 Chesil Boatman, Howard Phipps, wood engraving Have you ever wanted to learn to row, but were intimidated by the long, narrow rowing shells? Consider learning traditional rowing in a historic style boat like a Whitehall gig! Rowing instructor Nelsie Aybar-Grau can tell you more: Excerpt from My Row Around Manhattan, September 11, 2021 By Nelsie Aybar-Grau In the early nineteenth century, Whitehall rowboats were the choice of crimps (who would entrap men to work in shipping), boarding house runners (men who persuade sailors to leave a ship for better jobs that never materialize), and of anyone who required reliable and speedy transportation from one part of the harbor to another – pilots, ship’s crews, brokers, ship chandlers, newspaper reporters, insurance agents, doctors, police and many others. I have been rowing for 12 years, give or take. I row the Rondout Creek and Hudson River from Kingston, New York. I learned to row crew boats (the long, skinny, carbon fiber boats) with the Rondout Rowing Club. I was the president of the club for four years (2014 - 2017). The club would do an annual excursion from Kingston to Norrie Point, south of the Esopus Lighthouse and back. There we would meet up with rowers from the Mid-Hudson Rowing Association of Poughkeepsie. A few years ago the Hudson River Maritime Museum asked me to teach rowing to teens who were participating in the museum’s YouthBoat Project. While learning woodworking they were given the opportunity to row a Whitehall in the Rondout Creek. Most had never been on the water, and some did not know how to swim. But within minutes many got the hang of rowing and because, as cox I could compensate for those unable to keep up, we still managed to navigate the creek reasonably well. That is when I realized that the Whitehall is probably the best boat to use to teach anyone how to row. It is perfect for beginners and pros alike. For more of Nelsie's adventure, keep reading... Want to Learn to Row? Enjoy the historic Rondout Creek the way our ancestors did. Rowing has been pivotal to all working waterfronts for as long as people have taken to the water. Only last century was rowing replaced with motors as the main way to move people and goods around harbors and ports. Join us as we return to this tradition with a fun row on the creek. The museum's Rowing School offers several evening and afternoon classes in traditional rowing Did you know? HRMM members get discounts on all classes! Join today. Interested in learning more? Check out some of the classes and programs we offer below, for all ages and all experience levels.
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 Last fall, I spent hours collecting input from our sailing instructors and creating a list of replacement items and equipment needed to continue to run our Sailing School safely in 2022. The total was quite high, and I was seriously worried about how we would pay for these items. Then, surprise! In December, I learned our dedicated HRMM Boat School Volunteer Zef Fessenden pledged a targeted donation for The Sailing School equal to the amount on our list! Serendipity! We are so grateful for his support.
I asked Zef what motivated him to make this pledge. He told me that he learned to sail as a child on the North Shore of Long Island, and it changed his life. As an adult, he and his wife sailed many miles offshore and had amazing experiences and adventures. Even more important, Zef shared that sailing taught him so much about life. Zef’s lessons include: 1) We are not in control. Many of us think if we just work hard or we’re just lucky, we can control the outcome of our efforts, but sailors learn early in life, that is simply not true. Unexpected stuff happens often. Successful people understand that truth on land as well as on the water, and they develop their ability to cope with the unexpected. 2) The important thing is how we respond to life’s challenges. We can’t always predict a sudden squall, but we can handle it well or poorly. Similarly, in life, we often can’t control things like our health, income or difficult family members, but we can control how we react. If we take charge of what we can control and improve our lifestyle, we can regain our quality of life. 3) Preparation, knowledge and skill help us succeed. Though we don’t know in advance when we’re going to have a problem with equipment or weather, successful sailors build a tool chest full of practice, information, and techniques, which they dip into as needed in cases of unexpected challenges and emergencies. Preparation, knowledge and skill can be literally life-saving in sailing and in life in general. 4) Teamwork is a necessity. Whether your crew consists of two people or a full complement of eight or twelve people on a big racing keel boat, cooperation, communication, and trust in each other ensure that people aboard have a safe and positive experience. Sailing teaches us we need to depend on others and be dependable for others in order to survive and thrive in life. Zef wants other people, youth and adults, from various, diverse communities, to benefit from sailing as he did, so he is helping to make that happen. If you feel like Zef does, that learning to sail gifts people with a lifetime of self-confidence, skills, mental and physical fitness, leadership and cooperation, perhaps you would like to join him and make a targeted donation to the HRMM Sailing School or to one of the many other wonderful programs at HRMM. For 2022, we especially need support for scholarships to welcome new youth sailors from communities who have not had the opportunity to get out on the water before. If you are so moved, please support our youth sailing scholarships or other HRMM programs. Thank you! The author is Jody Sterling, Sailing School Director, HRMM  Kate and Chris Gill Building a Carolina Skiff with Instructor Wayne Ford By Kate Gill My husband Chris had been dreaming of building a boat for a few years now, but with kids, there’s just never time for such a big project. After having looked into different boat building courses throughout the Northeast, I finally stumbled upon your weekend family boat building course. Build a dinghy in just 2 days! This was such an amazing and memorable experience. We came with no knowledge of boat building, and some experience of wood working. I was really surprised at how much time our instructor Wayne Ford spent teaching us techniques, and explaining the the process so we were able to think 2-3 steps ahead. I had gone in thinking this would be a sloppy rushed job, but wow was I wrong! We came away with a beautiful boat which we brag about to the other parents in town. Not many people can say they’ve built a boat! Looking forward to the spring when we’ll paint her and have a lil boat christening and launch party at the lake here. Build Your Own Stand Up Paddle Board One of the finished wooden paddle boards in the water and ready for paddling! Thinking of building your own boat? Try your hand at a stand-up paddle board! Built over two weekends, you'll end up with a beautiful wooden board you can use for years to come. But hurry! Registration deadline is Tuesday, March 15! Dates: April 2 & 3, 9 & 10, 2022, 9:00AM-5:00PM Deadline to Register: March 15  An in-process wooden paddle board. You can build your own from scratch! Want to get your Captains License? We have one more spot left! Did you know? HRMM members get discounts on all classes! Join today. Interested in learning more? Check out some of the classes and programs we offer below, for all ages and all experience levels.
 The author in the blue shirt at the tiller of her Bluejay in 1969 When I was six years old, my father introduced me to sailboat racing aboard his nineteen-foot Thistle, a tender centerboard sailboat. It heeled (tipped) easily and moved quickly through the water. I was terrified. I spent the afternoon crouching low, by the centerboard trunk (most interior part of the boat), crying. Even though my father encouraged me to sit on the rail (edge) to help balance the boat and reduce its heeling angle, I was too scared to move. At the end of the day, after I walked safely down the dock to dry land, the first thing I said was, “Daddy, can I come racing again next Sunday?” My father was incredulous. “But, honey, you were scared all day. Are you sure you want to go again?” “Oh yes,” I responded. “I love sailing.” Thus began my long and tumultuous love affair with sailing. I sailed on Dad’s Thistle until he sold it a few years later and bought a 26 foot racing/day-sailing keelboat on which I raced with my father every Sunday. At age nine, I joined our yacht club’s Junior Sailing Program and sailed with other kids as a crew member from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday all summer long. At age eleven, my father suggested I could borrow my brother’s Blue Jay and take it as a skipper to a novice regatta for kids my age. Terrified, I agreed. I remember my stomach in knots, as Dad and I trailered the boat to the regatta location with my crew and lowered the boat from the dock, via the lift, into the water, at the yacht club where the regatta was held. My fear was that I would crash my brother’s boat into another vessel, a dock, or some other obstruction and wreck it. I didn’t. Instead, I participated in each race, crossing the starting line near the time of the starting gun, rounded all the required turning marks in the proper direction, followed the right-of-way rules and avoided collisions, and finished mid-fleet in each race. I was hooked. I have been racing various boats as skipper ever since. Each time I traveled to a new place to race or sailed a boat that was new to me, I was scared. Every time I was exposed to a sudden squall, I was nervous, but I learned to face my fears head on, quickly identify alternative courses of action, pick one, act as if I knew what to do, and then do it. I survived a lot of challenging sailing situations and learned a great deal along the way. People who know me as an adult might be surprised to know I was a very shy child. I was not bold. I was not confident. I always had anxieties. I still do. But, among many other gifts that sailing has given me, it has taught me I can overcome each challenge as it appears in my life because I have done that so many times on the water. For me, sailing is comprised of equal parts fear, exhilaration, peaceful communion with nature and the elements, challenges to overcome, pride in accomplishment, confidence in my skills, and goal-setting. I cannot think of another activity that gives so much to its participants. I hope you will join The Sailing School at the Hudson River Maritime Museum and learn to sail this summer. You’ll have a blast! AuthorJody Taffet Sterling, Director of the Sailing School at the Hudson River Maritime Museum, learned to sail as a child on Long Island Sound. We have wonderful opportunities for youth and classes for adults. We hope to see you this spring or summer! Museum members get discounts on classes. Join today!
Sailing class tuition will be increased March 15, so act quickly to register at 2021 prices. |
AuthorStaff and volunteers of the Hudson River Maritime Museum's Wooden Boat School and Sailing & Rowing School. Archives
August 2023
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