At Sea in the City
“The Hellgate in the age of sail, viewed from Manhattan’s East River shore. “Known for dangerous rapids and whirlpools, it wrecked hundreds of ships until massive 1885 Army Corps of Engineers explosions cleared the channel.”
“My goal in life is to unite my avocation with my vocation, As my two eyes make one in sight.”
NY Times: Books in Brief: Nonfiction: At Sea in the City: New York from the Water’s Edge by William Kornblum.
Even though New York has more than 550 miles of shoreline, most New Yorkers are afraid of their water. In ''At Sea in the City,'' his masterly meditation on New York's winding waterways, William Kornblum, a sociology professor at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and a veteran sailor, argues that this hydrophobia excludes New Yorkers from one of the city's treasures. From the helm of a somewhat unsteady 1910 catboat called Tradition, he narrates as he navigates. One of his goals is to show that efforts by environmentalists and ecologists have helped improve the city's water quality. ''Immense new sewage treatment plants have largely eliminated raw sewage from the waters,'' he writes; ''the most destructive pesticides have been banned, and more birds of all kinds are nesting and reproducing in urban habitats.'' Kornblum also discusses important, and often tragic, events in New York maritime history, including the wreck of the privateer Castel del Rey in 1704. The ship ran aground near the shore in terrible winter weather: ''Morning found the sailors and officers frozen like so many dead bats in the stiffened shrouds.''
-- JOHN D. THOMAS
Waterfront Alliance
A tale of two Wilton Crosby Catboats, Tradition(1910) and Victor (1916)
We sailed Tradition for eighteen years, from 1979 to 1997, when we launched Victor. From 1989 to 1998 we owned two Wilton Crosby cats, the one we sailed on her last legs, and the one we were restoring in Michael Kortchmar’s shop in Greenpoint NY.
: Bill and Noah transit the East River on Victor
Didi and I kept Victor in Hull, MA from 2012 to 2014 where we sailed with the Boston grandkids and families. We joined the friendly Hull Yacht club at the head of the harbor. This photo (below) was taken from the Joel White Pooduck skiff, Saltine, built by Noah with my help.
The day we caught a sea monster on Victor in Hull Bay, Ma.
The Big City; Waterfront Could Still Be a Contender, NYT May 17, 2002
John Tierney comments on the question of why New York City waterfront remains decrepit, in contrast to fine harbors of Baltimore, Md, and Sydney, Australia, which are filled with boats carrying tourists and residents from one attraction to another (M)
By John Tierney
Tierney wrote in 2002, “He is an expert in decrepitude on and off the waterfront. As a sociologist at the City University of New York Graduate Center, two decades ago he led a research team that meticulously documented the old Times Square. The social scientists analyzed where drug sales took place. They watched kung-fu movies and peep shows. They monitored pimps' favorite bars and drew maps of prostitutes' strolls. It was the kind of sociological research you could talk about at cocktail parties without anyone's eyes glazing over.”
A version of this article appears in print on May 17, 2002, Section B, Page 1 of the National edition with the headline: The Big City; waterfront could still be a contender.
First Mate Edith Goldenhar
Three generations of Kornblum boys
Moving Victor Along to Her Next Chapter
Now, writing in 2026, at age 86, I know even more about decrepitude.
Victor, Sunset in Hull Harbor
Theo at the wheel, and friends sail Victor 2023
Victor, Greenport, 1989
Victor, Greenport N.Y, 2020
Philip Oberlander, always willing Second Mate
The late Oscar Pease, the last commercial catboat fisherman on Cape Cod,
Catboat Association Lounge Facebook Group:
Victor finds a new Home on the Hudson
Hudson Sloop Club, Hudson, N.Y. https://hudsonsloopclub.org/
Victor newly arrived at Hudson Sloop Club, her new home 7-01-2026 https://hudsonsloopclub.org/
Hudson Sloop Club We would love to introduce you to the catboat, Victor.
Hudson Sloop Club is honored to be the new steward of this 110 year old sailing vessel. Come say hi at @waterfrontwednesdays starting tomorrow July 8.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DagToVECYGE/?img_index=1
Hudson River Sloop Club
Waterfront Wednesdays
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVw202ZFdn8
