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Copyright John A. Sperr HRIYC.ORG March 17, 2013 Season is over in the Hudson Valley
See more of Andy's great photographs below
Hudson River Ice Yacht Club Annual Spring Dinner Sunday, April 7, 2013 Noon - 5 pm Lawrence Farms Orchards 39 Colandrea Road, Newburgh, NY 12550 Gourmet Potluck -- bring a dish to share and your favorite beverage Friends & Guests Welcome Rain or Shine, this is always a great venue for our gatherings. A large indoor and outdoor space with a complete kitchen facility. Set in the middle of the orchards high on a hill overlooking the Hudson Valley. Bring your video and photos. Special Video of the HRIYC in Wisconsin for the 100 year NIYA celebration.
Weather Links
Iceboat Launch Site Maps & Directory for the Eastern
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The Last of the Ice The ice is all but gone from Tivoli Bay -- a few warm sunny days followed by more rain finished off the ice shortly after we pulled the fleet on President's Day. The ice on the mud flats in the south end of the bay is always the last to go. In the photo below, you can see the mud bleeding up through the cracks -- it will not be long before it falls apart. Birds on the ice working the holes and cracks are a harbinger of the end of the sheet. There were three eagles and two dozen gulls working the remaining ice yesterday, scavenging for dead bodies that were trapped below the surface as the tide fell when the ice first formed and could not subsequently escape. The eagles have begun sitting on their nests -- the males and females alternating between keeping the eggs warm and safe, and flying off to feed themselves -- with two mild winters back to back, the eagles seem more numerous this year.
There was sailing two weekends ago on Lake Wallenpaupack in Pennsylvania but last week, the shore reportedly opened up and the ice is now very slushy. Andy Hudson sent this picture of the NSIBYC stern steerers who made the outing. This weekend, there was sailing on Damariscotta and Twin Lakes in Maine, and the NIYA finally was run at Green Lake, Wisconsin. The Coast Guard flew one last ice photo mission on February 25, 2013 -- a quick flight of the Mid-Hudson Valley. With their icebreaking work done for the season, the only job that remains is to pull the winter buoys and replace them with the larger summer buoys. This page will also transition shortly to summer mode -- there's a lot of work to be done getting our revitalized field of wild blueberries in Maine ready for its first big fruiting crop in twenty years. We're steadily opening up the view east to the mountains of Acadia National Park across Blue Hill Bay as well. Thank you for the many positive comments I have received about my efforts here -- they mean much more to me than page rank or hit statistics.
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USCG Ice Flight January 5, 2013 USCG Ice Flight January 6, 2013 USCG Ice Flight January 10, 2013 USCG Ice Flight January 23, 2013 USCG Ice Flight January 29, 2013 USCG Ice Flight February 3, 2013 USCG Ice Flight February 4, 2013 USCG Ice Flight February 7, 2013 USCG Ice Flight February 10, 2013 USCG Ice Flight February 15, 2013 USCG Ice Flight February 18, 2013 USCG Ice Flight February 25, 2013 The north arrow labels in these ice flight photos are
often wrong. Recent Photo Albums |
| Over the years, professional photographer
Andy Wainwright
has faithfully come down to the ice with his camera gear and taken many
incredible photographs of our fleet of historic ice yachts in action. Here's
a small sampling of his work that he recently sent to me and gave me
permission to post here. The first two photos below are from our brief period of sailing on Tivoli Bay last month (February 2013). The lower two in black and white pre-date the age of digital photography. You can see Andy's boots as he is out riding on the plank, hanging on to the shroud with his left hand as he works the camera with his right. His big fish eye lens produced some very dramatic pictures with a field of view that could capture an entire boat at close range. The picture on the right is SPIDER making its way up the bay casting a long mid winter shadow on the pebbled ice surface. This and the last photo below with the runner tracks carved in the fresh snow are two of my favorite photos of his. Right click these and open them in full resolution for best enjoyment. |
 photo copyright Andy Wainwright |
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Links to Field Reports of Ice Conditions
IDNIYRA Ice Conditions Reports
Brakes On? 
photo Copyright Brian Reid,
December 2002
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HRIYC.ORG is neither the official website, nor am I the webmaster, of the Hudson River Ice Yacht Club. I am a long standing member of the Club and during the sailing season I frequently post photographs and information on this, my own personal website, about current iceboating activity in the Hudson Valley and beyond. I am the sole person responsible for the presentation of content and the opinions expressed herein. Interesting photographic contributions are welcome and appreciated -- I spend most of my time on the ice skippering and far too often fail to capture the best images the day has to offer. ŠJohn A. Sperr MMXIII |