Rocket, a 50-foot iceboat built in 1888, rigged and ready to sail for the first time in 100 years on the frozen Hudson River.
- Filed Under
For the first time in a century, the resurrected ice boat - Rocket - flew across the upper Hudson River, rewarding Monmouth County racers who invested more than a decade restoring one of the biggest ice boats ever built.
As its name implies, in its Victorian age Rocket was the fastest ride humans could get. With 900 square feet of sail on its mast, the 50-foot ice boat easily hits 50 mph on a windy day, with riders perched just inches above the ice.
"There's only two of these boats that exist," said Dan Clapp, of the North Shrewsbury Ice Boat and Yacht Club. "Back in the 1880s, it was club versus club. If ...