Clearwater’s first sloop captain dies in accident

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Capt. Allan Aunapu, Pete Seeger, courtesy of Clearwater

BEACON – The first captain of the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater was killed in an accident in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday, February 11, the organization announced.

Allan Aunapu, 79, was riding his electric bicycle at the time of his death.

An accomplished musician in addition to being an expert sailor, he took to the helm as the Sloop Clearwater’s skipper on its maiden voyage in 1969.

The first crew was composed mostly of musicians, including Pete Seeger, Don McLean, and first mate Gordon Bok.

They sailed from Maine down the coast to New York Harbor stopping along the way to give fundraising concerts. The musical crew was dubbed the “Hudson River Sloop Singers” and gave over 20 concerts during that first voyage, including a stop at the Newport Folk Festival that July.

Aunapu was the grandson of an Estonian sea captain who sailed square-riggers. Aunapu was also the first captain of the schooner Mystic Whaler, which he sailed to the Newport Folk Festival where he met Seeger in the summer of 1968.




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