JUNE SAILING CLASSES WERE A HIT, JULY CLASSES ARE JUST AROUND THE CORNER! OUR SAILING PROGRAM CONTINUES THE FIRST WEEKEND AND THE FIRST TUESDAY IN JULY! WE ARE ALSO EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE THE START OF FREE COMMUNITY SAILS THE FIRST SUNDAY OF EVERY MONTH STARTING SUNDAY JULY 5TH. EMAIL SLOOPCLUBSAILING@GMAIL.COM TO SIGN UP!
SUNDAY JULY 5TH:
TUESDAY JULY 7TH:
Riverkeeper Sweep! What a haul!
We had a wonderful time cleaning up Middle Ground Flats in Hudson with Riverkeeper last weekend, and an amazing group of volunteers. It was a beautiful day and we pulled nearly two tons of trash off the island! Thanks to DPW for the dump truck, the volunteers for all the heavy lifting, and Riverkeeper for helping us organize this day of service in Hudson! Also thanks to Gossips of Rivertown for helping us publicize and posting these photos from volunteer, Annik La Farge!
NY Rivers 2015 Boating Festival
May 16th and 17th from 10am-6pm. Free at the Hudson Waterfront. Activities for all ages. The Sloop Club will be there, along with many exciting river organizations. We will be offering rides on one of our sail boats, fishing on the shore and working on finishing a wooden boat we built. Join us!
http://www.nyriversboatingfestival.com
SATURDAY, MAY 9, 2015. 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Join the Hudson Sloop Club, Riverkeeper and the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse Preservation Society on May 9th for a cleanup of Middle Ground Flats!
Volunteers have two options to reach the Flats by boat:
RIDE OVER IN A POWER BOAT: If you plan on riding over in a power boat, meet at the Hudson City Dock at 9:00 AM for transportation to Middle Ground Flats OR
BRING YOUR OWN CANOE OR KAYAK: If bringing your own kayak or canoe, meet fellow volunteers at the Stockport Creek boat launch at the end of Station Road at 8:30 AM. PFDs are required.
We ask all Sweep volunteers to wear sturdy shoes or boots, clothing that they can get dirty, and to bring a hat, sunscreen, a reusable water bottle and snacks. This site is suitable for elementary-aged children with proper adult supervision.
Contact us with any questions!
More photos from HSC afterschool!
We did some DIY lofting last week, and transferred these small boat designs onto 5' by 10' sheets of plastic, to be folded, origami-like into functional boats!
Current Sloop Club After-School Projects!
The Sloop Club continues to run a weekly afterschool boat building program at the Hudson Intermediary School and the 5th and 6th graders there have been doing some amazing paper-boat design in preparation for completing their designs full scale in corrugated plastic.
Please Donate To The Hudson Sloop Club's After-School Program! #givingtuesday
We are raising money to fund our after-school programming at the Hudson Intermediary School. We just finished another wonderful semester building and designing boats, learning woodworking skills and collaborating with the students at the Hudson Intermediary School.
We need to raise $3000 by January 1st so that we can continue this programming in the spring. Please help us reach this goal by donating today! #givingtuesday
After-school Programming at the Hudson Intermediary School
Check out some of the educational programming we've been up to at the Hudson Intermediary School. Last Spring a group of 6th graders build this wooden punt and launched it at Oakdale (see video!). This Fall, a group of younger students, aged 7-10 have been developing their woodworking skills, learning about boats, buoyancy and hydrodynamics.
Wednesday July 9TH
Join Riverkeeper’s Kate Hudson, Watershed Program Director and Scenic Hudson for a presentation about the risks of crude oil transportation in the Hudson Valley on July 9, 2014. This presentation is being co-hosted by the Hudson Sloop Club and is made possible by the generosity of our venue host, Basilica Hudson.
The event is free, and the public is encouraged to attend.
Background: Until recently, there was little or no crude oil transported in the Hudson Valley. The growth of oil production in North Dakota and elsewhere has spurred industry to make the Hudson Valley into an international conduit for crude oil. Up to 5 billion gallons of crude oil is being transported through the Hudson Valley annually by train, barge and ship. All three transportation methods – what is being called by industry a “virtual pipeline” – could affect our communities and environmental resources. Spills, explosions and fires—some resulting in the catastrophic loss of life—have occurred elsewhere on this virtual pipeline. Further, proposed Hudson River oil facility expansions and the proposed development of a regional pipeline could increase the transport of crude oil locally by as much as 3.8 billion gallons annually.
- See more at: http://www.riverkeeper.org/news-events/events/rvk-events/community-meeting-on-the-risks-of-transporting-crude-oil-on-the-hudson/#sthash.DBQSjQs2.dpuf
Fish Fry Cancelled!
“Unfortunately folks the threat of rain and thunderstorms is forecast at 80% for tomorrow. So we’re going to pull the plug and freeze the fish. Stay tune for the next event hosted by the Hudson Sloop Club. Thanks for all your support.”
Second Annual Friday Fish Fry! MAY 16, 2014
May 16, 2014 from 5-7pm at Rick's Point on the Hudson Waterfront! Bring a boat, a fishing rod and a dish if you wish! Come kick off the 2014 season with the Hudson Sloop Club!
Sloop club offers program at M.C. Smith Intermediate School
Check out the full Register Star article here: http://www.registerstar.com/news/article_3d34db8a-becf-11e3-9a05-0019bb2963f4.html
Sixth-graders to build boat
Sloop club offers program at M.C. Smith Intermediate School
Posted: Tuesday, April 8, 2014 12:30 am
By John Mason Columbia-Greene Media |1 comment
Practical skill-building and a connection to Hudson’s river-going heritage will be fostered in a new program at M.C. Smith Intermediate School. Over the next nine weeks, a group of sixth-graders will build a traditional wooden boat, and, if all goes well, take it out on Oakdale Lake.
The class, which starts Wednesday, is being taught by members of the Hudson Sloop Club, led by Nick Zachos and Ed Csukas.
The dozen sixth-graders enrolled in the class will develop carpentry and construction skills, while learning about the cultures and histories of the Hudson River Valley, Csukas stated in an email, “from the Native Americans that first set out in dugout canoes to Hudson’s rich history as a maritime port and whaling center to the modern uses of the river.”
The class will meet for a half-hour lunch and hear stories about the history and ecology of the river, Zachos said. Then after school they’ll meet again, for two hours, “to dig into some hands-on construction.”
There will be three volunteers from the sloop club and one volunteer from the Hudson Afterschool Program, making four educators for 12 kids, he said.
The end-product may be a rowboat, or some other type of boat, Zachos said, depending on what the kids want to do. There will probably be “some messing around with materials, doing something new from scratch,” he said.
“Boat-building is a great way of doing educational projects,” he said. Participants get natural lessons in geometry, physics, chemistry and ecology, Csukas stated.
Making a traditional rowboat would be exciting for Zachos because it would involve soaking the wood to curve it, and would bring in some of the geometrical aspects of boat-making.
Another kind of boat that could emerge from the workshop is a flat-bottomed sailboat with a square sail and no keel. These were the boats used by the Vikings and the ancient Greeks, Zachos said; the more flexible Marconi or Bermuda rig sail, most familiar today, wasn’t popularized until the 17th century.
The class will also learn about the four archetypal boats common to every water-going culture: dugout canoes, reed boats, birchbark canoes, and skin boats.
Once the boat, whatever kind it is, is constructed, participants will carry it down the path that leads from M.C. Smith to Oakdale Lake, where it will be tested by adults for seaworthiness before being tested by students. All will be wearing life preservers.
The class got its start at Kite’s Nest last year.
“They gave us an amazing opportunity to teach a class in wooden boat-building,” Zachos said. “We taught the kids in the daytime and the adults in the evening, but we were all working on the same boat.”
A carpenter by trade, Zachos is also a sixth-generation boat builder. His Norwegian ancestors were building boats at least as long ago as the early 1800s.
Eventually the boats, made in Annapolis, Md., became known as Trumpy Yachts. Zachos’ uncle was the last family member to work there. The company is known for its pleasure yachts, but also for wartime vessels like PT boats — John F. Kennedy’s PT 109 may have been one of them.
It was only in the last few years that Zachos, after a boat-building workshop in Maine, turned to the family obsession.
Zachos and Csukas are founding members of the sloop club, a community-based boating organization dedicated to getting people out on the river and educating them about the river.
Although Hudson has a maritime history, there’s not a lot of connection to the river in its daily life, Zachos said. “You don’t see a lot of people out on the river,” he said. “Our idea is to bridge that gap, provide education and access to the river.”
The club is fundraising to restore boats it owns and to support educational programs, including summer camps and adult classes.
Go to http://hudsonsloopclub.org/how-to-get-involved/ to help fund this program and others planned for this year and learn more about the Hudson Sloop Club.
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To reach reporter John Mason, call 518-828-1616, ext. 2500, or e-mail jmason@registerstar.com.
Vermont Sail Freight Project and Hudson Sloop Club Potluck 10/14/13
Join us at the waterfront from 3-6pm on Monday October 14th for a potluck celebration! Bring a dish to share or a donation!
Rigging the "wide mouth froggy," our newest donated boat!
At this week's adult boat building class, some of us cleaned up the newest member of our fleet, a donated 17 foot sail boat from Barnstable, MA. Others started shaping the seats, mast and building the centerboard trunk and thwarts of our sailing skiff.
Hudson Sloop Club T-shirts and Sweatshirts!
Order your Hudson Sloop Club T-shirts and Sweatshirts by emailing hudsonsloopclub@gmail.com with:
1. Name and Shipping Preference: Ship or Pick-up (shipping will be free for indiegogo donors who won their gear as a reward, and $5.00 for others.)
2. Your Address if we are shipping your gear to you.
3. The quantity, size (we have XS through XXL) and color of your Ts and Hoodies (colors listed below).
4. How you would like to pay: Check or Cash in person at a pick-up date, PayPal online, or Check or Cash by Mail.
We will set up a pick up date for local people at a class or upcoming potluck, at which you can pay for and pick up your gear.
If you are having your gear shipped you can pay by mail or online. We have set up a Hudson Sloop Club Pay-Pal account which will accept all major credit cards.
Checks can be made out to: Hudson Sloop Club and mailed to 113 Union St. Hudson, NY 12534.
T-shirt colors: Classic Navy, Royal Heather, Charcoal Heather, Army Heather, Black, Brick Red, Classic Navy Heather
Sweatshirt colors: Army, Black, Dark Green, Royal Blue, Charcoal Heather, Navy, Red
Second Friday Monthly BBQ! July 12th, 5pm!
Join us this Friday to celebrate summer, the blooming berries and bringing our boats out onto the river! We will be down at Rick's Point from 5pm on. Please come join us!
We ate so many berries and enjoyed the cool weather and whipped cream. Thanks for coming down, and see you next time!
Join us this Friday!
Come to the Hudson waterfront this Friday! Join us, from 5pm on, in making a parade float and getting out on the water. Bring your boats, food to grill and your creativity. See you there!