I'm On A Boat!

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It is with great pleasure that I hand the reigns over to Dani today, who blogs about our recent journey on the Hudson River.  Heeeere’s Dani:

D.

For our annual summer staff outings, we always toast the successful season of Spring events just passed and have a pep-rally (of sorts) for a busy Fall events season. This year, the David Stark Design crew hopped aboard the historic Clearwater for a day of sailing. The Clearwater is a 106-foot cargo vessel modeled after Dutch cargo sloops of the 18th century. In 1966, folk music legend and environmental activist Pete Seeger, in despair over the pollution of his beloved Hudson River, announced plans to “build a boat to save the river.” The boat was commissioned to help restore the Hudson River to the national treasure it is. The sloop is a nationally-recognized symbol of environmental awareness and a floating classroom to inspire tomorrow’s environmental leaders. Forty-four years after its first sail, the Clearwater has accomplished numerous feats in river restoration, including educating over 500,000 school children on the importance of preserving and protecting the environment.
 
As guests of the infamous vessel, we not only learned about the Clearwater and the Hudson, but we had a little fun doing it! Ahoy matey!

 

 

 

Safety first. The lovely Juan shows us how to put on our life jackets in case of an emergency.

 

Getting motivated to raise the sail!

 

3,000 pounds of sail lying in wait.

 

 

Time to raise it!

 

 

 

 

Look who wore their nautical stripes!  Looking good, gang!

 

 

Whew! Sail is up.

 

Time to tack into the wind!

 

Steering the sloop with an iron, er, wooden fist.

 

Finally time to relax and listen to little other than sails flapping in the wind.

 

Guest Blogger: Dani Calkins

 

 

 

Is that Jersey?

 

 

Thankfully, we didn't have to open that chest.

 

Learning the skill and art of nautical knots.

 

 

 

It was a beautiful day for a sail. The threat of rain never materialized and being overcast, it never got too hot on board!  A big thanks to the captain and the entire crew of the Clearwater for making our day so special.

Dani.