30 years ago - Blizzard of 1996

 I saw a weather post today about memories of the January 7-8 blizzard 30 years ago when 2+ feet of snow dropped on the Eastern US. That brought back memories! On January 7,  John Hardeman & I set up Flicker - which we had acquired that Fall - on the Hudson River at Barrytown. Jim Kricker & crew set up Greyhound, and Doc Pletcher brought his Lockley Skimmer up from Poughkeepsie. Winds were brisk at times & John & I took turns getting used to our small catboat. I gave rides to a handful of brave souls that came down on a bitter day.  Ken Migliorelli and I had several nice sails. I do recall seeing Greyhound out toward the channel doing a 360 - flicker - and watching all occupants of the cockpit flying across the ice. Skipper and passengers quickly recovered and were sailing again in short order.   

       Flicker with Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge to the south. The snow line is beginning to obscure the span.

Mid morning January 7,1996:  Greyhound crew assembles the boat for a frigid day of sailing. 

Jack Weeks, Jim Kricker, Emerson Burger, Todd Scheff, Mike Corey? 

                                Bud Pletcher's Skimmer was a great boat that day for the conditions.

 I guess we knew a storm was approaching and can't say I realized how major it would be. I recall seeing the Rhinecliff Bridge clearly to the south - about a mile or so - around mid day. A bit later it was clear the storm was working its way north and what seemed like a gray fog enveloped the bridge. By 3 or so the view of the Bridge disappeared all together and flakes began to come down heavily. We scrambled to dismantle Flicker and get her tied down on my old Saab.  I barely managed to drive home to Tivoli, about 5 miles north.  My weather notes from old calendars:

Jan 7 : Flicker on at Barrytown black ice; sailed 11- 4;  Blizzard sets in from the south - dismantle in heavy snow storm  5 degrees winds gusty10-20

Jan 7-8  20-24” blizzard

                                            Sailing off Barrytown-on-Hudson; Doc Pletcher along for a ride.

Greyhound, circa 1905, was originally owned and sailed by Willie Smith, of Poughkeepsie. Smith was often at the helm of John A. Roosevelt's Icicle in the races for the Ice Yacht Challenge Pennant of America. In later years he sailed this 6th class yacht in races with the Hyde Park Ice Yacht Club.

I think Jim Kricker is at the helm here. Greyhound is currently on the ice at Tivoli South Bay, 1-8-2026, 30 years after this pre-blizzard sail.

I miss those blizzards from the past... Anyone else recall that storm?

Flicker ( formerly HIC) is a Westchester One Design Class, designed by Robert Mueller , one of the founders of the Eastern Ice Yacht Association. She was built circa 1940 and was part of a fleet of 5 that sailed and raced at Peach Lake in Westchester county. John Childs had her and sailed her with the Westchester Ice Sailing Club. There is one other surviving example of this class that still sails at Peach Lake on occasion.

Boats on the River!

 Yes,  Tivoli South Bay, Barrytown, is part of the tidal river, though separated by the Railroad tracks from the main river channel. 3 bridge trestles along the length of the Bay allow the tide to visit 2x a day. At times parts of the ice surface sits on the muddy bottom.  It's about a mile long and 1/3 of a mile wide. We've been sailing here since the early 80s and were last on Tivoli Bay on New Years day 2018. 

After these cold weeks and ice building there are 2 old stern steerers ready to go. Now if we just get some wind...    We had another 2 inches of snow overnight into Sunday. 7 inches of ice in many spots. Snow is a bit sticky.  A few more cold days before a thaw arrives. The rain and warmer temperatures may smooth out the surface nicely when cold returns. 

Greyhound, originally from the Hyde Park Ice Yacht Club circa 1905, got out with sails up, but needed a team to push her around.  It was a beautiful afternoon and it was wonderful to see a small crowd of kids, dogs, skaters and iceboaters on Tivoli Bay again.   The small stern steerer from Maine is also ready.  Wind forecast is not too promising these next few days unfortunately.  

No ice on the River proper that I know of.   Small boats - DNs, Arrows, small skeeters - are on many lakes in the greater region including Saratoga Lake, Round Lake, Stockbridge Bowl, Orange Lake & Budd Lake NJ,   Let's look to great conditions after this thaw. 

Ice Boats at FDR Library & Museum 2025-26

 The Hudson River Ice Yacht Club is again displaying several ice boats at the FDR Library & Museum this holiday season. We kick off the season on Saturday, December 20. Stop by and visit!!

          Whiff, sailing off Athens, NY Feb. 2001 ( Lee Ferris photo)

This year we are celebrating the 150th year of Irving Grinnell's Centennial yacht "Whiff."  Described by the Poughkeepsie Eagle (May 1876) as "the finest ice yacht in the world," Whiff is one of the oldest and most elegant boats in the fleet of the Hudson River Ice Yacht Club. 

      

Whiff was built for display at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial. She's been restored and cared for by the Hudson River Ice Yacht Club for the last 60+ years.  More about Whiff here. 

        Bob Wills recently carved the gryphon for the bow sprit of Whiff, continuing long time restoration work.  

As reported in the Poughkeepsie Eagle  in May 1876:  

Her name is “Whiff” written upon the stern in fancy nickel plated letters, while her figure head is a very handsome flying dragon with open wings, a long tail, a stretched-out neck, and covered with heavy scales, slightly gilded….the whole of it superbly carved out of solid black walnut.

      Set up crew figuring out how to step the mast in the display room at FDR.

    Whiff sailed under the burgee of the New Hamburgh Ice Yacht Club

After careful adjustments and placements, Whiff's sail is fully set.  It stretches high into the rafters.  

                                                                                                          photo courtesy of Maggie McNamara
Whiff      built, 1876   Length: 40’   sail area:  369 sq ft

Alongside Whiff this year, we will display a "modern" ice boat. Zip is a Mead Skeeter, circa 1940. The skeeter class is actively raced today and Zip is a very early version of this bow steering 75 sq ft class iceboat. She was restored by Bob Wills several years ago, and sailed on Stockbridge Bowl in 2024.

Boats will be set up by Saturday 12/20 and will be on display through January 4, 2026. This will be our third year sharing antique vintage ice yachts along with informational displays, videos, and members of the Club answering questions. 

 The boats can be seen -- with full rigging -- in the Henry A. Wallace Center at the FDR Presidential Library and Home, during regular operating hours (9:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.), with free admission. The facilities are closed on Christmas and New Years Day. Come to Hyde Park - the display is free at the Wallace Visitor Center.  

More info from the Hudson River Ice Yacht Preservation Trust 

Consider a donation for preservation efforts, and/or join our gala Jan 3, 2026.

Ice boating on the St. Lawrence River

A weekend in Northern New York...

 My wife & I, representing HRIYC, set up a table on ice yachting at the Small Craft Festival at the Antique Boat Museum in Clayton NY,  on Oct 11.    ABM is a wonderful small museum with an  extensive collection of rowing skiffs, antique motor boats, outboards, canoes, and much more. Past commodore Bob Wills had made a connection with the Museum early this year and they have a nice exhibit on ice boating on the St Lawrence, including some items we loaned for the exhibit.   

One wall of the Iceboat exhibit at Antique Boat Museum, in Clayton, NY. 

Ice Yachting trophies:

HRIYC trophy (c) for Rainbow 1904.

MMGCC (?) trophy 1st in class, 1963

A few pictures of Ice Yachts off Clayton, on the St. Lawrence River, circa 1910-20.

Our display table, featuring Reid Bielenberg's model of Sappho, the Athens ice yacht, circa 1870. 

One of the rewarding aspects of setting up ice boat displays or doing a talk on the history is the opportunity to meet folks who have a story to tell or their own experiences on iceboats in the past. You never know.     We met several folks who recalled friends or relatives sailing the river in long ago winters. Lisa talked with a woman a number of years older than us who wasn't familiar with ice boats but recalled riding horse drawn sleds across the ice.  Like the Hudson River, winters have been much milder in recent years and the St. Lawrence does not freeze reliably. Last winter though, it did freeze over, the first time in awhile. 

The day after our time in Clayton, we stopped in nearby village of Cape Vincent, and went to the local village museum. Volunteers Rick & Karen were happy to see us and when they heard our story about the Iceboat display in Clayton the previous day, they immediately turned us onto to their archives of iceboat items!

All images courtesy of Cape Vincent Historical Museum

Sailing as early as 1898, off Cape Vincent. No doubt they sailed between Canada & US.  Cape Vincent is where the St Lawrence meets Lake Ontario, or the other way around... 

 

A scene as described by the elderly visitor the day before in Clayton. 

A set of runners and an old model where on display along with ice tools and an old Ambulance.

 

An old  album contained a nice collection of photos of ice boats off of Cape Vincent and Clayton. 

circa 1940s - 1950s

trussed planks on most boats. 

an E skeeter is part of this line up.

races clearly drew large crowds here... 

 Rick - museum volunteer - noted that he remembers the ice boats racing in his youth (50s) - though he didn't sail. He did make a crude ice sail to use with his skates. He recalled skate sailing with a buddy from Cape Vincent to Clayton - approximately 15 miles!

My favorite pictures from the Ice Boat scrapbook.  Rick noted that most winters an ice bridge was established from Cape Vincent to Wolfe Island, across the river in Canada. The crossing closed after the first car went through the ice. I haven't found pictures like this on the Hudson yet! 

Barn Find!

Well, not exactly a barn find, but a request to retrieve an old stern steerer and to find a good home for it.  

In the rafters for at least 40 years....

Thanks to HRIYC member Maggie McNamara who connected the Club to a former colleague of hers.  The family was looking to get the family ice boat out of their garage. Maggie put them in touch with Bob Wills & the Ice Yacht Preservation Trust about donating the boat to the Trust. The family just wanted it to be fixed up and maintained and sailed. We agreed and recently pulled together a team to remove it and find a new home. Aeolus will be restored and hopefully ready to sail soon. 

History:

Aeolus was built circa 1981. She's a "new" traditional  stern steerer. The late Jim Neilson built her to plans sketched up by none other than Ray Ruge.  

Jim and family lived on the Hudson River in Port Ewen, often sailing out of the Hidden Harbor yacht Club, just south of the Roundout Creek in Kingston. There was a contingent of ice yachters in the late 70s and early 80s sailing on that west side of the Hudson.   

      Ray Ruge at the helm of Ariel, off Hidden Harbor, 1981. (image from the Ray Ruge collection at the HRMM)  

 Ray acquired Archie Rogers prized yacht Ariel from Port Ewen resident Warren Spinneweber. As I understand, he traded an Arrow for the historic stern Steerer. As I also surmise, several Yachts from the Rogers estate went to Port Ewen after the auction of ice yachts from the Rogers estate Crumwold, that took place in May of 1942. Ariel & Cyclone ended up in the Port Ewen area and are still sailed to this day.  

These two pictures must be from the same time period as above shots. I made images from photos of a woman I met in Port Ewen who had some old sails. The sails didn't pan out but she shared these pictures. I can't identify the boats for sure. 

oh yeah, the barn find.... 

40 years of debris, dust, raccoon droppings....   

Backbone carefully lowered around a,  shall we say,  quite full garage...

dry wall, and did we mention raccoons??

Plank & Spars

Plank & backbone loaded on Bob's truck. 

       Offloading at Schooner Capt Sam's shipping container, to be set up and polished soon!  

 

We seem to have all the pieces, including sails. 

Aeolus appears in the 1982 registry of iceboats of the Hudson River Ice Yacht Club.  

Length: 27'      plank: 14'7"      sail area: 240 sq ft.    gaff rigged

Dimensions are very similar to Aurora, a boat Ray Ruge had found and brought into the club years earlier. I had heard Aeolus' design was based on Aurora.  Curiously Jim's widow noted she didn't know it as Aeolus -  they just called it "The Iceboat."  As far as I know she was never sailed on Tivoli Bay or Barrytown, where much of the HRIYC fleet sailed in the 80s & 90s. 

 

Aurora.  Capt Frank at the helm. Astor Point 2014.  Aurora is a bit longer and also has 240 sq ft of sail.   Henry Bossett photo

 

Ray Ruge with Jim Neilsen, Hidden Harbor 1981.  Ray's putting on his creepers on Ariel's plank. Bob Clark's Tyro in the background.   Below, Tyro sailing south of the Rondout Lighthouse, 1985. 

These 2 pictures from John Clark's ice boating scrapbooks.  I'm hoping to find a picture of Aeolus rigged and sailing on the ice.