Insert, 3:15 p.m. - Months of planning and permits amounted to nothing as the Coast Guard, apparently on orders “from above” (see below), ordered the captain of the Sloop Clearwater, launched in 1969 by Pete Seeger and friends to clean the Hudson, to “turn your vessel around” instead of taking its place escorting a Portuguese square rigger up the Hudson in the big Fourth of July Sail 250 event (video by Tom LaBarr of the Beacon Sloop Club on Facebook).
Original post - I just had a conversation witth Dave Toman, executive director of the fabled Hudson River environmental and education organization Clearwater from the deck of the Sloop Clearwater after Coast Guard, Navy and New York Police Department vessels diverted the fabled sloop from its long-approved participation in the Sail250 Parade in New York Harbor and up the Hudson River.
The reason was reportedly that the vessel was displaying banners supporting inidigenous rights, climate action and preserving the Clean Water Act. I’ve reached out to Sail250 to get their input on why this happened and will update the post then.
Insert 3pm - Just posted by Clearwater:
BREAKING NEWS: Clearwater was removed from the Sail4th 250 Parade of Sail by the USCG and escorted out of the Exclusion Zone by the US Coast Guard, US Navy, and NYPD.
Captain Rory Kane inquired why, and was informed the removal was due to the presence of banners reading: ‘Save the Clean Water Act and Indigenous Rights, Racial Justice, Climate Solutions’”.
A representative from Sail4th 250 informed the Captain the decision was ‘above them.’
The sloop has a long and storied history of using the mains’l to share messages of hope and advocacy.
The Clearwater will continue sailing south of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge until 3pm and has 29 passengers and 19 crew aboard. Follow our stories to see how we’re building solidarity from Gravesend Bay, waiting out the expiration of the security zone.
In the meantime, support Clearwater’s education and conservation work at clearwater.org.
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