profile

The Hudson River Watertrail Association

A Resource for Human Powered Boaters

Welcome to the latest iteration of the HRWA Website. This is the classic example of a little site with big ambitions. We welcome HRWA members and non-members alike to register and contribute to an ongoing discussion about the Hudson and kayaking.

We have most of the content from the previous website available. Take a look on the left side of this page... notice the page with the arrow icon? That indicates a page with stuff on it. Take a look at "Why Do I Do It" if you are searching for inspiration.

There are 28 Posts and 17 Comments so far.
Subscribe to Posts or Comments

I’ve been hesitant to write on the subject of the HRWA and it’s possible dissolution. In the past, I have gotten carried away by my passion and what I thought of as arduous zeal has often been characterized as a frenzied outburst. So that said, I’ll try and keep my flippers out of my mouth.

I’ve been hesitant to write on the subject of the HRWA and it’s possible dissolution. In the past, I have gotten carried away by my passion and what I thought of as arduous zeal has often been characterized as a frenzied outburst. So that said, I’ll try and keep my flippers out of my mouth.

The HRWA has had many faces and, hopefully, will have many faces still. The group started as an access and advocacy group. In the fall of 1990 I solo paddle from NYC to Whitehall, NY, the terminus of the Champlain Canal, and, in the process, was almost arrested on several occasions for camping on public land. I was outraged, what did public land mean anyway?? Returning home, I wrote about my adventure and put together a slide show for the local paddling club. The slide show was a success and soon found myself presenting it at a variety of local venues. Somewhere along the line, the folks at L.L. Bean read one of my articles and invited me to be one of the guest speakers at their 10th annual paddling symposium in Maine. It was in Maine, ironically, where the HRWA was born. At breakfast after my slide show, I met John Middlebrooks, a planning specialist who worked for the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation in NY state. John became our go-to man and was responsible for connecting the dots for our fledgling organization. It was through his efforts that the OPRHP, PIPC, DEC, The Hudson Greenway Council, Scenic Hudson, Sloop Clearwater and the Dutchess County Planning Department were all in attendance when we connived our first, formal meeting with the state at the Bear Mountain Lodge on January, 1992.

The organization’s face changed soon after that first meeting and we slowly morphed from an advocacy group to a paddling club. There was much dissension in our ranks about some of our more social and sometimes non-Hudson related activities. Maybe the naysayers were right. Still, I feel it was all our activities that fueled our volunteer base. You could always count on even the dullest work project to turn into a party. When we built the Croton Point campsite we had approximately 25 people turning out for the combo paddle / camp-out / BBQ / work weekend. The park was so impressed with our group and our intentions that they sent over a man with a bulldozer to speed things up. I must point out that once the naysayers got their way and we suspended our non-Hudson, non-advocacy activities, the volunteer pool dried up and has never returned to those enthusiastic levels.

The next face change came when we picked up NYCkayaker. Again, many in our group thought we were diverging from our mission statement by getting into the internet business. I didn’t understand that criticism at all. Fortunately, neither did Cliff Landsman and Craig Poole who set up and kept the whole thing running. Good spot here for me to salute Jeremy Speer who — if memory serves — holds the record for the most years of manning the ship; also a special thanks to Rich Kulawiec, the gentleman currently hosting NYCkayaker.

The next controversy, believe it or not, was right after Ian Giddy accomplished his super human task of writing up the Waterway guide. Many in the group felt that HRWA was an advocacy group and shouldn’t be in the publishing business. I suppose there is merit in their criticism. It was a lot of work, updating the guide, mailing it out, etc. Still the guide creates massive amounts of name recognition, PR, revenue, clout, and just plain old good karma; and that’s a currency that should not be given away lightly. Yes, the guide was and is a lot of work; and in the past, we have subbed out some of that work using paid volunteers. The guide should be updated. Further, it should be expanded and put on-line on our website, so that pages can be printed out, making trip planing for our members even easier.

As far as Bronck Island is concerned, I would prefer passing it on to a management group like the Greenway or Scenic Hudson. In the past, as we developed the HRWA, several pieces of property had been offered to us, and we passed on them. I did not feel then, nor do I feel now, that the organization was ever set up to manage real estate.

Realistically, for an organization to stay vital, it must change it’s face every few years. But if I understand the current thinking there is no need to evolve any further because all the work has been done. I must take issue with that. In our original mission statement, our primary goal was to establish a water trail along the Hudson River by maintaining wilderness campsites approximately 10 to 15 miles apart. Is that done?? Succeeding with that phase, the idea was to expand north through Lake Champlain to the Canadian border and west through the Mohawk River and Erie Canal to the Great Lakes. Are all these pieces really in place??? No, our work isn’t done.

What is needed is for the HRWA to not only change it’s face yet again, but to reclaim it’s face of old. Access issues still abound. Developers will never stop trying to develop and, to a certain degree, exploit waterfront exclusivity for the profitable few, rather then promoting access for all. The HRWA, at one time, was leading the fight for waterfront access. Where were we during Yonkers? Insurance issues continue to be a problem. The HRWA could serve as an umbrella group, working out insurance issues for local community paddling groups and events. New paddlers are continually entering the sport. The HRWA was, and should be again, a disseminator of information. What happened to our seminars and cold water workshops? We have a marvelous webpage. Why isn’t it being utilized for issues and information? What happened to our presence at the trade shows?? When HRWA was being formed, the leaders here in NYC made many trips to Albany and various upstate locations. Where then, when the NYC Water Trail Association was being formed and looking for input, were the HRWA leaders from upstate and Albany???

For those of you who feel that the work on the HRWA isn’t yet complete, please attend the meeting at St. Philip’s Church on Route 9D in Garrison on November 8th at 1 PM.

I’ll be there. BRING A VOTE!!

November Meeting News

The Association Lives

It seems there is still life left in HRWA. The November meeting has resulted in a new board of directors and a, hopefully, re-energized outlook for the association.

However, it seems using a blog is beyond their abilities, so for now look for most of the updates to come via the NYCKayaker email list.

Please Read - Serious HRWA Business

To Members of HRWA:

The Hudson River Watertrail Association was founded in 1992 with the primary purpose of establishing a water trail throughout the length of the Hudson River. Shortly thereafter, the Association published a Guide, written initially by member Ian Giddy, which is now in its Sixth Edition and is widely regarded as the bible of the Hudson. On Earth Day in 2001, Governor Pataki announced the dedication of a million dollars to the establishment of a water trail, and credited the Association with developing the concept.

The work of the Association has been done by volunteer Board members, primarily. We’ve published the Guide, developed Bronck Island as a campsite, maintained a listserve where paddlers can communicate with each other, been the spark behind the Great Hudson River Paddle, published newsletters from time to time, represented paddlers on various councils and commissions, distributed the Guide to outfitters to sell directly to the public, and responded to lots of questions. Increasingly, however, it has been difficult to recruit Board members and officers who have the time to keep things going. Most Board members have jobs and families and other responsibilities. Now we are faced with the necessity of preparing the Seventh Edition of the Guide-and it’s a very big job.

At our last meeting in August, we considered the possibility of dissolving the Association. The water trail is a reality, there are now many new organizations serving the needs of paddlers, and the Hudson River Valley Greenway has taken over all responsibility for the Great Hudson River Paddle. Although it is premature to be specific, we believe there is an organization ready to continue the Guide and the listserve. We know of an organization ready to acquire Bronck Island and keep it available as a campsite. So we think it’s time to go, with regret.

Our bylaws say that dissolution requires a vote of the members. So, we are announcing a meeting of the Board and the membership for November 8th at St. Philip’s Church on Route 9D in Garrison, at 1:00 p.m. At that time, we will review the issues and then take a vote. The actual dissolution would take place after all the details have been taken care of. If you are a member and can come and participate, please do. If you wish to comment, please contact any Board member-contact information can be found on the website at www.hrwa.org.

Bob Ihlenburg, President

On behalf of the Board of HRWA

Art on Hudson

Check it out people! If you really want to have some fun check out www.artonhudson.com where the rubber meets the river!

There is so much to do on the Hudson… we are kayakers, BUT we collect driftwood up and down the river and create “art.” Our start point is Grand View/Nyack and on a day like today Saturday, August 9th when you see only TWO other kayakers it makes ya wonder, “where is everbody!”

So, I ask, where are you people hanging? I invite you to check out the website and get into the groove, we are only 20 miles north of NYC and there is a whole lotta of river up here (or down here if you are in the upper Hudson Valley)!

Look forward to your comments and input.

Rachel

HRWA Summer Board Meeting

12 Noon at St. Philip’s Church, 1101 Route 9D, Garrison, NY 10524.

All members are welcome, only board members may vote.

How to use this site

People, everybody needs to spend a moment reading up on how web-logs are used. Posting “comments” is not the way to use this site. If you want to comment on a specific item, then yes, post a comment. If you want to ask a general question or make a point then write a new POST and it will appear in this main list. Very few people will find your comments on, say, the ABOUT page, when your comment has nothing to do with the ABOUT page.

How do you write a new post? If you have already registered you must LOGIN to the site (lower left, click where it says LOGIN). Once you have logged in click WRITE A NEW POST and then have at it. 

There will be a delay before you see your post unless you have previously approved comments/posts already on this site. This is because of “comment spam.” The filter on this site has already stopped over 1,200 comments from going public.

place to store small kayak trailer July3-6 Albany

Does anyone know of a place in Albany - someone’s backyard would be ok - where we could store a small 5′ by 8′ kayak trailer for 4 days during the Albany to Manhattan paddle? July 3-6

Big Promotion!

Everybody who has registered on this site has now been promoted to “Contributor.” This means you are now welcome to write posts that will appear on the main page (like this one).

New Membership Form Now Available

Here’s your big chance… if you’ve put off joining the HRWA because, well, you couldn’t find the membership form, now there’re no more excuses. Download the form as a fillable PDF today. You can fill out the PDF in your browser, but you’ll still have to print it and mail it, were not 100% online just yet. But unlike most PDF forms you should be able to save the form once you’ve filled it out.

Site Registration

Just a reminder, you don’t have to register here unless you want to post comments or possibly get more involved with the site.

Registering for this site is not the same as registering for the NYCKayaker list.

Next »