The sloop Clearwater left from Croton, NY on Monday morning for Washington, DC, part of an initiative to raise concerns about threats federal clean water protections. Today, due to rough weather and unfavorable conditions in the Atlantic, Clearwater made the decision to turn around. It will come back to port, and the crew and staff will continue to monitor weather patterns to assess whether it can make another attempt to sail to Washington within our scheduled window.
The crew and the Clearwater itself are fine. This decision was made out of out of prudence, with safety as the top priority. The Clearwater is a Hudson River sloop designed for carrying cargo on the River rather than for ocean voyages in rough conditions. With recent severe weather in the area and a tropical storm in the Gulf, it was decided to head back to avoid encountering potentially tougher conditions.
We’ll keep you updated on conditions and decisions regarding Clearwater’s sail to DC. Meanwhile, we can confirm that in any case, the Washington, DC events Clearwater has organized will go ahead next week. The “cargo of concern” of testimonials, petitions and municipal resolutions Clearwater has collected will be delivered to Congress, and a Capitol Hill forum on clean water issues will go ahead as planned on June 29.
