Sail Through Art History

Sail Through Art History

Hudson River Voyages to benefit

The Rockland Center for the Arts and

the Edward Hopper House Museum & Study Center

Aug 23rd, 24th & Sept. 15^th, 2019

Participate in raising the sails and learn from the crew what it is like to live onboard.  Anyone ages 14 and older can participate.  Sailing is rain or shine, barring thunderstorms.

The Hudson River Clearwater Sloop, c. 1969, will leave from Piermont for two sails on either August 23 or 24^th, 5:30-8:30pm, for a sunset trip by the Tappan Zee and Mario Cuomo Bridge.

"The organization had its beginnings in 1966, a time when the Hudson was rank with raw sewage, toxic chemicals and oil pollution. Musician and activist Pete Seeger along with several friends had a vision to build a majestic replica of the sloops that sailed the Hudson in the 18th and 19th centuries that would bring people to the river where they could experience its beauty and be moved to preserve it. Inspired by that vision, the organization began with the launch of the sloop Clearwater in 1969 —a majestic 106-foot long replica vessel that is recognized today as America’s Environmental Flagship.

Today, Clearwater is carrying forward Pete Seeger’s legacy, partnering with schools and community leaders to raise the bar of environmental education, realizing that this time the health of the Hudson River must go hand in hand with creating a sustainable world of green jobs in a green economy. Clearwater’s unique approach to public outreach has made the sloop Clearwater a symbol of grassroots action through hands-on learning, music and celebration." 

Bring your own art supplies; small materials like sketch books and cameras are encouraged (no access to running water onboard.)

The Pioneer, a restored 1885 iron-sided schooner, owned by South Street Seaport Museum, leaves from Haverstraw for two sails, on September 15^th, either 1:00-4:00 and 5:00-8:00pm, for a sunset trip to Croton Bay north of Hook Mountain. The crew will trawl for Hudson River creatures so passengers can handle them and study them up close.  (Rain or Shine)

"In the days before paved roads, small coastal schooners such as Pioneer were the delivery trucks of their era, carrying various cargoes between coastal communities: lumber and stone from the islands of Maine, brick on the Hudson River, and oyster shell on the Chesapeake Bay. Almost all American cargo sloops and schooners were wood, but because she was built in what was then this country’s center of iron shipbuilding, Pioneer had wrought-iron hull. She was the first of only two cargo sloops built of iron in this country, and is the only iron-hulled American merchant sailing vessel still in existence.

By 1930, when new owners moved her from the Delaware River to Massachusetts, she had been fitted with an engine, and was no longer using sails. In 1966 she was substantially rebuilt and turned into a sailing vessel once again. Today she plies the waters of NY Harbor carrying adults and children instead of cargo in her current role as a piece of “living history.”

Proceeds from this event will benefit both Rockland Center for the Arts and Edward Hopper House Museum & Study Center and their educational outreach programs.

Tickets are $70 (for Hopper House or RoCA members) $85 for non-members and can be purchased by calling Edward Hopper Museum at 845-358-0774 or visit http://www.edwardhopperhouse.org/sail.html.

Rockland Center for the Arts is located at 27 S Greenbush Rd., West Nyack, NY 10994.  Business hours are:  Mon-Fri 10-4; Sat and Sun 1-4pm (closed holidays). 

RoCA’s programs are made possible, in part, with funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.