As New York celebrates the Quadricentennial of the explorations of Henry Hudson and Samuel de Champlain, people will be drawn to the shores of history to hear yesterday's echo and witness today’s tribute. The “Working on Water” tour will feature more than a dozen historic vessels traveling the waters of Lake Champlain, the Champlain Canal, and the Hudson River on a voyage of re-discovery celebrating the early explorers’ legacy and that of Robert Fulton’s pioneering steamboat. The tour will include hands-on maritime educational programs, music and circus performances, tugboat races, tours and rides, and unique opportunities to reconnect with our waterways. Maritime heritage will come alive aboard a fleet of historic and working vessels led by a 256 foot-long Barge Canal Motorship, the Day Peckinpaugh. Join with us in August and September of this history-filled year of 2009 as we bring 400 years of maritime history and commercial progress to life. Bring your imagination and take away memories that will last a lifetime -- and leave your own echo on the water!
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Long ago the drama of the American story unfolded along the waters of the Hudson River and Lake Champlain. The first great explorers, warriors, inventors, mariners and traders who shaped our history may be gone, but their legacy remains. From the Canadian border to New York Harbor, the tale of a young America can still be heard echoing across the water today. In 2009, as we mark the Quadricentennial of the explorations of Henry Hudson and Samuel de Champlain, we will gather together along the shores of history to hear that echo, and to make our own.
During the “Working on Water” tour more than a dozen historic vessels will travel along the waters of Lake Champlain, the Champlain Canal, and the Hudson River on a voyage of re-discovery, celebrating the legacy of the early explorers’ and Robert Fulton’s pioneering steamboat. Led by a famed Barge Canal Motorship, the 256 foot-long Day Peckinpaugh, and the iconic replica sailing ship Halfmoon, the vessels will dock in waterfront communities where the public will have the opportunity to tour -- and sometimes ride aboard -- the boats that tell the story of how Hudson, Champlain, and Fulton opened these storied waters for commerce and recreation.
The tour will feature several other historic and working tugboats, two of which are more than a century old: the Urger and the Pegasus. Other popular tugboats participating include the Chancellor, W. O. Decker, Buffalo, Governor Cleveland, Gowanus Bay, Elise Ann Connor, 8th Sea, Churchill, and Cornell. The venerable John J. Harvey, a vintage New York City fireboat, a Coast Guard Cutter, the Hudson River sloop Clearwater, the covered railroad barge Lehigh Valley #79, the authentic Dutch sailing barge Golden Re'al, the replica gunboat Philadelphia II, and the amazing replica canal schooner Lois McClure will round out this eclectic and fun group of vessels. A compelling example of our region’s enduring maritime legacy, this collection of remarkable craft will tell the story of 400 years of history in the Champlain-Hudson Corridor. Events during the tour will include hands-on maritime educational programs, music and circus performances, tugboat races and tours, and opportunities to reconnect with our waterways and our heritage by riding aboard several of the participating vessels.
Join us this year during the months of August and September along the shores of history. Bring your imagination and take away memories to last a lifetime – and leave your own echo on the water!
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