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 railroad barge in the harbor. Those barges included living quarters for the captain’s family; my dad often told me about his life growing up on the Hudson in the 1920’s. I chose a different transportation career, starting as a planner at Metro-North Railroad. I was excited about working to improve service in the Hudson Valley, and soon I had the opportunity to assist customers traveling to Clearwater’s Hudson River Revival near the Croton-Harmon station. During work breaks, I attended the festival I’d heard so much about, inspiring me to become a Clearwater member, and in 1988 I spent my first week onboard as a volunteer.
In 1989, I was asked to help organize shuttle buses and parking operations for the Great Hudson River Revival. I became one of the audience transportation coordinators for the next 9 years while Revival took place at Westchester Community College. Like everything Clearwater, the revival was much more than good music, it was working with great people who stretched my view of the possible.
Peter’s daughters aboard at South Street Seaport, 1998
I returned to the sloop for volunteer weeks in 1991 and 1998, and a few winter maintenance weekends. Then life got in the way—family, work, other things. I remained a steadfast Clearwater member and knew I wanted to return to the boat someday.
Twenty-seven years later, I completed my fourth volunteer week onboard this September, sailing from Brooklyn to Kingston. This time I noticed more similarities between life aboard the boat and my day job. Yes, there is a vast organizational size difference—Clearwater is 1/1000th the size of the transit agency where I work. And yes, it is a boat, while we try to keep our trains and buses out of water.
But at its core, Clearwater is a transportation service provider and an employer. The compactness makes it a laboratory where you can see it come together in real time. Safety is, of course, paramount. Making sure passengers and crew stay safely onboard and guiding a large wooden boat buffeted by winds and currents on the river without hitting anything are critical.
I am always impressed by the ability of Clearwater’s captains to maneuver in the tightest places with only a large tiller and a small engine. Captain Rory “parallel parked” us between boats on Rondout Creek in a driving rainstorm better than I could park a car on land in sunshine. To build a safety culture (and good customer service), there is lots of training for everyone. At critical moments, with a clear hierarchy on board, you are expected to follow orders quickly. Decisions must be timely and clearly communicated. One lesson I’ve learned as a manager is that delaying a decision too long can sometimes be worse than making one too soon, and that whatever the decision, communicating it clearly to the team is vital, as is being open to reconsidering new information.
Once we were docked there was always time to review (without blame), to ask questions and to learn what might be done differently next time. Clearwater takes to heart its educational mission, not just for guests, but for crew and volunteers too. It didn’t feel as if we volunteers were shunted off to the side to “learn” while everyone else did “real” work—for much of the
Peter back aboard volunteering in 2025
time all the crew are learning or teaching—refreshing skills for their current role or preparing for their next one. Being exposed to different leaders with different styles and learning to adapt quickly as captains and mates change off is another helpful life skill you learn onboard. I believe that what I saw and learned in my earlier times onboard Clearwater has helped me be a better leader throughout my career.
The crew and volunteers in my recent week were, as in the past, a wonderful group of people. A few of us with gray hair, and a lot of dedicated, energetic and gutsy young people trying to make something positive in this world, while the Hudson River continues to be beautiful and inspiring.
About Peter:
Peter Cafiero is a transportation planner with a career spanning Metro-North Railroad, New York City Transit, and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. He has been a member of Clearwater since 1988, and has served in many volunteer capacities, sailing and restoring the sloop and at the Great Hudson River Revival.
For almost sixty years, Clearwater has nurtured a deep and abiding love for the Hudson River because of the generosity of donors like you. Help us keep the Clearwater magic alive and the sloop sailing for the next generation.
