A sailboat operated by the nonprofit Hudson River Sloop Clearwater was removed from a parade of tall ships making their way to New York Harbor on Saturday after flying banners in support of Indigenous rights and climate action, the nonprofit said.
Officials on two U.S. Coast Guard boats forced the Clearwater vessel to exit the Sail4th 250 Parade of Ships as they sailed toward the harbor around 10:30 a.m., said David Toman, the environmental nonprofit’s executive director. The nonprofit was one of more than 40 tall ships from around the world selected to take part in the America250 celebration in New York City.
“My first assumption was they were erroneously thinking we were not part of the parade because there were lots of spectator vehicles,” Toman said in an interview from the sailboat’s deck Saturday afternoon. “They gave no explanation for why.”…