Growing up on Trout Lake in the Adirondacks, Glenn Albright took to the water at age 12. “I was the first Albright to head this way,” he says about his lifelong passion for motorboats. Later, the licensed Merchant Marine captain bought a 65-foot, steel-hull, decommissioned US Navy vessel (Centauri) and sailed it up the Intercoastal Waterways to City Island, where he ran diving charters, as well as New York Harbor trips, until 9/11 shut the area down to recreational boaters.
Four years ago, the boating itch wouldn’t quit, so he ventured to Noank, Connecticut to snag a 28-foot Albin trawler he dubbed Watershed. Based at Washington Irving Boat Club in Tarrytown, Albright has turned his passion for water travel into opportunities to heal, educate, and have a bit of fun.
From Captain to Doctor
A licensed clinical psychologist, Dr. Albright has worked with the Westchester Vet Center to develop “Veterans on the Hudson,” giving veterans experiencing trauma a chance to earn a boating license. He’s publishing empirical data demonstrating that his Course in Safe Boating is an option for treating PTSD symptoms; he’s seen the effects first-hand.
“We can train them in mindfulness, and apply it to the appreciation of water,” says Albright. “Water has a relaxing, healing value and they’re sharing the experience with other people.”
Albright is also bringing neurodiverse populations, such as autistics, out on the water and exposing them its soothing powers in safe and controlled ways. The Watershed tops out at 15 knots–not exactly speedboat power– for a gentle roll over the waves.
The Watershed offers plenty of chances to experience and learn about the Hudson Valley; Albright, co-captain Brian McLaughlin and first mate Serena Fiorella run a variety of river jaunts. Mets fans can even get dropped off at the World’s Fair Marina and walk to CitiField.
Tours range from a 90-minute local run past Sleepy Hollow Lighthouse, across to the mansions of Nyack and back under the bridge, to four-hour cruises to West Point, or rounding the Statue of Liberty and Governor’s Island before zipping beneath the Brooklyn Bridge.
From Captain to Professor
Learning about the river has presented a new opportunity for Albright and the Washington Irving Boat Club board inspired by “Hudson River Preservation and Climate Change,” a recent partnership with Sleepy Hollow High School. They’re forming a 501c nonprofit called PEARL (Projects in Environmental Aquatics Research Lab) with the ambitious plan of converting a repurposed RV into a functioning wet lab, replete with research tanks using Hudson River water pumped into the research facility.
Already on board for PEARL are Deborah McCarl, Sleepy Hollow Middle School science teacher, and Michelle Zielinski of Sleepy Hollow High School. McCarl taught at a working “wet lab” at the South Street Seaport before shoving off for the shores of the Hudson (she often brings her Marine Biology Club to Kingsland Park to study the river; the Tarrytown space will provide a chance to connect with mentors like Dr. Stephen Gosnell of Baruch College and the Billion Oyster Project).
“I want to give every opportunity to students to be part of environmental change that’s positive,” says educator/captain Albright. He hopes to create a model for other marine learning centers around the country.
“(My goal is) watching kids gain confidence and experience, to be stewards of the Hudson,” says McCarl, “and understanding why it’s important and what role it plays in our environment.”
To do so, students need to get their feet wet. “The disparity in access to the river in our district was pretty obvious,” says McCarl. “Kids who live in river towns should have access.”
Thanks to Captain Glenn Albright and a growing corps of educators, that opportunity is just around the corner. And he can also take you to a Mets game, if you like.
