Sailboats Take Manhattan
posted by Armistead Booker | 5/14/2006 | 0 comments
This week, New York City played host to a unique event. The Volvo Ocean Race is a sailboat race around the world every four years... taking over eight months for these high-tech vessels to speed their way through the oceans and ports of the globe. This year's race features seven world-class sailboats and their experienced crews stopping in ten cities including Galicia, Cape Town, Melbourne, Wellington, Rio, Baltimore, and for the first time New York City.
The ports and waterfronts of Lower Manhattan often drawn some exciting events, but this was one of the more fascinating events to arrive in my neighborhood. The North Cove, a yacht marina at the World Financial Center in Lower Manhattan, served as race headquarters for the past 48 hours. In fact they went through a multi-million dollar renovation just to get ready: dredging out years of silt deposited in the marina from the Hudson River, and replacing the worn-out landing platforms with sturdy new wooden docks. The rest of the year, North Cove is the home to luxury yachts spending a holiday in the Big Apple or beautiful sailboats taking a break from breaking major sailing records.
The cove was abuzz with people: neighbors and tourists mingled with the press and bankers just leaving work. A bluegrass group from West Virginia kept the energy high with their playful folk tunes. Volvo had a great display of their latest vehicles (including a tractor-trailer truck manufactured in my hometown, and a Lego replica of their new XC90). A sailing simulator rocked and rolled next to the Winter Garden.
But by far the most attention was being given to the sailboats themselves. Towering over three stories high and with square footage easily surpassing the average NY apartment, these vessels were a sight to see. Several of the crews were tending to some last-minute repairs before heading out on the town for the evening, so there was plenty for the spectators hanging on the railings around the dock trying to catch a glimpse of something exciting. When you think of just how far these boats had taken to get around the world, every tiny detail onboard has been carefully considered and maintained for the past year... from the continuous satellite linkup and onboard weather center to the complex sail apparatus ready for any ocean conditions. Every Kevlar curve of the keel can make the difference in completing the race and getting funding for the following year.
One team in particular was celebrating a bit of that this week. Team Movistar won the big port race in Baltimore, Maryland before zipping up to the New York Harbor and maintaining their current second place hold on the overall score. I had the opportunity to chat with one of the crew, Peter Doriean, a trimmer for Movistar (he maintains and repairs the sails), as he wandered inland from the marina to Greenwich Street for a bite to eat. Peter is spending his second season on the Volvo Ocean Race as a professional sailor. He lives in Australia with his family... and said it was nice to have a rest here in New York City before heading across the choppy, stormy Atlantic.
The race continues to the last three legs next to Portsmouth and Rotterdam before rolling past the finish in Gottenburg on June 17... 31,000 nautical miles later. Keep up with the latest about the race with daily news updates, GPS position maps, and emails from the sailing crews. There's also an impressive set of photos on Flickr taken by spectators and sailors worldwide.
