HUDSON RIVER MARITIME MUSEUM
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News

Maritime Museum Hosts Outdoor Community Event Ahead of 25oth Revolutionary War Commemoration

6/11/2025

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jen Bousliman/Development Manager/[email protected]

Event: Revolution Rumblings on the Rondout (1775)
Date: Saturday July 26th 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Location: Hudson River Maritime Museum - Kingston, NY

Pricing:
FREE - Historical lecture with re-enactors and Brass Band 
Discounted Museum pricing for non-members, FREE for members 
Solaris boat tours priced per website
BBQ available for purchase

Event Description: As we prepare for the 250th anniversary of the Revolutionary War next year, this event takes a look at 1775, the year before the Revolution began. What was happening here on the Rondout? Were people thinking about revolution? And how was life about to change forever?

The event includes:
-A lecture on the Revolutionary War with Senior HRMM Educator Jack Loesch
-Historical re-enactors
-Live outdoor music from the Yankee Brass Band
-Chicken BBQ Dinner Options
-Boat tours of strategic military points of interest aboard our solar powered vessel Solaris

Solaris Boat Tour Schedule:
4:15 PM
5:00 PM
5:45 PM

Solaris tours can be booked in advance at hrmm.org

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Open House for Aspiring Sea Scouts Hosted by HRMM

6/3/2025

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: [email protected]

Date: Thursday, June 12, 2025 at 7:00 pm
Date: Thursday, June 26, 2025 at 7:00 pm

KINGSTON, NY. For over 100 years Sea Scouting (an affiliate of the Boy Scouts of America) has promoted better citizenship and improved members’ boating skills through instruction and practice in water safety, boating skills, outdoor, social, service experiences, and knowledge of our maritime heritage. The program is for all youth ages 14-20.

This June the Hudson River Maritime Museum will be hosting two open house events where aspiring Sea Scouts can learn more about the program. Each event will be led by Skipper Bill Eggers and the Sea Scout Ship 609. With over 7 years of experience leading youth sailing, Bill will share the many benefits of the Sea Scouting program. Sea Scouts gain hands-on boating and water safety skills, explore maritime careers, and connect with our rich nautical heritage. It’s a place to learn, grow, and build unforgettable friendships.
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Maritime Museum Offers Summer Walking & Driving Tours Exploring Local History

5/14/2025

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Emma Cariell0, [email protected]

Kingston NY, The Hudson River Maritime Museum continues it’s summer season of educational programming with two new tours exploring local history in Kingston and beyond. Tickets for tours can be purchased at hrmm.org

Rondout Waterfront Walking Tour
Date and Time: Saturdays at 3:00 PM through September
$10 per person / $8 for HRMM members (museum admission not included)

Have you ever been curious about downtown Kingston’s industrial history? Have you wondered what the creek was like in its heyday, when business was booming? Come enjoy a walking tour of the Rondout waterfront from the Hudson River Maritime Museum. You’ll learn about the D&H Canal and its contributions to the area’s culture, the different types of boats that have sailed the creek, the businesses that called this area home, and more. Our tours meet right in front of the museum. Admission to the museum is an extra fee charged at the standard rate.

​
Delaware and Hudson Canal Driving Tour
Dates: June 21 and September 13, 2025. 10:00 am-5:00 pm
$48/person (includes admission to three museums)

Learn about the industries that made this country on a behind-the-scenes tour from the comfort of your own car. Join us for an informative driving tour of Kingston and beyond. Begin your day at the Hudson River Maritime Museum and receive a guided tour. Then hop in your car and listen to our pre-recorded guide discuss Kingston and Rosendale’s past industrial lives and the remnants of those lives that are still visible today. Your next stop will take you to the Century House in Rosendale. Admire the Widow Jane Quarry, where workers of the past removed cement rock by blasting and digging. Check out the Century House’s museum with a docent and learn all about Rosendale cement. Finally, head to the D&H Canal Historical Society’s museum where historian Bill Merchant will chat with you about the canal’s history and its importance to the Hudson Valley. The tour will begin at HRMM in Kingston and end at the D&H Canal Museum in High Falls. Bring your own lunch!
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Hudson River Maritime Museum Announces Summer Lecture Lineup

5/7/2025

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Emma Cariello/museum educator / [email protected]

KINGSTON NY, The Hudson River Maritime Museum announces the summer line up of its popular Follow The River lecture series. The series is not just for maritime enthusiasts touching a wide array of topics related to local and national history, literature, ecology and more.

This season the museum will be hosting four in person lectures as well as an online lecture by professor Andrea Mosterman from The University of New Orleans (June 11th). In-person lecture’s take place on the HRMM Campus in either the in the Wooden Boat School Classroom or Homeport Barn. Each talk is open to the public with a $10 admission ($5 for HRMM members). Registrations can be made in advance through the HRMM website. Some walk-ins will be welcomed and can pay at the door (cash only) as long as the event has not reached capacity.

More information on each lecture and presenter is available at hrmm.org

The schedule is as follows:​

June 4th, Poetry of the Hudson with Paul Kane

June 11th, Online Lecture: The Slave Ship Gideon: A History of the Seventeenth-Century Dutch Slave Trade with Andrea Mosterman

July 9th, A Freeman on the River: The Life, Work, and Journal of James F. Brown with Harv Hilowitz

July 16th, Understanding New York’s Enslaving Past Through Intertwined Families with Debra Bruno

September 24th, Hudson River Ecology with Stuart Findlay
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HRMM Welcomes New Lecturers This May

4/24/2025

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Emma Cariello/museum educator/[email protected]

Join us at the Hudson River Maritime Museum in May for two lectures as part of our “Follow the River” lecture series! May 7th sees Bettina Mueller talk about her experience on the Erie Canal as a Tugboat Cook. On May 21st, Dean Engle will discuss Friends of Historic Kingston and their role in local history. 

KINGSTON, N.Y. (ASAP) – The Hudson River Maritime Museum is pleased to announce the upcoming lectures… held in-person on Wednesday, May 7, 2025 at 7:00 PM and Wednesday, May 21, 2025 at 7:00 PM.
Tickets are $10 for the general public and $5 for Hudson River Maritime Museum members. To register, visit www.hrmm.org/lecture-series.

Life on the Erie Canal as a Tugboat Cook
with Bettina Mueller

Wednesday, May 7th, 2025
7:00 PM - 8:30 PM


In 1976 & 1977 Bettina Mueller made three trips on a tugboat from New York Harbor to Buffalo on the Erie Canal. Each trip took about three weeks to travel over 400 miles. In this fascinating lecture Bettina will show photographs of the Philip T. Feeney and the Erie Canal as well as describe some of her adventures working as a tugboat cook.


"From a chance meeting with the Captain, a girl friend of mine and I joined the boat for what would become one of the great adventures of our lives."
​


Still Standing: The Friends of Historic Kingston and the Local Preservation Movement
with Dean Engle

Wednesday, May 21st, 2025
7:00 PM - 8:30 PM


​Join us for a presentation with Friends of Historic Kingston to learn more about the organization’s history and the legacy of our city’s preservation activists. The group’s decades of advocacy include purchasing and reselling several threatened buildings including 95 John Street (the Luke Kiersted House) and 292 Clinton Avenue (the Amelia Westbrook House). Our members were instrumental in saving Kingston City Hall and sponsoring the city’s historic districts: Clinton Avenue Historic District (1969), Kingston Stockade Historic District (1974), Rondout-West Strand Historic District (1978), and Chestnut Street Historic District (1984).
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Maritime Museum Leads Fascinating Driving Tour of Industrial History

4/23/2025

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The Widow Jane Quarry is just one stop on this extended tour of local history.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
​
Contact: Emma Cariell0, [email protected]
Dates: June 21 and September 13, 2025. 10:00 am-5:00 pm

Learn about the industries that made this country on a behind-the-scenes tour from the comfort of your own car. Includes three museums!

Join us for an informative driving tour of Kingston and beyond. Begin your day at the Hudson River Maritime Museum and receive a guided tour. Then hop in your car and listen to our pre-recorded guide discuss Kingston and Rosendale’s past industrial lives and the remnants of those lives that are still visible today. Your next stop will take you to the Century House in Rosendale. Admire the Widow Jane Quarry, where workers of the past removed cement rock by blasting and digging. Check out the Century House’s museum with a docent and learn all about Rosendale cement. Finally, head to the D&H Canal Historical Society’s museum where historian Bill Merchant will chat with you about the canal’s history and its importance to the Hudson Valley. The tour will begin at HRMM in Kingston and end at the D&H Canal Museum in High Falls. Bring your own lunch!

In Person Event 
$48/person

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SAILING INTO SUMMER: The Sailing School at Hudson River Maritime Museum announces its 2025 Adult Sailing Programs

4/22/2025

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First Sail Students Aboard the Comfortable, Historic Catboat Tidbit. Photo courtesy of HRMM.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jody Taffet Sterling,  [email protected]
KINGSTON, N.Y. –  The Sailing School at the Hudson River Maritime Museum (HRMM) is pleased to announce that 2025 youth, family and adult sailing programs are now open for registration. As the only accredited US Sailing school in the Hudson Valley, the Sailing School features seeks to inspire a new generation of enthusiasts. encouraging them to embrace the river as their playground and classroom, and fostering a lifelong love of sailing. 
Based out of the Museum’s waterfront campus, the Sailing School is situated on the Rondout Creek in Kingston, New York.  All programs are taught by US Sailing and Sportsafe certified instructors using  Sailing School’s fleet of  twenty-two sailboats of various types. Descriptions of the programs available are provided below. For additional information and links to register for individual classes, visit www.hrmm.org/sailing-school or call Jody Sterling, Sailing School Director at (845) 338-0071. Early Registration is recommended as our sailing classes do sell out. 

HRMM members receive discounts on registration fees. 
PictureAdult sailors Build Skills and Enjoy the Beautiful Hudson River. Photo courtesy of HRMM

​The following on-the-water classes begin in June, 2025.

Parent-Child Sailing Class
One child, age 5 - 8,  with an adult
US Sailing Certified instructors welcome students to sailing in this five (3-hour) session class (15 hours total)  in a relaxed environment,  where students feel safe, have fun and learn some sailing basics while making friends and having new experiences. 

Dates:  June 26 - July 2, 2025; August 18 - 22, 2025; August 25 - 29, 2025. 1 - 4 pm. 

Fees: $450 (HRMM Household Member $405) Per Person


First Sail
Adults will enjoy a relaxing two-hour introduction to sailing on the Rondout Creek and the Hudson River aboard our stable catboat Tidbit. Experienced sailors are also welcome. Adults may also sign up children age 5 and older to join them. First Sail classes are scheduled on twelve Saturdays in 2025, June through September. 


Fees: $75 for Adults (5 - 10% Discounts for HRMM Members) $60 for Children 


Adult Sailing Series
is a four-session (12-hour) class, designed for adults 18 and older, who are either new to sailing or who have some experience but wish to get out on the water and practice their skills. Classes take place on Tuesday and Thursday late afternoon/evening. 


Fees: $450 (5 - 10%  Discounts for HRMM Members) 


US Sailing Basic Keelboat
is an intensive,  21-hour class taught by US Sailing Certified instructors and covers many topics which a competent sailor will need to master. The course will use the Basic Keelboat textbook published by the US Sailing Association, and students who successfully complete the course will be eligible to become certified as Basic Keelboat Sailors through US Sailing. Basic Keelboat classes take place on seven Mondays and Fridays, late afternoon/evening. One Basic Keelboat Class meets on four Saturdays in July and August. 


Fees: $660 (5 - 10%  Discounts for HRMM Members)


US Sailing Performance Sailing
is an intensive 21-hour class taught by US Sailing Certified instructors for those who have mastered the basics and have already earned US Sailing Basic Keelboat certification. Performance Sailing will cover more advanced skills focused on Sails, Boat Handling, Wind, Basic Racing, Safety and Emergencies.  Performance Sailing Class 1 meets on four Saturdays, June through July. Performance Sailing Class 2 meets on four Saturdays in September. 
​

Fees: $650  (5 - 10%  Discounts for HRMM Members)


The Hudson River Maritime Museum is dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of the maritime history of the Hudson River, its tributaries and related industries. In addition to extensive collections documenting maritime transportation, industry, recreation, and natural science, the museum offers classes and programs at its Wooden Boat School, Sailing and Rowing School, and aboard Solaris, the 100% solar powered tour boat and floating classroom. The museum is located along the historic Rondout waterfront in downtown Kingston. Visit www.hrmm.org for more information.
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A Family Learns Together in US Sailing Basic Keelboat Class
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Adventure Meets Learning in Hudson River Maritime Museum's Summer Youth Programs

4/15/2025

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Photo Courtesy of Hudson River Maritime Museum
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Media Contact: Jennifer Bousliman, [email protected]
Sailing School: Jody Sterling, [email protected]

Hudson River Maritime Museum Announces Multi-Activity, All-Day Voyagers
Program that Blends Sailing, Boat Building, and Woodworking For Ages 9-17


KINGSTON, N.Y. (April 16, 2025) – Hudson River Maritime Museum invites you to give
your kids the experience of a lifetime this summer by signing them up to its new HRMM
Voyager Program
! Adventure meets learning in this all-day, multi-activity youth program that blends sailing, boat building, woodworking, and hands-on STEAM activities into a unique experience for youths aged 9 through 17. The Voyager Program will run for six one-week sessions, Mon.-Fri., 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM from July 7 through August 15. Registration is online at www.hrmm.org/youth-programs, and classes are filling fast.

Now in its 46th year, the Hudson River Maritime Museum, located on the banks of the Rondout Creek in Kingston, has a long tradition of providing young people a chance to experience the magic and history of the Hudson Valley’s rich maritime traditions through a myriad of on-land and on-water programming. This year, HRMM’s professional woodworkers, museum educators, and US Sailing and SafeSport Certified Instructors will lead an immersive program that will blend practical skills in sailing, boatbuilding and woodworking, all while building self-confidence, making new friendships, and having fun!

Designed for youths aged 9-17, The Voyagers Program is perfect for all skill levels. Our
Seafarers (9-12 years) and Navigators (13-17 years) will spend each day sailing for three hours, practicing boat building and woodworking for 90 minutes, and participating in other STEAM activities involving history, crafts, games, and tours on our solar tourboat, Solaris, all while making friends, learning new skills and fostering their creativity! Mid-day, Seafarers and Navigators will gather for an outdoor lunch onshore—perfect for sharing stories of their
adventures. HRMM’s professional woodworkers, museum educators, and US Sailing and SafeSport Certified instructors are here to guide your kids every step of the way, ensuring they understand how STEAM principles come alive both in the workshop and on the water!

The Voyager Program will run for six one-week sessions: Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., on July 7-11, July 14-18, July 21-25, July 28 - Aug. 1, Aug. 4-8, and Aug. 11-15. For more information and to register visit, www.hrmm.org/youth-programs. Fees are $750 per week. All HRMM members receive a discount on registration. Scholarships are also available.


More Youth Sailing Programs Cater to Children Ages 5 - 9

Introduction to Youth Sailing welcomes youth ages seven to nine to learn the basics of sailing. Our US Certified Sailing instructors create a safe and supportive environment for students to learn, have fun, and make new friends while having new experiences.​ The course consists of five 3-hour classes (fifteen hours in total). For more information and to register visit, www.hrmm.org/youth-programs. Program fees are $450 per individual.

The Parent-Child Sailing class welcomes children ages five to eight and their parent/guardians (grandparents, caretakers, relatives) to learn the basics of sailing together. This course consists of five 3-hour sessions (fifteen hour program) and is designed for one adult to sail with one child, introducing both to the basics of sailing while having fun out on-the-water. For more information and to register visit, www.hrmm.org/youth-programs. Program fees are $450 per individual.

The Sailing School at Hudson River Maritime Museum is the only US Sailing Accredited
sailing school in the Hudson Valley. Founded in 2017, the School seeks to inspire a new
generation of enthusiasts to get out on the water and become more confident sailors by offering accessible programming for youth and adult beginners. For students seeking to advance their skills, USSailing Instructor Trainers occasionally offer USSailing Instructor Certification courses at HRMM for advanced students age 16 or older seeking to become certified instructors.

The Wooden Boat School was founded by the Hudson River Maritime Museum in 2015 to
preserve the maritime craft traditions of the Hudson Valley and to teach a hands-on interpretation of the living history of the Hudson River. We offer diverse curriculum and opportunities which provide skills in woodworking, boat building, and maritime craft. The school offers adult and youth courses.

The Hudson River Maritime Museum is dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of then maritime history of the Hudson River, its tributaries and related industries. In addition to extensive collections documenting maritime transportation, industry, recreation, and natural science, the museum offers classes and programs at its Wooden Boat School, Sailing and Rowing School, and aboard Solaris, the 100% solar powered tour boat and floating classroom. The museum is located along the historic Rondout waterfront in downtown Kingston. Visit ww.hrmm.org for more information.
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ALL ABOARD SOLARIS Hudson River Maritime Museum Announces 2025 Schedule for Solar-Powered Tour Boat, Solaris

4/1/2025

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Solaris Inquiries: Jack Loesch
jloesch@hrmm.org
Senior Museum Educator / Solaris Coordinator

KINGSTON, N.Y.
  - The Hudson River Maritime Museum’s solar-powered tour boat, Solaris, returns with a splash on May 2nd for the 2025 season. The museum’s crew and docents are excited to bring passengers back for regularly-scheduled lighthouse tours and sightseeing cruises from early-May through the end of October.

Tickets for our regular season are now on sale at www.hrmm.org/all-boat-tours.html. Descriptions of cruise offerings are located on the same page below the calendar. Every Solaris ticket includes a free all-day pass to the museum.
Public ticketed cruises begin on Friday, May 2 with regularly-scheduled tours operating Friday-Sunday throughout May. Solaris will extend its cruising scheduling, operating Thursday through Sunday beginning June 5, 2025. For July and August, Wednesday cruises will be added to the schedule for additional opportunities to catch a ride. All tours leave from the museum’s waterfront marina at 50 Rondout Landing in Kingston. Cruises depart at 1pm, 2:30pm, 4pm, 6pm, and 7:30pm daily, with an additional 11am cruise on Sunday mornings. 
The schedule includes daily trips to the historic Rondout Lighthouse, which stands on the jetty where the Rondout Creek meets the Hudson River. During lighthouse tours, passengers disembark and are led through the lighthouse by the museum’s knowledgeable crew, culminating in unique 360-degree views from the observation deck at the top of the lighthouse. Other Solaris tours include narrated cruises with routes up creek to explore the Rondout’s industrial history, and trips led by local historian Bill Merchant and ethnoecologist Justin Wexler covering the history of the D&H Canal and Native American history. For those simply wanting to relax to only the sounds of the river, we also offer gentle sunset cruises on the Hudson River.
As part of the City of Kingston’s Earth Day Festival on May 10, we will also be offering a full day of FREE cruises. Complimentary sightseeing cruises on Solaris will begin at 11am, and will continue on the hour, every hour with the last cruise sailing at 4p.m. Each cruise will last approximately 45-minutes. Admission to these cruises cannot be booked in advance; interested passengers can reserve on a first-come, first-served basis via a sign-up booth in the yard of the Museum day-of, beginning 30 minutes prior to each cruise.

The 2025 season is also packed with exciting themed cruises. The popular live music cruises return, Thursdays, June through August at 6pm. Kicking off with roots rock ‘n’ roll act, Lara Hope on June 5, Solaris will welcome a slate of local musical acts performing in, arguably, Hudson Valley’s most intimate music venue. We welcome the return of our Elements of Taste series, partnering once again with Kingston Wine Co. to lead relaxing tasting tours highlighting flavors of the Hudson Valley’s wineries and cideries. Additionally, Hudson-based Kundalini Yoga, Meditation and Gong Sound Healing teacher and guide, HariPrakaash, will once again offer a monthly gong cruise. Bliss out aboard Solaris as you float along the river at sunset immersed in a meditation accompanied by the healing sound vibrations of the Gong in gentle meditation.
For those seeking a more personalized tour experience, Solaris can be chartered for private groups. Pair an intimate reunion, family excursion, birthday or anniversary celebration with a peaceful cruise on the river. Guests are welcome to bring their own food and drink.

Follow the link below to explore all of this season's offerings:


https://www.hrmm.org/solaris-cruises.html




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“Follow the River” Clipper Races, Japanese Boat Building, & Hudson River Poetry

3/11/2025

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jack Loesch / Senior Museum Educator / [email protected]

KINGSTON, NY - The Hudson River Maritime Museum is pleased to announce three upcoming lectures held in-person at the museum's Wooden Boat School as a part of our "Follow the River" Lecture series. Wednesday, April 9, 2025 at 7:00 PM / Friday April 18, 2025 at 7:00 PM / Wednesday, April 23, 2025 at 7:00 PM.
​

Tickets are $10 for the general public and $5 for Hudson River Maritime Museum members. To register, visit
www.hrmm.org/lecture-series.

On April 9th, Jacqueline Kavanugh will talk about the Round the World Clipper Race. On April 18th, Douglass Brooks will discuss the intricacies of Japanese Boat Building, and on April 23rd, Paul Kane will give a talk about poetry revolving around the Hudson River Valley.
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Headshot of Jacqueline Kavanagh
Ireland-born-and-raised Jacqueline Kavanagh, 53, is an ocean racer. Once a stranger to sailing, she circumnavigated the globe as part of the Clipper 2019-20 Race, clocking up 40,000nm and adding big ocean crossings to her list of achievements. She now fronts the Clipper Race Recruitment Team where she encourages others to pursue their dreams and take on the adventure of a lifetime. She’s just an ordinary person who has been there, done it, and worn the foulies, making her the perfect sounding board for anyone wanting to take on the challenge.
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Picture of Jacqueline Kavanagh and crew
The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is a 40,000-nautical-mile, eleven-month adventure for non-professional sailors. Founded in 1996 by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, it pushes endurance, teamwork and skill while racing across the planet’s oceans. Crews, led by professional Skippers and Mates, battle storms, towering waves, and blistering heat on identical 70-foot yachts while navigating some of the world’s most demanding waters. Open to all experience levels, the Clipper Race offers a rare chance for non-professionals to experience the thrill and hardship of ocean racing across the planet’s toughest seas.
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Headshot of Douglas Brooks
Douglas Brooks is a boatbuilder, writer, and researcher specializing in the construction of traditional wooden boats for museums and private clients. His boats have been displayed at museums across the United States and Japan. Since 1990, he has been researching traditional Japanese boatbuilding, focusing on the techniques and design secrets of the craft.
Brooks is the sole non-Japanese listed in a 2003 Nippon Foundation survey of craftsmen capable of building traditional Japanese boats. In 2014, Brooks received the Rare Craft Fellowship Award for his work from the American Craft Council. He is a 1982 graduate of Trinity College in Hartford, CT with a B.A. in Philosophy. While an undergraduate he attended the Williams College Mystic Seaport Program in American Maritime Studies. He is also a 2002 graduate of the Middlebury College Japanese Language School in Middlebury, Vermont. He lives with his wife Catherine in Vergennes, Vermont. To see pictures of his work and learn more about his research, please visit: www.douglasbrooksboatbuilding.com.
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Photo of Japanese Skiff
Douglas Brooks is a boatbuilder who has been studying traditional Japanese boatbuilding for over twenty-five years. Since 1996 he has worked with nine boatbuilders from throughout Japan, and he is the sole apprentice for seven of his teachers. His teachers represent the last generation of craftspeople in Japan building wooden boats. Brooks’ research involves recording his teachers’ design secrets and techniques before they are lost. His latest book, Japanese Wooden Boatbuilding, is the first comprehensive study of the craft.
In this lecture Brooks will discuss the crucial role of the apprentice system nurturing Japanese crafts and the threat posed by the absence of a new generation of apprentices. He will describe the roles and responsibility of the apprentice faced with the unorthodox teaching styles of his masters, who in some cases are forced to steal his master’s secrets. He will describe his efforts to document and preserve this craft through articles, books and workshops, and he will discuss the future for this craft in a country at the forefront of modernization and change. His talk is a lesson in craft, learning, and boatbuilding, and includes his photographs of traditional boats from throughout Japan.
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Headshot of Paul Kane
Paul Kane has published, as author or editor, twenty books and many essays, reviews and poems in literary and scholarly periodicals. His work includes eight collections of poems and a collaboration with the photographer William Clift: A Hudson Landscape. He has taught at Yale University, Monash University (Australia), the University of Bologna (Italy), and Vassar College, where he was Professor of English and Environmental Studies. His awards include fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Bogliasco Foundation, and in 2022 he was awarded The Order of Australia.

The Hudson is a storied river, celebrated in both prose and poetry, as well as in myths and legends handed down over generations. This illustrated talk focuses on poems about the Hudson but also considers the notion that there is something poetic about the river itself, the way it fascinates with its beauty, variety and constant presence in the valleys it has formed over aeons. In our exploration, we journey through time as well as along the shores of the river, from the Adirondacks to the broad bay of New York, looking at work from early American poets up to contemporary ones, traveling in our minds and imaginations, as we too celebrate the poetry of the Hudson.


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Hudson River Maritime Museum
50 Rondout Landing
Kingston, NY 12401

​845-338-0071
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