Race Area
Sailing in New York Harbor is breathtaking. This is an opportunity for a photo of a lifetime.
First there is the skyline of Manhattan. The towering skyscrapers are built right up to the water's edge. It is awe inspiring to race in front of the skyline and then return to North Cove, right at the base of the large buildings.
The
harbor is also home to the State of Liberty.
She gazes out over the harbor and holds her torch up high as a universal symbol
of hope. This is your second picture of a lifetime.
All races will start and finish from the "Honorable William Wall," the spectator platform and clubhouse in the harbor.
The Honorable William Wall is anchored in the Upper Bay just north of Ellis Island (see red box on image below). This is just under 1 mile from North Cove.
Depending on the wind direction, starts can be upwind or downwind. With a sea breeze from the south or a north east breeze during a storm, the starts are upwind. With a northwest wind after a cold front or a southwest wind during a heat wave, the starts are downwind.
The courses will be windward-leeward around inflatable buoys set by the race committee. The race committee will set the first mark either upwind or downwind from the clubhouse. The next mark will be set in the cove on the opposite side of the clubhouse. This provides excellent viewing for the spectators who can watch the race boats sail up, round the mark in the cove and then sail by again.
During the summer, the harbor frequently benefits from a sea breeze which blows up from the Atlantic Ocean. The sea breeze provides a perfect upwind leg with a windward mark being between Governors Island and the Statue of Liberty.
In the picture above, you can see the race course from a sky scraper.
The buildings on the left are the skyline of Manhattan. The first building on the bottom left is the New York Mercantile Exchange, directly overtop of North Cove where the fleet is located.
There are two ferry boats in the foreground of the picture. These boats can be identified by their following waves. The other boats in the middle of the picture are the J/24 sailboats.
The first point of land on the right is the Liberty State Park ferry terminal.
After this, there are two islands. The first is Ellis Island. The second is Liberty Island and you can see the Statue of Liberty standing on the left side of the island.
Further down the harbor are some large anchored ships and barges .