Who Knew?

In April, a reader sent me this picture:

The picture was accompanied by this message:

This past autumn, there was an old European-looking canal boat tied up to the Colarusso shed peninsula. Just walking around and noticed it sunk. Seems a shame, cool old boat. You know the story behind this thing?

I did not know anything about the boat docked in the southernmost embayment at Henry Hudson Riverfront Park, bordering the Colarusso property. Sadly, other concerns distracted me from finding out. Today, a story in the Register-Star by Shawn Ness and Spenser Walsh identifies the boat and explains how it got there: "Historic boat from WWII likely to be scrapped."

The boat is/was a 70-foot Dutch tugboat built in 1903 called the Golden Re-Al. Most notable in the vessel's long history is its use in World War II. During the Dutch famine of 1944-1945, known as "Hunger Winter," when the German army occupied the Netherlands and people in Dutch cities were facing starvation, the Golden Re-Al, then called the Wilhelmina, brought critically needed food and supplies. 

According to the article, the Golden Re-Al has been docked here in Hudson for the past five years. Now, because of weather damage and vandalism, the owner, Richard Manack, intends to scrap it. Manack is quoted in the article as saying, "The vessel's destroyed. Ice has been doing a number on it, so inside the vessel now, it's destroyed, and because it's destroyed, they're going to scrap it." 

The article is accompanied by photographs provided by Manack that show the boat in its current location at some point before it sank.

Photo: Richard Manack | Register-Star

Photo: Richard Manack | Register-Star

It's regrettable that information about this boat was not generally known in Hudson until now, when its destruction seems evitable.

COPYRIGHT 2026 CAROLE OSTERINK