Contact:  

Nordica Holochuck, NY Sea Grant, P: 845-340-3983, E: nch8@cornell.edu

NY Sea Grant Discover Clean & Safe Sailboat Makes 1st Visit to Clearwater Festival June 16-17

2012 Clean Marina Education

Croton-on-Hudson, NY, June 7, 2012 – For the first time, the 2012 Discover Clean & Safe Sailboat will join the many vessels that are part of the excitement and exhibits of the Working Waterfront at the 2012 Clearwater Festival June 16-17 at Croton Point Park in Croton-on-Hudson, NY.

The Working Waterfront venue of the festival is where visitors will find the 17-foot Com-Pac Sun Cat that is the educational vessel for the 2012 Discover Clean & Safe Boating campaign (see picture below). The campaign educates boaters about all the gear required and recommended for legal, safe and environmentally-friendly boating on New York’s waters.

The exhibit, organized and staffed by New York Sea Grant, will include information about a new voluntary watercraft inspection program being offered statewide. Waterfront stewards located along the Hudson River and at boat launches in the Finger Lakes and eastern Great Lakes regions of New York State are helping boaters learn how to inspect motorized and non-motorized vessels and properly dispose of any unwanted aquatic invasive species.

Aquatic invasive species – species not native to the local ecosystem - can damage boat engines and steering equipment, reduce native game fish populations, degrade ecosystems, make lakes and rivers unusable by boaters and swimmers, and impact the economies of waterfront communities. National Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers information will be available at the Discover Clean & Safe Boating exhibit.

Clearwater Festival Director Steve Lurie says, “The 2012 Discover Clean & Safe Boating sailboat exhibit is a perfect fit with Clearwater’s work to educate the public about Hudson River water quality and invasive species,” said Steve Lurie, Clearwater Festival Director.  “The 2012 Discover Clean & Safe Boating campaign also complements Clearwater’s mission to promote environmental research, education and advocacy and to help preserve and protect the Hudson River. The exhibit will provide valuable information to festival attendees and particularly boaters who frequent the Hudson River ports.”

New York Sea Grant Hudson Estuary Specialist Nordica Holochuck adds, “I am very pleased we will have the exhibit at this year’s Clearwater Festival. Sloop Clearwater is one of the Hudson Valley’s strongest advocates for a clean and safe Hudson River, and the venue is perfect for promoting boating stewardship issues.”

The 2012 Discover Clean and Safe Boating campaign sponsors include New York Sea Grant, The Skaneateles Sailboat Shop, Arney’s Marina, Marathon Boat Group, Morgan Recreational Supply, Taylor Made Products, and the Boating Industries Association of Upstate New York.

For more info on the Discover Clean & Safe Boat, contact Dave White, New York Sea Grant, Oswego, NY, 315-312-3042, www.nyseagrant.org/marina

Renowned musician and environmentalist Pete Seeger founded Clearwater’s annual music and environmental festival offering a wide spectrum of world-renowned music artists performing on seven stages over the Father’s Day Weekend.


More Info:

The Clearwater Festival and Great Hudson River Revival offers family-fun activities, superb storytellers and entertainers, World Dance Tent, Green Living Expo, and Working Waterfront complete with sails on tall ships and small boats including the historic sloop Clearwater and the schooner Mystic Whaler. Attendees can peruse the juried Crafts Fair, and the Artisanal Marketplace. The Circle of Song is open to audience participation, and this all takes place at beautiful Croton Point Park in Westchester County. All proceeds from the Festival support Clearwater's environmental education, advocacy, and research to help preserve and protect the Hudson River and its tributaries, as well as the communities of the Hudson River Valley.  More information on the Clearwater Festival is online at www.clearwater.org.

New York Sea Grant (NYSG), a cooperative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York, is one of 32 university-based programs under the National Sea Grant College Program (NSGCP) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The NSGCP engages this network of the nation’s top universities in conducting scientific research, education, training and extension projects designed to foster science-based decisions about the use and conservation of our aquatic resources. Through its statewide network of integrated services, NYSG has been promoting coastal vitality, environmental sustainability, and citizen awareness about the State’s marine and Great Lakes resources since 1971. For updates on Sea Grant activities: www.nyseagrant.org has RSS, Facebook Twitter and YouTube links.

For over 40 years, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater has been at the forefront of the environmental movement as champion of the Hudson River, working to pass landmark legislation like the Clean Water Act, providing innovative educational programs, environmental advocacy, and musical celebrations, including the renowned annual Clearwater Festival, to inspire, educate, and activate millions of people.  Founded by music legend and environmental activist Pete Seeger, the organization began with the launch of the sloop Clearwater in 1969 —a majestic replica of the sloops that sailed the Hudson in the 18th and 19th centuries. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the 106-foot-long sloop is among the first vessels in the U.S. to conduct science-based environmental education aboard a sailing ship, creating the template for environmental education programs around the world. More than half a million young people and hundreds of thousands of adults have experienced their first real look at an estuary’s ecosystem aboard Clearwater. The organization's strong connection to youth, environmental education, and its agenda to create the next generation of environmental leaders, are all part of building and strengthening a Green Cities Initiative for a green economy and a more inclusive and diverse environmental movement. Utilizing the greatest natural resource in the region, the Hudson River, Clearwater has become the grassroots model for producing positive changes to protect our planet.