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Have You Ever Heard of Ice Yachting?!?!

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Recently,  ice yachts were seen on Stockbridge Bowl and it gained quite a bit of interest. Join us for an interesting session to learn about this age-old sport.

Ice yachting might be new to Stockbridge, but it has been around since the 1600’s when the Dutch brought the activity to the Hudson River Valley, to continue commerce during the winter, by attaching skates to the bottom of their hulled ships. Designs changed with the realization of how fast these craft could go – resulting in the fastest vehicles on earth in the late 1800’s.  Join Robert Wills for a presentation about the history and evolution of ice sailing, culminating in this year’s sailing on the Stockbridge Bowl.

Robert Wills is the President of the Hudson River Ice Yacht Preservation Trust, and Past Commodore of the Hudson River Ice Yacht Club.  He has been ice boating since 1989, and currently caretakes four ice yachts, including KRISS, commissioned by John Aspinwall Roosevelt (FDR’s uncle) in 1898.  He is a registered architect in NY, and resides in Rhinecliff, NY.

You can learn more about ice yachting here