All aboard again

Clearwater’s board president Steve Stanne

BEACON, NY — On May 17, 1969, at a shipyard in Maine, the sloop Clearwater set sail on a mission to connect people to the Hudson River. Fifty-two years later, on the anniversary of that milestone, that mission continued.

“The idea of this boat is to get people on the river and show them how beautiful it is,” Clearwater’s current captain, Nick Rogers, said on May 17, 2021. “The beauty is what makes them take care of it.”

That afternoon, the Clearwater sailed with ticketed passengers for the first time since Oct. 26, 2019. The number of passengers was limited to 25 — half the usual total — due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic was also the reason for the 19-month pause.

The sail was for members of the nonprofit that owns and operates the 106-foot wooden sloop. Five days earlier, Clearwater announced the return of public sails, educations sails, and private charters, with the 25-passenger limit.

Despite the reduced capacity, the usual Clearwater traditions continued, including the hoisting of the mainsail and the moment of silence, which ended with Clearwater’s board president, Steve Stanne, performing three songs, culminating with “Sailing Down My Golden River” by Clearwater founder Pete Seeger.

In 2019, Clearwater hosted 175 sails on the Hudson River. Starting in 2020, the organization began offering online programs, including virtual field trips. The longest trip, called “Our River Connects Us,” unfolded on social media as the sloop sailed for 11 days from Albany to New York Harbor.

Clearwater’s signature annual event, The Great Hudson River Revival, shifted from a two-day in-person festival to a one-day series of online performances in 2020. On June 19, the revival will again be online and again be free.

The current sailing season continues until Sept. 6, followed by a restoration of the sloop. For that restoration, Clearwater plans to launch a fundraising campaign, according to the organization’s director of operations, Erin Macchiaroli.

On May 19, on board the sloop, a video was filmed for the song “High Over the Hudson,” which Kim and Reggie Harris wrote about the passing of Pete Seeger in 2014, at age 94.

Following that filming, Macchiaroli cited Seeger, sailing, music, and activism as the reasons for the connections between Clearwater and its supporters.

“People seem to truly feel something by being part of the Clearwater community,” she explained. “The community is inclusive, grassroots, and often looking to roll up their sleeves to do the hard work required to keep a wooden sloop sailing and keep the river clean. Clearwater, the sloop, has become a symbol of hope, progress, and change — and I believe that's something all of our members, donors, and supporters can feel proud of.”