Smithon at the dock in Newburgh

NEWBURGH – Three US Navy ships sailed into Newburgh harbor early Friday morning, but they were not the kind one would usually think of.

They were small sailing sloops, part of the US Naval Academy’s Offshore Sail Training Squadron and third class midshipman use them for summer training programs.

But their sail into Newburgh and Beacon harbors over the weekend is more than just a training mission, said Naval Academy junior and “NA Tenacious” sloop Executive Officer (second in command) Mike Smithon of Durham, North Carolina.

“We see the appreciation that the community has for us being here; its eye opening, it really is,” he said. “It has been inspirational for us to see how much it means for us to be here and it definitely makes us want to represent both the Naval Academy well and to help you celebrate and commemorate what has been 400 years of history.”

The sail to the Mid-Hudson is part of the continuing Quadricentennial celebrations.

George Dewhirst, 69, a retired Navy captain, spent much of his 30 year naval career aboard submarines. He is now commander of one of the three sloops that sailed into Newburgh.

For him, being on the water is a passion. “I tried golf once or twice and I said, ‘Gee, if I have enough time to go play a round of golf, I have a enough time to go sailing and I would much rather be sailing than playing golf.”

Friday evening, the mayors of Newburgh and Beacon were treated to a sail across the Hudson aboard one of the Navy sloops and Saturday morning, folk singer Pete Seeger was expected to join in the celebrations on the Beacon waterfront.