BEACON, NY – Forty-five years after Pete Seeger and friends launched the tall-ship Clearwater, the nonprofit organization that operates the sloop has launched a “crowd-sourcing” effort to help fund a new sail and boom for the beloved vessel.
Hudson River Sloop Clearwater Inc. is enlisting the public in keeping the iconic boat afloat with an online campaign at www.indiegogo.com/projects/clearwater-sail-and-boom-project.
The Indiegogo effort introduces a new short video that features original footage of the 106-foot-long sloop being launched in South Bristol, Maine, in 1969. The film also offers a quick dip into the experience some 500,000 people of all ages have enjoyed aboard Clearwater, as schoolchildren on educational sails, ticket-buyers for public sails or with chartered group events.
Hudson River Sloop Clearwater Inc. is a membership-supported environmental organization offering educational programs, environmental action initiatives, the annual Great Hudson River Revival eco-music festival and more. Clearwater seeks to raise $25,000 to help replace the worn-out mainsail and 12-year-old boom. (The total cost of the project is $40,000.)
The Clearwater Sail & Boom Project was begun after the crew of the Clearwater discovered a crack in the boom of the vessel last month.
The Clearwater is now headed for her winter home port in Kingston, NY, where she will undergo routine winter maintenance. The Kingston Home Port and Education Center serves as both a berth and repair shop for the sloop – and as a community gathering place. Several “Open Boat” music events are scheduled for the winter, with the first set for January 24th from 4:00-8:00 PM.
The spring 2015 sailing season begins in April. Those who contribute $100 or more to the Sail & Boom Project may attend a special launch party for the sloop to be held when she’s ready to launch. Other possibilities range being named a “swabby” for a contribution of just $10 to picking up some discounted tickets to the next Clearwater Revival Festival June 20-21 in Croton-on-Hudson for donations of $500-$1,000.
Pete Seeger, the legendary folk singer/ activist who died at age 94 last January, first launched the sloop Clearwater with a crew of musician pals. Friends had helped finance his dream of building a replica ship like those that sailed the Hudson in the 18th and 19th centuries to spread the good word about how to save the river from severe industrial pollution and protect it for generations to come.
