Ice Yachting on the Hudson River
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More challenging than sledging, much faster than ice skating and considerably chillier than sailing, ice yachting may be an obscure sport but it certainly provides an unexpectedly practical use for black ice.
Most popular in the USA and Canada, but also practiced in the icier parts of Northern Europe, it involves sailing a one to seven-man, flat-bottomed boat mounted on steel runners, similar in style to a small catamaran but designed to slice across re-frozen ice rather than water. Balance is everything and it takes some time to master sailing techniques, but skilled ice yachters can reach up to 90mph in ideal conditions.
The sport was invented in Holland as winter transport in the 17th Century and was brought to North America in the 18th Century with the Dutch settlers who landed at the Hudson River. It really came to the fore as a leisure pursuit in the 1970s, when New Yorkers yachted on the frozen Hudson River. The Hudson River Ice Yacht Club is still going strong, and the terrain is perfect.
3 / 5
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