Rondout Creek/ Kingston,NY June 1-2,2016

100 miles up the Hudson River from New York Harbor are the river towns of Kingston and Connelly, NY. Separated by Rondout Creek, they are fiercely proud of their maritime history. While we were waiting for the 11am opening of the Hudson River Maritime Museum, we were encouraged to check out the traditional sailing vessel being refurbished next door in the shipyard. The 100+ foot sloop “Clearwater” was the project underway. Since January she has had all the oak planks below her waterline replaced. The young man who eagerly guided us through the project noticed the WoodenBoat symbol on my cap and connected us to Maine. He was from Bangor! Small world. (The sloop “Clearwater” is a Sea Education vessel, much like the schooner “Harvey Gamage” that some of my 8th graders and I crewed for 10 days from Islesboro, ME to Nantucket, MA and back. We all have vivid memories of that experience!) Once she has all her layers of bottom paint, “Clearwater” will be ready to go back in the water. But there is a small hitch... the closest Travelift capable of returning a ship of this size and weight to the water is 55 miles away in Albany. It is no accident that “Clearwater” has been refit sitting on a barge... with a tug standing by. We on “Summertime” are about to make that exact trip. Albany is our next port of call.

By now the museum had opened, so we headed back across the shipyard. We were totally unprepared for the variety of river-related subjects displayed inside: Native American dug-out canoes, the story of the Dutch explorer Henry Hudson and his ship “Half Moon”, tugs and tows, ice-breakers, brick kilns, lighthouses, ferries, paddle boats, and a most unexpected subject... ice boats. Next to actual ice boats on display, a video showed the majestic stern-steered ice yachts of days-gone-by scooting along the glistening surface of the frozen river. But the video took on a new dimension when a 90 year-old women appeared to tell her story. Growing up in a family of boys who joined their father for ice boating excursions on a regular basis, she had wistfully wished that she could be included, too. Alas, for girls and women, that was not to be. Asked by an ice boat owner if she would still be interested in having an ice boat ride, her acceptance of the offer was immediate. With a big grin, she dashed to get all the warm clothes she could find. Laying prone in the ice boat basket, she and the driver were off and away! What a thrill that must have been after waiting all those years.

Written and Created By Darcy Campbell