A Look Back to 1840 – ICE YACHTING NOW IN SEVENTY FIFTH YEAR (1915)

Mr. Local History Jersey Ice Boat Time Machine Series
December 9, 1915 article recounts how Captain George D. Allaire built and sailed the first ice yacht in New Jersey in the 1830s, sparking local interest that led to early boat building, the first race in 1845, and the development of notable yachts such as Scud, Rocket, Jack Frost, Dreadnaught, and Icicle. Join us as we look back at stories written about great ice yachts and those who made them iconic names in the sport.

ICE YACHTING NOW IN SEVENTY FIFTH YEAR (1915)

Personalities: The personalities mentioned include Captain George D. Allaire, Sam Morford, Tom Linton, Dave Linton, John Scott, Dave Stephens, Nathan Cook, Captain James B. Weaver, Captain Charles Throckmorton, Captain George Coley, Archie Rogers, James Doughty, and J. A. Roosevelt.
Ice Yachts Mentioned: Hubbard’s Bridge, Sea Eagle, Scud, Kitty, Rocket, Jack Frost, Dreadnaught, and Icicle.

December 9, 1915 – Niagra Falls Gazatte – New York

ICE YACHTING NOW IN SEVENTY FIFTH YEAR (1915)

To Captain George D. Allaire Belongs Credit of Building First Ice Yacht

Red Bank, N. J., Dec. 9. — Tales of ice yachting on the North Shrewsbury River here have been told and retold thousands of times, but despite this fact few persons are alive today who know who built the first ice yacht and the incidents leading up to its construction. The ice yachts of seventy five years ago were built much after the same fashion as the ice yachts in use today. This is one invention to which few rival claims have been made. As far as the records show, Capt. George D. Allaire of Red Bank built and sailed the first ice yacht ever used in New Jersey.

Allaire was not really a captain by occupation, but in the olden days almost every man who followed the water either for a livelihood or for pleasure was known as captain. It was in January, 1830, that New Jersey’s first ice yacht made its initial appearance on the ice on the North Shrewsbury River opposite Oceanic, which at that time was known as Fort Washington. Ice yachting in Jersey up to that time, according to the records, had never been heard of. The first intimation Capt. Allaire had that such a craft existed was in the winter of 1839. He had been to Albany and was on his way home when in gazing from the window of the passenger coach in which he was riding near Newburgh he spied a man attempting to sail a crudely constructed craft over the ice.

Being of a mechanical turn, Allaire’s curiosity was aroused, so he left the train and went on the ice to get a closer view of the strange invention. Several others who saw the craft also left the train on a sight seeing mission. The owner of the contrivance, whose name does not appear on the records, told Allaire that he had built the boat from old boxes and boards and that this was its first appearance on the ice.

All hands were taken out for a sail, but in the opinion of Allaire the craft was not a success from a speed point of view. He remained at Newburgh several days and each day he went for a sail with his new found friend. On reaching home he cut down several trees, from the lumber of which he built an ice yacht of his own design. The boat was built much after the same fashion as the yachts of today, with the exception that the cockpit was box shape instead of oval, with two sides, such as the modern boats are now using. News of the strange craft soon spread and within a few days after its first appearance hundreds of persons from all over the state visited Red Bank to see the boat.

Several years later Allaire became so fascinated with the sport of ice yachting that he gave up teaching school in the old one room schoolhouse here during the winter and devoted his time to ice boat building.

Many of his creations he sold at a good profit. Following in the footsteps of Capt. Allaire, Sam Morford, Tom and Dave Linton and John Scott, all deceased, built boats of their own.

1845 FIRST ICE YACHT RACE ON THE RIVER

The first race between these boats, and this was the first race of its kind ever held in the state, took place on the river here in 1845. Dave Stephens and Nathan Cook were also ice yacht enthusiasts in the early ’40s. Stephens built the first four runner yacht, but it never proved a racing success. The two front runners worked on an axle, while the two in the rear worked on a swivel, thus doing away with the single type of rudder. Stephens, a cobbler by trade, invented the guttered runners, which type is still in use on some boats.

In those days ice yachts were not named as they are today. The first yacht sailing under a name was owned by Capt. James B. Weaver of this place, owner of the fastest first class ice yacht in the world, the Scud. This was about forty years ago and the boat was called Hubbard’s Bridge. During the same year Capt. Charles Throckmorton, a real sea captain, made a boat named the Sea Eagle. Among the oldest boats in the country which are still in use are Capt. Weaver’s Scud and Kitty, Capt. George Coley’s Rocket, Archie Rogers’s Jack Frost, James Doughty’s Dreadnaught and J. A. Roosevelt’s Icicle.

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