Quadricentennial

HRBYCA, Inc.
P.O. Box 416
Crompond, NY 10517

RIVER DAY 2009 IS ONLY DAYS AWAY!
Can you believe it? We are finally here!

JUNE 5 (Friday) - evening River Day “launch” celebration in New York Harbor.

• “Harbor Night" with the Blessing of the Fleet, the awarding of the “Medal of Discovery”, and festivities at Battery Park
• 6pm-Ship assembly in front of Liberty Island and muster for photo op in the harbor against the Manhattan skyline
• 6:30pm Blessing of the Fleet at Battery Park with Governor Paterson and special guests

JUNE 6 (Saturday) - early morning with 7:15am pick-up of dignitaries and press at various overnight docking locations and Circle Line at 42nd
Street.

• 9am start of flotilla at Statue of Liberty joined by some of our River
  Day sponsors: Circle Line, Water Taxi, Classic Harbor Line, SeaTow, Discover Boating, North Cove Yacht Club, NYS Canal Corporation and River Day Safety Vessel, Launch 5

• Parade by Harlem, Cloisters, Yonkers, and Hudson River Museum.
• Arrival in Tarrytown and Nyack area around 5-6pm for cannon welcome and ringing of church bells, festivities and fireworks
• Fireworks Program - Adjacent to Kingsland Point Park, Sleepy Hollow, 9 pm
  For info: www.westchestertourism.com and www.rockland.org
• Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome antique plane fly-overs (www.oldrhinebeck.org)
• Overnight for flagships: Onrust and Woody at Nyack Boat Club, all others in vicinity of Tarrytown and Piermont.

JUNE 7 (Sunday) - departure at 8am.

• Arrival in Haverstraw, Croton and Ossining by 11am for midday celebration, leaving Haverstraw by 2pm sharp
• Parade by Stony Point, Peekskill, and other communities
• Parade by West Point to 16 cannon salute
• Arrival and cannon welcome in Newburgh/Beacon around 6pm
• Newburgh hosting music, Dutch singers and festivities (http://cityofnewburgh-ny.gov/HFC/NewburghBay.htm)
• Long Dock Beacon-Scenic Hudson hosting Welcome the Fleet Festival (www.scenichudson.org) with music and cuisine
  Beacon Sloop Club and City of Beacon hosting music and festivities.
• Overnight for flagships: Clearwater, Mystic, and Woody in Beacon; Half Moon, Harvey and Cleveland in Newburgh; Onrust TBA

JUNE 8 (Monday) - flagships stay in Beacon/Newburgh for educational programs all day.

• Jet fly-overs, West Point Band and other festivities

JUNE 9 (Tuesday) - flagships stay in Beacon/Newburgh for educational programs all day.
Depart Beacon/Newburgh at 4 pm.

• Arrival and cannon welcome (6pm) in Poughkeepsie area (www.Dutchess400.com) for festivities including ribbon cutting, music, Quadricentennial Show-Cake created by the Culinary Institute of America, and Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome antique plane fly-overs
• Overnight for flagships: Poughkeepsie area, Rogers Point, and boat clubs

JUNE 10 (Wednesday) - flagships remain in Poughkeepsie all day for educational activities.

• Depart Poughkeepsie at 4pm sharp
• Parade by Hyde Park State Historic Sites
• Arrival and cannon welcome (6:30pm) in Kingston for celebration at the Hudson River Maritime Museum (www.hrmm.org), and Rhinebeck Aerodrome antique plane fly-overs
• Overnight for ships at the Hudson River Maritime Museum and Historic Waterfront Museum docks

JUNE 11 (Thursday) - remain in Kingston for school groups from 8 to 11am.

• Parade by Saugerties Light House (around noon) for school groups
• Parade by Clermont State Historic Site
• Arrival and cannon welcome in Catskill/Hudson/Athens by 6pm with Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome antique plane fly-overs
  Catskill hosting celebration, fireworks, barbeque and reception. Hudson hosting river-ribbon-cutting, music, and festivities.  Athens hosting riverfront park party. Hudson-Athens Lighthouse hosting party (www.hudsonathenslighthouse.org).
• Hudson Harbor Cruise having narrated dinner cruise (call 518-828-7884)
• Overnight for flagships: Half Moon in Catskill; Clearwater in Hudson; and Onrust in Athens

JUNE 12 (Friday) - remain in Catskill/Hudson/Athens area for school groups until noon.

• Arrival and cannon welcome in Castleton at 4 pm for special final night dinner
• Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome antique plane fly-overs and fireworks
  Sponsored by Coeymans Marine Terminal

• Overnight for flagships: Clearwater, Launch 5 and Naval Militia at Castleton Boat Club; Half Moon, Harvey, Cleveland, and Onrust at Coeymans Marine Terminal/Brick Yard

JUNE 13 (Saturday) - depart Castleton at 11am. Parade by Schodack Park (www.schodack.org/quadri/HFCindex.htm) and Town of Bethlehem.

• Arrival at 12:30 for Final Cannon Welcome and day-long celebrations including Yankee Doodle Band at the Albany Yacht Club
• Dutch exhibits and cuisine, Blessing of the Fleet at Albany Yacht Club with local clergy including Dutch Reform minister
  Sponsored by Crailo State Historic Site (http://nysparks.state.ny.us/sites/info.asp?siteID=7)

• Riverfront Park in Rensselaer Activities: Keith Pray Big Band will be perform, BBQ style foods, Tours of the Clearwater Sloop
• Overnight for flagships: Half Moon will be in Albany; Onrust in Rensselaer

Visit www.exploreny400.com for complete details on River Day 2009

River Day 2009

More than 80 notable Hudson Valley and New York City leaders in the boating and waterfront communities including the major Hudson River organizations, have had a series of (8) meetings to build the concept and set the schedule for the first annual Hudson River Day and for its beginning to come about as a Quadricentennial legacy event. There is great and growing support and enthusiasm for River Day to be the premier and linear event in the valley to commemorate 400 years of history of the river, boats, ships, and friends.

The date is set for River Day (a.k.a. Opening Day) to traditionally take place the first week end of June when boat owners typically uncover and spruce up their boats and get on the water. For 2009, June 6th will be the official day although the celebration and events will be spread out over a few days to accommodate the signature event, the Relay Flotilla.

The flotilla will start the morning of June 6th with the boat and yacht clubs of Manhattan and New York City being the first to send out their memberships around the tip of Manhattan and coming round the statue of liberty led up the river by our New York State heritage flagships. As these memberships are welcomed to celebrations at the next northerly clubs, those clubs will send their members out to continue the relay flotilla tracing Henry Hudson's path to Albany.

At this time, we have commitments from the flagships; the famous Onrust, Clearwater, Woody Guthrie, the Mystic and the Half Moon. The events along the river at the boat and yacht clubs, the cultural institutions and museums, and all of the waterfront parks will have appeal and activities for everyone as the summer begins an entire season of celebration. We are working to build the land components with parks, the Harbor District in NYC, and countless others. We hope to have a "launch" celebration in the city the night before the Relay Flotilla as a celebration of New York's heritage flagships and harbor and river boaters, and then, a welcoming ceremony when the flotilla arrives in Albany. A meeting with all of the safety and security entities has their full support and interest including a possible Coast Guard escort of the flotilla.

The schedule has been fashioned through two meetings with river boat pilots consulting tide charts, an average speed of 3 to 4 knots, overnight dock accommodations, and inclusive for the involved communities along the way. Our third pilot meeting is scheduled and we will issue a report afterwards. The promotion of River Day was the centerpiece at the National Boat Show this past December with more than 200 boaters signing up.

Tentative Schedule:

JUNE 5-evening "launch" celebration in NY Harbor JUNE 6-early morning start of flotilla at Statue of Liberty. Arrival and welcome (6pm) for overnight in Tappan area including Tarrytown, Nyack (boat club and town dock), Haverstraw and Piermont. JUNE 7-Arrival and welcome (6pm) in Beacon/Newburgh for overnight. JUNE 8 and 9-Arrival and welcome (4pm) in Poughkeepsie area for two overnights (Marist, 2 boat clubs and new Shadows marina). Two nights so that the flagships have the opportunity to take on school groups or other educational programs, etc. JUNE 10-Arrival and welcome (6pm) in Kingston for overnight. JUNE 11-Arrival and welcome in Catskill/Hudson area for overnight. JUNE 12-Arrival in Castleton at 4 for final night. June 13-Arrival in Albany for day-long final welcome event.

We have just added a River Day link on our website for boaters to sign on!

Please let us know if you want to help in other ways including our next and final phase: We hope to get Champlain and canal boaters to consider a "Lake Day" component and to meet us in Albany on June 13th!

Tara Sullivan
Executive Director
Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial
Department of Environmental Conservation
625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233
office 518-402-8565
cell 845-242-3766
fax 518-402-9016