 and sailed lakes in that region until it came to the Hudson Valley in the early 2000s.  Boreas is 24’ long with 198 sq ft of sail. It is marconi rigged.  

 

 Following photos, copyright & courtesy of Robert Near.  

Robert takes beautiful pictures & is generous in giving his permission to share them on this blog. 

my first sail this winter, on Orion, with my wife Lisa.  

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.  Length: 25’                 sail area:  230 sq ft

note tug & barge to the north; it just came around Middle Ground Flats after following channel up east side of river, off the city of Hudson.

 

Commodore Wills at the helm...
 

Lots of work goes into setting up the big yachts. Many hands helped out this weekend.