RHINECLIFF- The Hudson River Ice Yacht Preservation Trust has been granted a five-year Provisional Charter by the New York State Board of Regents. Their application for Not-For-Profit status with the Internal Revenue Service is under review and will allow the organization to begin efforts to restore, preserve, and display historic ice sailing craft from the 1800s that at the time were the fastest vehicles on earth, and solely powered by the wind.
“Climate change and warming winter temperatures have limited the opportunities to sail these craft over the ice of the frozen Hudson River, threatening their existence with irrelevance,” says Robert Wills, President of the HRIYPT. “That, along with the advancing age of current boat owners could mean the loss of this important piece of history, and the lessons it can teach us about propulsion without fossil fuels. Now is the time to act to preserve the boats and use them to educate the public and hopefully a future generation of ice boaters.”
To learn more about the Hudson River Ice Yacht Prevention Trust, visit their website at https://www.hriypt.org/.
