Pete Seeger’s Clearwater Sloop Banished from New York City Fourth of July Tall Ship Parade

The Hudson River sloop Clearwater, the flagship of the environmental group co-founded 50 years ago by the late folk icon and activist Pete Seeger, was forced to leave a tall ship parade in New York Harbor on July 4 after authorities said a banner on its mainsail violated rules against “political or politically charged” messages.

A banner hung on one side of the sloop’s sails read, “Observe the Clean Water Act.” On the other side of the sail was a banner calling for “Indigenous rights, racial justice and climate solutions.”

Founded in 1966, the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater organization is one of the nation’s oldest activist organizations with roots in music. Artists who have supported Clearwater include Bruce Springsteen, Dave Matthews, Arlo Guthrie, Eddie Vedder, and Joan Baez, most famously for their 2009 charity event at Madison Square Garden in celebration of Seger’s 90th birthday.

On Saturday (July 4), the Clearwater Sloop, a replica of the Dutch sloop type that sailed the Hudson River in the 19th century, was scheduled to accompany the Portuguese ship NRP Sagres in New York Harbor during Sail4th 250, a convoy of ships from around the world. The event was one of the major celebrations commemorating the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding.

Shortly before 1 p.m., a post on Clearwater’s Facebook page reported that the sloop had been “removed from the Parade of Sail at Sail 4th 250” by the U.S. Coast Guard and escorted out of the parade’s restricted area by the Coast Guard, U.S. Navy and New York Police Department.

Clearwater Captain Rory Cain was informed that the sloop was removed because it had a flag in its sails.

Billboard reached out to the U.S. Coast Guard and the Sail4th 250 organization. The latter said in a statement: “As part of the parade of sails, participants agreed to the conditions set out by Sail4th. One of the conditions was not to display political or political messages or statements. Contact the owner of the sloop Clearwater. They were asked to either remove the displayed message or remove the ship from the parade, but they refused, so the Coast Guard enforced the agreement on Sail4th’s behalf and removed the ship from the parade.”

Clearwater groups dispute not only the sequence of events, but also the characterization of the banner as political. “We were not given the option to remove the banner and continue the parade,” said Clearwater Executive Director David Thoman.

The Clearwater’s first Facebook post about the July 4 incident said the sloop has a long and storied history of using its main sail to “share messages of hope and advocacy.”

The group also disputes Sail4th’s claim that displaying the banner violated ship parade rules.

“We believe that clean water and climate solutions are not political. Clean water is a human right, one that has been fought for by all people, and never before in American history has there been any political persuasion,” Thoman said. “Also, from my understanding of our agreement, there was no prohibition. The agreement prohibits distributing flags, signs, or materials bearing the sponsor name/logo without 250’s permission, and also prohibits displaying the flags of any other sailing festival or organization except Sail4th 250.”

By excluding the Clearwater from the ship parade, Sail4th 250 amplified the message on its sails. Within hours of the action against the Clearwater and its flag, news of actions involving Pete Seeger’s sloop were picked up in national and international media.