Help us Raise the
Sails
of the

July 24-27, 2008
Join TNC, ANJEC, and the Bergen County Historical Society as
they co-sponsor a
series of cruises on the beautiful Hudson River this summer! Enjoy the experience of sailing on a magnificently restored 1928 two-masted,
115-foot Delaware Bay oyster schooner driven by over 3,500 square feet of
sail—not your typical pleasure cruise! This is a great opportunity to view the
majestic Palisades from the deck of the
A. J.
Meerwald, New Jersey’s
official tall ship.
(Find out more about the A. J. Meerwald at www.ajmeerwald.org.)
Each cruise will feature a program or guest speakers about New Jersey’s environment and natural history. This is an open deck vessel with hatch covers and wooden deck boxes for seating. Feel free to bring food and beverages (no hard liquor) but be prepared to take everything with you when you leave the craft.
Two of the ten sails will pass Manhattan as we go to and from Liberty State Park (LSP) in Jersey City, located at NJ Turnpike Exit 14B, click here for directions. The other sails will be from the Alpine Boat Basin (Alpine), located near Exit 2 of the Palisades Interstate parkway, click here for directions. Cruises are about three hours, except the Thursday and Sunday afternoon cruises which are about four to five hours and sail between LSP and Alpine Boat Basin, with a bus to return the participants to their departure point.
This is a wonderful opportunity to experience an authentic sailing ship. We will sail rain or shine unless the captain decides otherwise.
| 2008 Schedule | Trip Information |
| Register Online |
Register By Mail Now Available |
| Other Children & Family Programs | |
Each trip is limited to 45 people [to the Coast Guard, everyone from infants to seniors are “people”, so there are no discounts.] Reservations must be paid in advance and only the Captain can/will cancel the sail. Although there are no refunds, a voucher will be issued to be used at a future date their website has the schedule. A portion of the fee is a donation to the sponsoring organization through which you register, and is tax-deductible to the extent provided by law.
Sail Schedule
Reservations are not complete until we receive your
payment in full. Call or email to confirm your choice.
|
Date |
Time |
Speaker(s) & Price |
Register Online |
|
Thursday, July 24 |
10:00 AM, sail from Liberty State Park to Alpine Boat Basin (4-5 hrs) |
HUDSON 400 Dr. Angela Cristini, PhD, Ramapo College, NJ Meadowlands, Director of Environmental Education and Kevin Tremble, President, Crossroads of the American Revolution Assn.($65/person) |
|
|
Friday, July 25 |
9:30 AM, from Alpine (3 hrs) |
BRITISH INVASION ($45/person) |
|
|
1:30 PM, from Alpine (3 hrs) |
CHILDREN'S SAIL With Tenafly Nature Center’s Executive Director and marine biologist, Jennifer Kleinbaum ($25/child $50/adult) |
||
|
5:30 PM, from Alpine (3 hrs) |
FOLK MUSIC Folk Music and Sea Shanties with Thad MacGregor, Performer at the Kearney House ($60/person) |
||
|
Saturday, July 26 |
9:30 AM, from Alpine (3 hrs) |
CONTINENTAL COLLIDE (GEOLOGY) ($45/person) |
|
|
1:30 PM, from Alpine (3 hrs) |
CHILDREN'S SAIL ($25/child $50/adult) |
||
|
5:30 PM, from Alpine (3 hrs) |
BLUEGRASS ($70/person) |
||
|
Sunday, July 27 |
12:00 PM, from Alpine (3 hrs) |
NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY ($45/person) |
|
|
3:30 PM Sail from Alpine to Liberty State Park (4-5 hrs) Bus back to Alpine; Return about 9:30 pm |
HUDSON 400 Kevin Wright, historian, former BCHS President ($75/person) |
||
![]()
The A.J. Meerwald is a historic oyster schooner, built specifically for oystering on the Delaware Bay. She was built in 1928 at Charles Stowman & Sons Shipyard in Dorchester, NJ on the Maurice River. The Maurice River Cove, where the Maurice River meets the Delaware Bay, was the center of the prosperous South Jersey oyster industry for many years; at one time as many as 500 boats and 4,000 people oystered on the Bay.
The schooner served as a U.S. Coast Guard fireboat on the Delaware during Word War II. After the oyster industry collapsed in the late 1950's, she was converted to clamming. By 1979, she was idle. In April 1996, after an eight-year historically accurate restoration, she began a new career as a sailing classroom on the Delaware Estuary and throughout the region. In 1998, the schooner was designated as New Jersey's Official Tall Ship.
Click on the links below for more information (what to wear, what to bring)
History and Specifications
(PDF format)
Safety & Informational Sheet
(PDF format)
Participant Information and Child
Permission Slip
Page 1
Page 2
(PDF format)
![]()
To register for one or more
of the sails download the
2008 AJ Meerwald Registration Form and mail it in along with the
required amount.
You will be able to click below for a registration form in the PDF format.
Now
Available
2008 AJ Meerwald Registration Form
(PDF format), registration by mail
To join a cruise, mail your payment payable to
the
Tenafly Nature Center
313 Hudson Ave.,
Tenafly, NJ 07670.
Reservations must be paid in advance and there are no refunds unless the captain cancels the cruise. A portion of the fee is a donation to the sponsoring organization through which you register, and is tax-deductible to the extent provided by law.
Reservations are not complete until we receive your payment in full. Call or email to confirm your choice. For more information please email, or call 201-568-6093.