Museum Hosts Virtual Lecture on Grain Races

​Museum Hosts Virtual Lecture on Grain Races

​Highlights Drama of Historic Races and Outlines the 2022 Northeast Grain Race

KINGSTON, N.Y. – The Hudson River Maritime Museum is pleased to announce the upcoming lecture “The History and Future of Grain Races,” by Steven Woods, held virtually on Wednesday, January 19, 2022 at 7:00 PM.

For over two hundred years, grain was shipped by sailing vessel around the world. A nonperishable product, grain could withstand voyages of up to twelve months. For the sailing season between South Australia and England, in particular, the long trip and stiff competition meant whoever made it to port first would get the best price on their grain cargoes. Windjammers participated in what became known as the Great Grain Race. Sailing ships would race the weather, the ocean currents, and each other to beat the odds. 

This lecture discusses the history of these long-haul races and provides information on the 2022 Northeast Grain Race, including how to participate. Hosted by the Hudson River Maritime Museum, in cooperation with the Center for Post Carbon Logistics, Schooner Apollonia, and the Northeast Grainshed Alliance, the Northeast Grain Race will be held in May of 2022 on the Hudson River. Contestants will compete to move grain from growers to producers in the most efficient and climate-friendly way. 

Steven Woods is the Solaris and Education coordinator at HRMM. He has worked in museums for over 20 years and holds a Master's degree in Resilient and Sustainable Communities from Prescott College.

Tickets are $7 for the general public and free for Hudson River Maritime Museum members. To register, visit www.hrmm.org/lecture-series.

About the Follow the River Lecture Series
For more than a decade the Hudson River Maritime Museum's "Follow the River Lecture Series" has hosted historians, authors, and maritime experts for engaging illustrated talks on a variety of regional history and maritime subjects. In recent years, many of the lectures have also been recorded and are available on YouTube. For more information about upcoming lectures and to access recordings of past lectures, visit www.hrmm.org/lecture-series. The series is sponsored by Rondout Savings Bank.

Photo
Photo c. 1950 of S.V. Passat, the winner of the last grain race from Australia to the UK, held in 1949-50. Image courtesy the National Archives, UK.