ice boating on the hudson, the wreck of Galatea

Frogma, Tugster, Hudsonian and Bowsprite walked into a bar…but before that, well, best to read it on Tugster and Frogma!

I cannot say enough what luxury it is when, should a boat break beneath you, you can walk around it’s splintered cockpit, lay out the mast and boom on the surface over which you were just sailing swiftly over, and unbend sails while folks walk over to the boat to help. And such a warm group! Many thanks to everyone at Tivoli Bay and to John Sperr of the Hudson River Ice Yachts Club, for an exhilarating day—really much more adventure than expected!

Tip: while unrigging a broken boat, keep your lines free of shackles and blocks as you will need the ropes to ‘field dress’ your boat to push back to shore.

frazil ice

Sorry, no sound. The slushing of the salty icewater is mesmerizing, but the camera picked up too much wind. This is taken just north of pier 40 on North River where the noble fireboat McKean and the beautiful steamship Lilac, the old USCG lighthouse tender are docked.

Could any of this have drifted down by some shaking going on upstream? See Tugster icebreaking on Rondout Creek with Matt and the tug Cornell.