GREENPORT—Olana State Historic Site will welcome the public to a birds-eye view of the Hudson River Day Flotilla, which should be moving up the river past Olana Thursday afternoon, June 11. The flotilla is a signature event of the Quadricentennial and involves boat and yacht clubs between New York Harbor and Albany.
The vessels will anchor overnight in the Hudson-Athens area, with riverfront parties as well as an event at the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse (www.hudsonathenslighthouse.org). The sloop Clearwater will moor for the night in Hudson.
The flotilla will pass Clermont State Historic Site about noon, and Germantown at the Cheviot boat launch or the Anchorage in North Germantown will offer riverside views. But Olana’s view will be entirely different: a panoramic vista, which may be similar to the first views the native people had of Henry Hudson’s ship as he guided it up the river that would later be named for him. The site will also provide a look at the entire sailboat flotilla, something not seen this far up the river since the tall ships of the Bicentennial celebrations in 1976.
Boats from clubs in Manhattan and elsewhere in New York City will start off the parade, rounding the tip of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty and moving northward. The flotilla will reach Albany on June 12. Local marinas and other pleasure craft are being asked to join in along the way. The relay parade will be led by the state heritage flagships Onrust, Clearwater and Woodie Guthrie. Plans are underway to include the replica of the Half Moon in this statewide celebration.
More about Olana is available at www.olana.org.
