NY-based Sloop Clearwater cancels voyage to Washington, DC

BEACON, N.Y. (AP) - The Sloop Clearwater has had to cancel its scheduled voyage to Washington, D.C., to lobby on environmental matters because of rough conditions on the Atlantic Ocean.

The Hudson River sloop set sail Monday from Croton-on-Hudson for the nation's capital to deliver petitions and municipal resolutions urging Congress to protect New York's rivers and other American waterways.

But severe weather along the East Coast forced Clearwater senior captain Nick Rogers to call off the trip. The sloop is a replica of vessels that hauled cargo on the Hudson and isn't designed for ocean-going voyages in severe conditions.

Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, a group inspired by folk legend Pete Seeger, says the information it collected will be delivered to Capitol Hill for a June 29 forum on clean water.