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Holiday 2018 9 boatingonthehudson.com
Thursday, October 18th, 2018 marked
the 50th anniversary of the keel laying ceremony
of America’s environmental flagship, the sloop
Clearwater. The keel laying ceremony took place
at the Harvey Gamage Shipyard in South Bristol,
Maine, where the historic sloop replica was built and
launched seven months later. Toshi Seeger anointed
the keel with Hudson River water in the presence of
30-40 Clearwater supporters who traveled to Maine
from the Hudson Valley.
“If a boat’s launch is akin to its birth, then the keel
laying is its conception” said Betsy Garthwaite,
Clearwater Board President and former sloop
captain. The keel of a ship is the”backbone” around
which the hull is built. Laying the keel marks the
official start of construction of a vessel.
Present at the ceremony were then Chairman of
the Clearwater Board, Pete Seeger, Naval architect
Cyrus Hamlin, President of the Board, Alexander
“Sandy” Saunders Jr., boat builder Harvey Gamage
and Toshi Seeger, as well as other founding members
and their families.
At the time of the keel laying, the sloop had not yet
been named but a vote was held by the membership
of Hudson River Sloop Restoration the following
March, at which time the sloop was given the name
Clearwater. Also that October, the organization still
needed to raise the majority of the funds necessary
to complete the building of the sloop. They continued
to raise funds, much in the same way as the
organization does today, through concerts, other
special events and member support. Seven months
Hudson River Sloop Clearwater has
been at the forefront of the environmental
movement as champions for the Hudson
River. To date, more than half a million
people have experienced their first real
look at an estuary’s ecosystem aboard the
sloop Clearwater. Clearwater has become
the grassroots model for producing positive
changes to protect our planet. For more
information, visit
50th Anniversary
C l e a r w a t e r
Present at the ceremony were then Chairman of the Clearwater Board, Pete Seeger, Naval
architect Cyrus Hamlin, President of the Board, Alexander “Sandy” Saunders Jr., boat builder
Harvey Gamage and Toshi Seeger, as well as other founding members and their families.
later, Clearwater was christened and launched
on May 17,1969 from the shipyard in Maine.
The sloop Clearwater was built as an
environmental and educational platform for
Hudson River community members to engage
with the river and foster new and inspired
relationships that would aid in the restoration
and protection of the Hudson, which was rank
with toxic pollution at the time. In its nearly half
century on the river, Clearwater has played a key
role in successfully advocating for the protection
and cleanup of the Hudson.
Clearwater will be celebrating the 50th
anniversary of the launching of the sloop
throughout the 2019 sailing season. The Hudson
River Maritime Museum in Kingston, NY will be
curating an exhibition titled “Rescuing the River:
Over 50 Years of Environmental Activism on the
Hudson” which will be on display for two years
starting on Earth Day in 2019. The exhibit will
focus on the history of environmental activism in
the Hudson Valley with special emphasis on the
Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, which will be
celebrating of its 50th anniversary. The Hudson
River Maritime Museum is currently collecting
objects, photographs, documents, and personal
stories related to the founding of Clearwater
to create an engaging and interactive physical
exhibit with companion online exhibit about
historic threats to the Hudson River and the work
of environmental activists to mitigate and reverse
negative impacts on the river.
In conjunction with the exhibit, Betsy Garthwaite is
scheduled to present a lecture on the history of the
building of sloop Clearwater on Wednesday, April 24,
2019, 7:00 p.m. at the Riverport Wooden Boat School
classroom as part of The Hudson River Maritime
Museum’s Follow the River lecture series.
In 2019, Clearwater will also celebrate the 100th
birthday of Clearwater founder, folk musician and
activist, Pete Seeger (1919-2014).