In the Dutchess County Spotlight
Two Hundred Years of Ice Yachting on the Hudson River
The Beacon Sloop Club (BSC) presents “Two Hundred Years of Ice Yachting on the Hudson River” with Brian Read on Friday, February 12, at 7pm. Part of the 2010 BSC Environmental program, it's held at the BSC, located by the ferry dock in Beacon. Admission is free. Think Ice!
Brian Reid has been iceboating since his first ride on the Hudson River at Rhinecliff in 1990. He is currently commodore of the Hudson River Ice Yacht Club, which is dedicated to sailing and preserving the antique ice yachts of the Hudson River Valley, where the sport developed in the early 1800s. His talk covers the beginnings of ice boating on the river through current times, touching on the sport's major figures and centers, the thrilling races for silver trophies and, most importantly, where one can come and get a sail this winter. Old slides, race photos and short videos are shown.
The Hudson River Ice Yacht Club preserves a tradition of ice boating brought to the Hudson Valley by the Dutch. Until the invention of the automobile, ice yachts were the fastest vehicles on the planet. It was a sport of the wealthy that drew participants from the ranks of the rich and famous, including the Roosevelts, who became staunch enthusiasts of the sport. The Club was formed in 1885, following a rift among members of the Poughkeepsie Ice Yacht Club, which, in 1860, was the first US ice yacht club. FDR’s uncle John A. Roosevelt was a founding member and first commodore of the club. (For more on FDR's home and the Presidential Library & Museum in Hyde Park see www.nps.gov/HOFR and www.FDRLibrary.marist.edu )
In1964 the club was reorganized by Raymond Ruge, an avid champion of the sport of ice boating. As other forms of transportation and recreation predominated in the early 20th century, ice yachting became a sport of the common man. Club members now work throughout the year on the maintenance of their boats, with the optimism that conditions will be just right for the river to freeze thick enough to sail across the ice. When the opportunity presents itself, die-hard ice yachters describe the unparalleled thrills of racing across the frozen river, ice chips flying in their faces and the cold wind howling by them as they sail the historic ice yachts of New York’s Hudson Valley. The Club continues to preserve, maintain and sail these antique, gaff-rigged yachts of the nineteenth century, including Jack Frost (circa 1883), which, at 50 feet in length and carrying 750 sq. ft of sail, is the largest gaff-rigged ice yacht in the world.
For more on area sports and athletes, visit the Sports Museum of Dutchess County, at Carnwath Farms, off Wheeler Hill Road in Wappingers Falls. www.SportsMuseumdcny.org
The Beacon Sloop Club, an all-volunteer, non-profit organization, promotes public access to the Hudson River. The first Friday of every month is potluck, 6:30pm, and meeting, 7:30pm, and open to all. For information call 845-476-6674, 845-542-0721 or www.beaconsloopclub.org
