Clearwater is lowered in the Hudson at Albany
KINGSTON – The Clearwater organization will celebrate the re-launch
of the iconic sloop at a ceremony on July 4th at Waryas Park in Poughkeepsie.
The event will begin at 5:30 p.m. and at 7, there will be an inaugural
sail.
The boat underwent a US Coast Guard-mandated hull restoration at a cost
of $850,000. The group must still raise $103,000 to pay for the work.
Once the restoration was completed recently, the boat was transported
by barge to Albany, where it was placed in the Hudson River to allow the
new oak planks to swell.
Once the sloop is buoyant, it will transit back to Kingston under its
own power. At the homeport there, the crew will up-rig the lines and sails,
as well as reinstall the galley, captain’s cabin, and the hold –
including the head, readying the boat for its first sails in July.
The sloop was first launched in 1969 by the late Pete Seeger and friends.
It was the legendary folk singer’s dream to build a sloop like those that
traveled the rivers in days gone by.
