The Clearwater Generations Storytelling Archive is a growing collection of memories from the Clearwater community—those who have sailed the sloop, worked for the river, and found inspiration in its mission. Since 1966, Clearwater has sparked education, advocacy, and music that connect people to the Hudson and to one another. Nearly sixty years on, our community continues to grow, and these stories show how grassroots generosity and collective action are powerful forces for good.
It’s the little things that make Clearwater hard to leave
From bottom left: Dorina (seated), Chris Spicer, Sarah Underhill, Emily Feldsburg, and Denise Woodin (May 1980) On May 17, 1980—Clearwater’s 11th birthday--I arrived at Fulton Ferry in Brooklyn for my first week [...]
25 Years Along the Shore: Tales from Tideline
It started with the Weavers’ Carnegie Hall album, a valuable resource for a young guitar player…so I was aware of Pete back in the 60’s. A decade later, I was living in Red Hook, [...]
30 Years and Counting
A sailboat is an incredible thing. It’s a complex machine, made of simple machines. Pulleys, levers, wheels and axles orchestrate a ballet of mechanical advantage, powered by friction, muscle and currents of air. On [...]
The Crew, the River, and Why I Keep Coming Back
Peter at the Tiller, South Street Seaport, 1991 My family, the Cafieros, had been sailors for generations before my grandfather Claudio emigrated to New York City and became the captain of a [...]
From Queerwater to Crew: Discovering My Place on the Sloop Clearwater
The first time I heard of The Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, I was 13 in a community center, being handed a flyer about “Queerwater”- a 3 day youth program that I was just barely [...]
Clearwater’s Spiritual Ethics
“I feel most spiritual when I’m out in the woods. I feel part of nature. Or looking up at the stars. Now I say, it’s all according to your definition of God. God is [...]
Sailing the Hudson: A Week of Winds, Wisdom, and Waffles
This week I lived a dream I didn’t know I had—aboard a wooden sloop the same age as me, just two months older, sailing the Hudson River in rhythm with the wind, the water, [...]
From Clearwater Kid to On-Board Volunteer and Board Member
As the final weeks of the school year approached, I couldn’t wait until the freedom of summer would officially arrive. But my summer always arrived a little earlier than the other kids, because as [...]
The Great Hudson River Revival Wedding Cake
Back when Revival was at Westchester Community College in Valhalla, the Site Crew had an encampment back in the weeds behind the college's maintenance buildings. A big tent with several picnic benches end-to-end, a [...]
Clearwater Derailed My Life
Clearwater derailed my life. Ask anyone who knows me. When I stepped aboard for the first time in June of 2023, I had just finished my first year at Mount Holyoke College. I had [...]
My First Month on Clearwater: October 1978
When I was a teenager in the 1970s, my peers who were a few years older seemed to be having the time of their lives protesting, dropping out, joining communes, and saving the world. [...]
Full Circle on the River
I first sailed on Clearwater in 2019 on a field trip with my AP Environmental Science class. I was familiar with Clearwater from my upbringing in the Hudson Valley, but while aboard, I became [...]
Clearwater is Home
What is it that’s so impactful about the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater? For the last three years, I’ve been telling people about how my time as the Onboard Program Coordinator has changed my life, [...]
Finding Yourself Aboard Clearwater
Dear Clearwater, I first stepped on board the Sloop in 2013. I was 18 and my older brother Rory was a crew member at the time. I had been out of high school for a [...]
Clearwater Shows That Change Is Possible
Dear Clearwater, My parents listened to classical music most of the time, but I was brought up on the music of Pete Seeger. We went to his concerts and I understood immediately that he [...]
Clearwater Shows That Change Is Possible
Dear Clearwater, In 2010 I participated in the Young Women at the Helm program. I often credit that experience as one of the starting points of my environmental education journey that has propelled so [...]
The stories in the Generations Archive celebrate the people and spirit that keep Clearwater sailing and advocating for the Hudson River and educating the next generation of environmental leaders.