I am a little late in recognizing that this year marks the 20th anniversary of the last race for the Van Nostrand cup.  While this has been a forgettable winter in the Hudson Valley for ice boating - let alone racing - 20 years ago - the winter of 2003 - was exceptional for the historic ice yachts of the club,  culminating in a race for what is arguably the most valuable sippy cup on earth - the Gardner Van Nostrand Ice Yacht Challenge Cup of America. What is this cup & what is some kid doing sipping from it???                   ..read more

 As we lament the lack of ice and a proper winter, let's not forget the definition of an Iceboat:  Tip of the hat to Henry Bossett, who found the quote.   ..read more

 Sacandaga is actually a reservoir in the southeastern foothills of the Adirondacks, and a fleet of 'A' boats traveled to this big ice for the first time.  Sacandaga is typically snow covered, but this winter's lack of snow gave a small window to sail for a weekend.  The Lawrence's set up Whirlwind and Ice Queen;  Reid assembled Vixen & Brett got the old Wrigley boat Genevieve rigged and sailing. There were also a variety of bow steerers, DNs, an arrow, a few skeeters.  Saturday provided gusty winds and all the assembled got in some great sailing, according to re ..read more

from the Ray Ruge collection; Courtesy of the Hudson River Maritime Museum. A History Blogpost from the Hudson River Maritime Museum: https://www.hrmm.org/history-blog/the-making-of-an-iceboater    This is a  reminiscence written by  Ray Ruge in the 1980s, about his early memories of iceboating - part of the Ray Ruge collection at HRMM.  Pretty cool to hear the experiences of one who lived through the transition from the old stern steerers and on to sailing the "new" bow steerers. Ray went on to be a champion racer through the '30s and '40s, and spearheade ..read more

 Happy Holidays!  Wishing everyone smooth sailing in 2023!   Wheeee!  some other holiday favorites... From John A.Roosevelt's scrapbook  Dust off Rudolphe ..read more

 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 ..read more

 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 ..read more

 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 Treasure ..read more

 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.    ..read more

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.      ..read more