New Year, waiting for the ice

 January 17 - No ice yet;  stay tuned.  

February 2017 end of season;  as currently, more open water than ice....

Note - Ice Conditions has its own link - top of the right column on this page (you'll need to view 'web version' on your phone...) click on the photo with the German Shepard! 

a look at river freeze dates from way back.... imagine the river locked up for 100 days.... 

Clippings from John A Roosevelt's archives at the FDR Library

Ice sailing memories.... Guest articles from past commodores...

 Past HRIYC commodore (2013-2014) Chris Kendall, recounts his first sails on a Hudson River ice yacht. This originally appeared in Bard College's magazine Annandale, in 1993.   Chris' yacht "999" is currently on display at the  Henry A. Wallace Center at the FDR Presidential Library and Home in Hyde Park NY.

The 999 was owned by George Bodenstein, the last of the family to own and operate the Staatsburgh  Ice Tool Company, in Staatsburgh, NY, the small hamlet just north of Hyde Park.  It was was named for the famous locomotive, the "999", of the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad, that was clocked at a speed of 112 miles per hour in 1893. 

It is likely that she was built shortly after  1893. It is built along the style of the siderail design and uses iron rods for its rigging.    999 is maintained and sailed by former commodore, Chris Kendall, Rhinebeck.

Length: 26' 10"      Plank:  13'      Sail Area: 230 sq ft.    Year:  circa 1895

 

Blast from the past.  Fact checkers in the HRIYC went back to the archives to be sure this wasn't a piece of fiction.  Since Chris mentioned it, we found evidence of "the Wreck of the 999".   

 Chris readies 999 for a sail in brisk winds; winter 1992, Tivoli South Bay. 

Pesky cracks along the outflow of the Sawkill? 

 

Cushions, sails, safe, passengers dry!

AND,  30 years ago, another past commodore, Bob Wills, reflects on a memorable long distance sail from Rhinecliff to Germantown.   Read Bob's story here     (spoiler alert: he doesn't end up in the river...)

Happy New Year!

 

Ice Yachts at the FDR Welcome Center all rigged...

 No sign of cold here in the Hudson Valley, but you can still hope as you check out a trio of fully rigged historic Hudson River stern steerers. Come to the  Henry A. Wallace Center at the FDR Presidential Library and Home in Hyde Park NY.  Boats will be there through the first week of January 2024.   

Kriss,  Cyclone,  999   (l-r)   just enough space between the rafters!

      Cyclone,  999

    Set up crew after finishing rigging.    (only one of us had to go back home to retrieve the forgotten mast hoops...) 

At the home of the Vice Commodore (1908) of the Hudson River Ice Yacht Club....  

This Photo courtesy of Tom Smith.

Ice Yachts at the FDR historic site in Hyde Park, December 21- January 7, 2024.

 The Hudson River Ice Yacht Club will be displaying several ice boats at the FDR Library & Museum this holiday season. We will set up Kriss, Cyclone & 999 in the Henry A. Wallace Center at the FDR Presidential Library and Home. https://www.fdrlibrary.org/events-calendar

Set up day is Wednesday 12/20 and they will be on display through January 6, 2024. This will be the 3rd time we have partnered with the National Park Service to set up, display and educate about the historic Ice yachts of the Hudson River. We set up FDR's Hawk in 2016: We also participated in the Ice Boat Expo in 2014

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. For more information visit @hudsonrivericeboats on Instagram and www.hriypt.org. Come to Hyde Park - the display is free at the Wallace Visitor Center.

a bit about the 3 boats...

Kriss was built  in 1898 by George Buckhout of Poughkeepsie for John A. Roosevelt.  Like most of the antique ice yachts, it is a gaff-rigged sloop design. John A. Roosevelt, FDR’s uncle, was an avid ice boater, being one of the original members of the Poughkeepsie Ice Yacht Club (1861), and, later, commodore of the Hudson River Ice Yacht Club (1885). He had a small fleet of ice boats that sailed off of Roosevelt Point. His most famous ice yacht was Icicle, which was 4-time winner of the Ice Yacht Challenge Pennant of America. Roosevelt enjoyed sailing his smaller yachts, including Kriss, in his later years. His daughter, Ellen Crosby Roosevelt, was a skilled ice boat sailor, who occasionally raced Kriss.   Ex-commodore Robert Wills maintains and sails this boat.

John A. Roosevelt at the tiller of Kriss (not Vixen) on the Hudson, 1902

Length: 22’

Plank:  13’                

Sail area: 215 sq ft     

Cushions: Horsehair        

Year built: 1898

FDR’s uncle John A. Roosevelt, sailing Kriss, 1902.

 (above) Cyclone sails on the Hudson River near Barrytown, NY  2014

Cyclone was built by Charles Van Loan in Hyde Park, N.Y. in 1900 for Herman Livingston Rogers, son of Archibald Rogers. Rogers was a neighbor & good friend of the Roosevelt’s. The Rogers’ family had one of the largest collections of ice boats in the mid-Hudson area at the turn of the century.  Included among their boats was Archie Rogers’ Jack Frost, 4-time winner of the Ice Yacht Challenge Pennant of America.  Cyclone sailed the Hudson River off of the Rogers estate, Crumwold Hall in Hyde Park.      Cyclone is maintained and sailed by Brian & Lisa Reid of Red Hook.

 Length: 19’ 6” Plank:  13’ 10”    Sail area: 200 sq ft  Cushions: Horsehair        

 Year built: 1900

Herman Livingston Rogers, sailing Cyclone, off Hyde Park, 1901, He was about 9 years here.

Setting up Cyclone, at Rogers Point, on the Hudson, circa 1901.

Fun Fact: Herman Rogers later moved to France. He gave away Wallis Simpson at her marriage to the Duke of Windsor at Rogers’ estate in France in 1937. ( see a picture here)

Cyclone stayed in Hyde Park, and was sold at auction in the 30s when many items from the estate were sold.

999

The 999 was owned by George Bodenstein, the last of the family to own and operate the Staatsburgh  Ice Tool Company, in Staatsburgh, NY, the small hamlet just north of Hyde Park.  It was was named for the famous locomotive, the "999", of the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad, that was clocked at a speed of 112 miles per hour in 1893. 

It is likely that she was built shortly after  1893. It is built along the style of the siderail design and uses iron rods for its rigging.    999 is maintained and sailed by former commodore, Chris Kendall, Rhinebeck.

Length: 26' 10" 

Plank:  13' 

Sail Area: 230 sq ft.

Year:  circa 1895

Hudson Winter Walk 2023

 A nice turnout at Hudson's annual Winter Walk, first weekend of December.  The display team set up the Hudson River Ice Yacht WHIFF.  She's one of the oldest stern steerers around, built in 1875-76. 

Setting up Whiff,  November 30, 2023  

Some history of WHIFF    

She's 42 ft overall length

Images here of   Whiff  model,   built by Jacob Buckhout, circa 1876  

Whiff on Warren street......

Whiff, displayed at the Philadelphia Centennial

  November lecture on Hudson River Ice Yachts

Hyde Park Historical Society

Tuesday November 28, 2023

7 pm    Methodist church, 1 Church St, Hyde Park, NY 12538 Hyde Park. 

“Chasing the Ghost of Archie Rogers” 

‘Ice boating at Hyde Park- 19th century to the Present’ 

“Brian Reid is long time secretary  & club historian for the Hudson River Ice Yacht Club. He will talk about the history of ice yachting on the Hudson River & share vintage photos & videos of the historic ice yachts. He plans to include home movies of Crumwold Hall and the Rogers family ice boating off Rogers point. Come hear tales of races for 30 foot silk pennants & silver cups and the skippers of these unique racing ice yachts. “