Ice yachts on the Hudson

The Hudson River was known for ice yachting. The old river freezes less often these days, but the ice yacht sailers still go out on the thin ice to travel at speeds that would make most water-borne sailers blink.

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The Hudson River has been in the news across lately due to the cool-nerved heroism of a pilot who saved lives in the air and on land by successfully crash-landing a stricken airliner on its chilly surface.

In times past, however, it was also known for ice yachting. The old river freezes less often these days, but the ice yacht sailers still go out on the thin ice to travel at speeds that would make most water-borne sailers blink.

See some instructions and plans on building ice yachts from Charles H Farnham and published by Cornell University Library, this article from the New York Times and – probably best of all – these wonderful photos of old-style ice-yachting.

PS – I won’t put up a post on Saturday the 14th, as Julie and I are getting married.

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