KINGSTON, N.Y. – The Wooden Boat School at Hudson River Maritime Museum will offer a number of boat building classes throughout 2022. Students will work with skilled instructors to create their own stand up paddleboard, double paddle canoe, or skin-on-frame kayak. These weekend courses offer a variety of construction experiences and are great for individuals or small groups. Limited class sizes enable students to learn at their own pace as they work closely with instructors. The school also offers introductory woodworking projects, youth classes, wooden boat restorations, maritime licensing and more. 

Instructor Chaz Corallo will teach a Build Your Own Stand Up Paddleboard class during the first two weekends of April. Corallo will guide students as they construct a wooden stand up paddleboard with a frame kit, build up the rails from bead and cove strips, add a deck, install hardware, and shape the board to their liking. Students will explore basic board design concepts, the application of steam to manipulate wood into shapes, adhesive applications, elements of edge tool work, glassing and application of epoxy, and use of traditional hand tools. By the end of the class each board will be ready for fiberglassing and finishing. 

The public is also able to register for a Build Your Own Skin-on-Frame Solo/Tandem Canoe course with instructor Rich Cerruto. This course takes place June 17-19 and 25-26, 2022. The vessel will be begin with a wooden frame and is stretched with a polyester "skin." Each student will leave with a completed canoe ready for the water. These 28 pound canoes are strong and can hold up to 320 pounds. Easily car-topped, they are perfect for casual paddlers and beginning boatbuilders alike. The finished canoe weighs about 32 pounds and can carry 320 pounds. Rig it as a solo, a tandem with a carrying yoke, or as a solo/tandem.

Also available is the opportunity to register for a Build Your Own Skin-on-Frame F1 Kayak happening March 12-17, 2022 with instructor John Richer. Students will build their project over the course of 6 days in the boat school shop. Students will start with assembly of the deck beams then steam bend the ribs in place. The frames and ribs will be lashed and the boat skinned with nylon cloth. Once the skin is coated the kayak will be completed with all the necessary rigging and accessories. This model is 14 feet long and 23 inches wide. Fully rigged it weighs only 29 pounds. Each student will leave with a completed kayak ready for the water.

The school is also offering a captain’s license (six-pack through 100 ton master) through True North Maritime Academy. The course takes place March 18-April 3, 2021 will provide training and testing requirements to apply for a US Coast Guard License. 

Find more information online at www.hrmm.org/boat-school or call 845-338-0071. People who have questions are encouraged to contact Becky Sellinger, Wooden Boat School Manager & Instructor, at bsellinger@hrmm.org.  

About the HRMM Wooden Boat School
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. The school offers diverse curriculum and opportunities which inspire skills in woodworking, boat building, and maritime craft. Also available are restoration services for wooden boats. Learn more at www.hrmm.org/boat-school. 

​KINGSTON, N.Y. – Hudson River Maritime Museum is collecting winter accessories as part of the museum’s annual Mitten Tree drive. For over a decade, the museum has collected new or gently used winter wear. The items are hung on a 10’ wooden tree structure built at the museum’s Wooden Boat School. When the tree is full, donations are brought to local adult and children’s services organizations. 

Donations sought include gloves, mittens, hats, scarves, socks, hand warmers, and umbrellas. Items can be for all ages and can be brought to the museum store which is located at 50 Rondout Landing in Kingston. The store is open Thursday-Sunday, 11:00am-5:00pm and a designated box will be available on the front porch to accept donations when the store is closed. 

Workships, Panels, and Planning for the Maiden Visit in 2022! 

On November 13, 2021, the Sailing School at the Hudson River Maritime Museum and the Kingston Sailing Club co-hosted its fifth annual women’s sailing conference. This was a virtual event, from 10 am to 4 pm. 

Keynote Speaker Tracy Edwards, MBE, of Maiden fame, enthralled and inspired her audience with stories from the famous all-women’s 1989-90 Whitbread Around the World Race campaign which she led.  She explored the resilience she developed as a young sailor and explained this quality is just what is needed as we navigate the depths and shoals of our current times. Tracy discussed how she and others are bringing that flexibility and energy to The Maiden Factor Foundation, an organization dedicated to promoting education for girls around the world. 

Most exciting, Tracy announced the vessel Maiden will be restarting its around-the-world sailing trip in early 2022, and the fact that the vessel and its crew will be visiting us at the Hudson River Maritime Museum in Kingston, New York in June, 2022!

​In addition to the keynote, the conference presented 12 workshops on topics including weather for the mariner, sailing as therapy, navigation, rules of the road, safety, buying a boat,  sustainability, and more. There were four racing workshops including How to Develop as a Racing Sailor with Dawn Riley, Executive Director of Oakcliff Sailing in Oyster Bay, New York, who was recently inducted into the US National Sailing Hall of Fame.

Finally, the conference concluded with a panel of sailors, representing seven local sailing organizations, who presented a variety of ways people can get out on the water. It was a wonderful day bringing men, women and youth together to learn and grow as sailors. 

KINGSTON, N.Y. – The Hudson River Maritime Museum is pleased to announce the launch of the trailer and a crowdfunding campaign to complete the new documentary film “Seven Sentinels: Lighthouses of the Hudson River.”

Of the dozens of lighthouses and lights that once dotted the Hudson River, only seven remain. This iconic American river, at the heart of the rise of New York City and westward expansion into the interior of the continent, was also a transportation super highway long before automobiles were invented. Throughout it all, the lighthouses kept watch, guarding the safety of the Hudson’s waterborne traffic.
But no comprehensive history of these lighthouses exists. Until now.

The idea for this film has grown out of decades of Hudson River lighthouse interpretation, including research, exhibits, articles, short films, presentations, and the book.

Together with filmmaker Jeff Mertz of Moonbow Imaging, the Hudson River Maritime Museum is creating a feature-length documentary film: “Seven Sentinels: Lighthouses of the Hudson River.” This beautifully shot film will place the lighthouses in historic context, tell the fascinating stories of the buildings themselves and their keepers, and outline how these seven have survived to the present day, and how to preserve them for generations to come.

The museum and Mertz spent part of 2020 and most of 2021 partnering with lighthouse organizations, historians, and historic preservationists to record interviews and get footage of the interior and exterior of all seven of the Hudson River Lighthouses: Hudson-Athens, Saugerties, Rondout, Esopus Meadows, Stony Point, Sleepy Hollow, and Jeffrey’s Hook (a.k.a. the “Little Red Lighthouse”). 

Those interested in learning more about the film, each of the lighthouse organizations, and how to donate can visit www.hudsonriverlighthouses.org. Supporters through Indiegogo can receive perks like DVDs, signed Hudson River Lighthouses books, lighthouse tours, supporters-only film screenings, credits, and more.

The museum has already received partial support from Ulster Savings Bank, Rondout Savings Bank, and the County of Ulster’s Ulster County Cultural Services & Promotion Fund administered by Arts Mid-Hudson.

​Learn more about the steamboat “Mary Powell,” Queen of the Hudson

KINGSTON, N.Y. – The Hudson River Maritime Museum is pleased to announce the upcoming lecture “Mary Powell: Queen of the Hudson,” held on Wednesday, November 17, 2021 at 7:00 PM. 
​
Have you ever wondered how the Mary Powell got so famous? Director of Exhibits and Outreach Sarah Wassberg Johnson will discuss the history of the steamboat Mary Powell in this illustrated virtual lecture. 

Learn about the economic and social conditions that led to her construction, the lives of her owners and captains, and why she was “Queen” from the beginning. From the beginning of the Civil War to the U.S. entrance into World War I, the Mary Powell oversaw it all. Hosting famous passengers like President Ulysses S. Grant and Walt Whitman, leading national events like the unveiling of the Statue of Liberty in 1886, and fending off multiple challenges to her throne. Beloved until the end, the post-WWI “death” of the Mary Powell inspired eulogies and poems from fans locally and around the world, and she continued to represent the golden age of steamboating on the Hudson River long after she was gone. 

Sarah Wassberg Johnson is the Director of Exhibits & Outreach at the Hudson River Maritime Museum and researched and wrote much of the text for the museum’s exhibit, “Mary Powell: Queen of the Hudson.” She is the editor and co-author of Hudson River Lighthouses (2019) and editor of the museum’s Pilot Log and History Blog. She has an MA in Public History from the University at Albany.

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

​Sessions for beginners include knife rack and nautical rope wreath

KINGSTON, N.Y. – The Wooden Boat School at the Hudson River Maritime Museum will offer a number of holiday-themed woodworking classes throughout December. Fun and creative sessions enable students of all experience levels to create thoughtful and personalized gifts for family and friends, as well as locally made home decor. 

Students will create a matching live edge cutting board and knife rack during a 1-day class on Saturday, December 4. Each student will pick a flitch of locally harvested and kiln dried hardwood, then use draw knives, sanders, and other tools to plan dimensions, smooth their material, and embed magnets to custom make these common kitchen tools.

People can register for an intro to leatherworking session on Sunday, December 5, during which students will choose leather varieties and colors to make a handcrafted leather wallet. On Saturday, December 11, staff will offer a fun introductory class to create scroll saw holiday ornaments. Students will select designs, learn to read patterns, and use basic cutting techniques using a scroll saw. Other classes throughout December include a parent/child cardboard dulcimer build on Saturday, December 11, nautical wreath construction on Sunday, December 12, and a wooden block plane class on Saturday, December 18. A calendar and registration details can be found at www.hrmm.org/woodworking. 

Introductory woodworking classes at the HRMM Wooden Boat School are designed for beginner woodworkers. Curriculum includes an overview of materials, tool use, and shop safety. Instructors work with small class sizes which allow students to learn at their own pace and customize their creations. Also offered at the school are after-school youth sessions and an extensive foundations of woodworking series, as well as more advanced woodworking courses on timber framing, boat building, and vessel restoration.

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. The school offers diverse curriculum and opportunities which inspire skills in woodworking, boat building, and maritime craft. Also available are restoration services for wooden boats. A class calendar and details can be found at www.hrmm.org/woodworking.

KINGSTON, N.Y. – The HRMM Sailing School and Kingston Sailing Club will host the 5th annual Riverport Women's Sailing Conference on Saturday, November 13, 2021, from 10:00am-4:00pm. The event is virtual and will include presentations and panels featuring women mariners. Topics include maritime navigation, safety around large vessels, outboard engine troubleshooting, and more. The event is open to anyone who is interested in sailing regardless of experience. 

The conference will feature a keynote address from Tracy Edwards whose story is chronicled in the documentary film Maiden. Edwards, a 24-year-old cook on charter boats, overcame the odds to become the skipper of the first all-female crew to enter the Whitbread Round the World sailing race in 1989.

A schedule of topics can be found on the HRMM museum website at www.hrmm.org/sailing-school. Conference participants can choose from a variety of workshops and presentations including sessions from Dawn Riley of Oakcliff Sailing, Deborah Mellen of Impossible Dream, Elizabeth McCarthy from SUNY Maritime, and Haley Lhamon of Team Sail Like a Girl. Workshop choices include weather/wind, rules of the road, basic navigation, safety around large vessels, outboard engine troubleshooting, buying a boat, sustainable sailing, introduction to racing, and more. All sessions will be presented by experienced women mariners. 

Men are welcomed to attend the conference. Organizations such as sailing teams, community sailors, yacht club groups, and school groups are encouraged participate. General admission is $60 per household, and $50 for museum members. The fee for registration as an organization is $150. Advanced registration is required and is available at www.hrmm.org/sailing-conference.

The Sailing School at Hudson River Maritime Museum offers a variety of sailing experiences for youth and adult students. Classes are available for every level of experience and include 1-day introductory sessions, youth groups, and certification opportunities. The school hosts the annual Riverport Women’s Sailing Conference each November and is the only US-Sailing-accredited sailing school in the Hudson Valley. Learn more at www.hrmm.org/sailing-school. 

KINGSTON, N.Y. – The Hudson River Maritime Museum is pleased to announce the upcoming lecture “The Orca-Human Bond: The True Story Behind Whaler’s Daughter,” held on Wednesday, November 3, 2021 at 7:00 PM. 

Author Jerry Mikorenda joins us virtually to discuss the history behind his new novel, The Whaler’s Daughter, published in July, 2021. 

In Two-Fold Bay, Australia, Aboriginal people built a symbiotic relationship with orcas, who helped them hunt baleen whales for centuries. These practices were adopted by “station” whalers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In this engaging multimedia presentation, author Jerry Mikorenda will reveal the real-life places, history, and stories, like the “Legend of Old Tom,” that inspired his new young adult novel, The Whaler’s Daughter (July, 2021). Learn about Aboriginal whaling, orcas, station whaling, and the technological wonders of the whaleboat. This presentation also features the sights and sounds of the mythical New South Wales town of Paradise, designed to enhance a live reading from the novel.

Jerry Mikorenda’s work has appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Herald, The Gotham Center History Blog, and the 2010 Encyclopedia of New York City. His biography America's First Freedom Rider: Elizabeth Jennings, Chester A. Arthur, and the Early Fight for Civil Rights was published in 2020. His historical novel, The Whaler’s Daughter was published by Regal House in July 2021.
Tickets are $5 for the general public and free for Hudson River Maritime Museum members. To register, visit www.hrmm.org/lecture-series.

The Follow the River Lecture Series is sponsored by Rondout Savings Bank.


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. 

KINGSTON, N.Y. – The Wooden Boat School at the Hudson River Maritime Museum will host a yard sale of tools, equipment, and various boat building ephemera on Sunday, October 31 from 10am to 4pm. Proceeds from the sale will support improvements to the wood shop at the school which offers a variety of woodworking classes and boatbuilding experiences. Also available for purchase will be raffle tickets for a drawing of the Atkin’s Nymph sailboat which will happen at the end of the day.

The public is invited to donate tools to the school in advance of the sale which may be used in curriculum or sold at the event. Tool donations can be dropped off at the Wooden Boat School from Monday, October 25 through Friday, October 29, from 9am to 5pm. The sale and raffle will take place at the school’s wood shop located on the museum campus at 50 Rondout Landing in Kingston’s historic waterfront Rondout district.

Items will be priced to go and staff are hoping the sale will help make room for new projects. Proceeds from the boat raffle will support youth boat building programs. The Atkin’s Nymph is a 10’ wooden sailing skiff that was built by the 2018/2019 Youth Boat class. Tickets are $10 each or 3 for $25 and will be available on site. Tickets can also be purchased in advance at the museum store, open Thursday-Sunday, 11am-5pm, or by calling 845-338-0071. Winners need not be present to win. 

People can support the school in a number of ways. Staff are seeking volunteers with various skill sets, as well as new equipment including a stationary belt sander, shop vac, work truck, and casters. Financial support is always welcome and donations of boats also support the organization. A calendar of classes and details on how to support can be found online at www.hrmm.org/boat-school. People can also email Wooden Boat School Manager Becky Sellinger at bsellinger@hrmm.org.  

About the HRMM Wooden Boat School
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. The school offers diverse curriculum and opportunities which inspire skills in woodworking, boat building, and maritime craft. Also available are restoration services for wooden boats. Learn more at www.hrmm.org/woodworking. 

KINGSTON, N.Y. – Hudson River Maritime Museum is offering local tales of legends and lore aboard Solaris on Friday and Saturday evenings throughout October. Passengers will explore the Hudson River and Rondout Creek by searchlight and listen to legends and lore of the Hudson River from the pages of Washington Irving or straight from newspaper headlines of centuries past. Guides will share stories including the tale of the serpent of the Hudson River, the terrible crime of William Salisbury, and Rondout's barge graveyard. Tickets range from $20-$25 and all proceeds support the museum’s educational programs. 

Solaris is the museum's 100% solar-powered tour boat and floating classroom. The boat was built on campus at the Wooden Boat School and is the only solar-powered boat in operation on the Hudson River. This quiet vessel does not require any fossil fuels to operate. The lantern cruises are part of over a dozen themed tours happening this season, including visits to local shipwrecks, Indigenous history events, and trips to the Rondout Lighthouse. 

All boat tickets include general admission to the museum, open Thursday-Sunday, 11 am to 5 pm. This event is one of over a dozen themed boat tours happening on the Rondout Creek and Hudson River this season. Find details and a calendar at www.solarboattours.org or call 845-338-0071.