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New Hamburg Yacht / Ice Yacht Club (U.S.)

New York

image located by Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 19 July 2022

New Hamburg Ice Yacht Club
New Hamburg Yacht Club
Jubilee flag

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New Hamburg Ice Yacht Club

In the 18th century, sailing up from New York in the direction of Albany, there were two points sticking out from the east bank into the Hudson River. First came a point of low-lying lands, general described as the Low Point. The next point further north was where the Wappinger Creek flowed into the Hudson River. This was a more rocky point, so, this was called the High Point.

Approximately 1800, both points got town place names. Low Point was named after a city of long ago: Carthage. High Point was named after a more recent city: New Hamburgh. Carthage has some problems with the chosen name and they tried Carthage Landing for a while, and eventually became Chelsea. New Hamburgh nowadays is called New Hamburg, but otherwise they stuck with their choice. So far, I have not found any reference to who first came up with the idea of naming the points after well-known cities.

In 1869, the local well-to-do formed the New Hamburg Ice Yacht Club. Ice Yacht Clubs Along the Hudson River – 1860- 1900 (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KmNBNt_sChpJFaj6ywqOhzJieikGnMdCPK-in2MFu8o/edit) provides us with a club signal. (Which is also from Manning's Yacht List 1896.)

The NHIYC regulated the regattas for the Ice Yacht Championship Pennant of America. Several challenges were between Archibald Rogers' Jack Frost and John Roosevelt's Icicle. In 1881, Captain Relyea built the Robert Scott, which was a new concept for that time. Where older ice yachts mimicked the Dutch style, Relyea's yacht did away with the heavy bits. It had barely enough space to hold its crew, and the even the parts holding the yacht together had been replaced by steel cables. Relyea's Robert Scott, for Poughkeepsie beat the Icicle for New Hamburg. Though the Robert Scott had less sail surface, she was so much lighter that she made more speed than the Icicle. Post-1881 ice yachts were generally built after the style of the Robert Scott.

The last time “Challenge Pennant of America” was sailed, in 1922, Jacob Millard brought her home with “Scout.” But basically, in the new century, speed was not found in wind, but in naphtha.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 19 July 2022

New Hamburg Yacht Club

image located by Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 19 July 2022

When the [ice yacht] craze was over, the club had become the New Hamburg Yacht Club, without mentioning hard water. Thus, they had a new burgee, that no longer included the I. The club provides an excellent image, that I am glad to borrow.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 19 July 2022

Jubilee flag

image by Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 19 July 2022

In 2019, the club celebrated its 150 years. At https://nhyc1869.com, they depict a burgee to celebrate that event, but nothing says whether this was actually used as the burgee that year.

Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 19 July 2022