The America’s Cup in New York City on the Hudson River ~

The excitement of the America’s Cup has returned to the East Coast. For the first time in nearly 100 years, the race was held in New York City on the Hudson River. Team New Zealand won the event after a number of qualifying races in order to pick a challenger for the defending Champion, Oracle Team USA. My husband Craig works for Oracle and we have been Americas Cup fans for a number of years.

 

According to The Wall Street Journal, more than 100,000 enthusiastic fans showed up to watch the races this weekend. Craig and I were two of them!  Team Oracle USA, led by its owner Larry Ellison, is the reigning champion and therefore wins the right to determine the type of boats that are used for the race. Over the years, this has become an extreme sport with very expensive, fast boats that are twin hulled vessels and can literally fly out of the water on hydrofoils.

Hundreds of passengers on boats of all shapes and sizes watched the races from the water. We were on a large boat with Oracle employees and their customers and were able to view the race from the Hudson. With the incredible Manhattan skyline standing majestically above us, it was quite a magical sight. I kept feeling like it was almost a fantasy having the ability to see the city from this angle. On Saturday it was extremely cold, grey and there was not much wind. We spent five hours bobbing on the Hudson and only saw one race and it was disqualified. If there is not enough wind for a competitive race, it will be canceled. Lucky for us we were staying at the nearby Wall Street Andaz Hotel, just a short walk from the river’s edge.

The Next Day ~ Sunny and windy, perfect for racing!

Sunday began bright and sunny and very windy. A perfect day for racing. We joined thousands of other spectators standing on the rails of the Hudson River watching the race from the shore this time. It was actually much more enjoyable on land and in the sunshine than it was the prior day.

We walked up and and down the river, visited the spectacular America’s Cup Village (along with far too many other people). Although extremely crowded, the festive village was very well done and exciting and attracted quite an international audience. We listened to several different languages being spoken in the crowd. Everyone was dressed in nautically inspired clothing, many of them wearing America’s Cup caps and Oracle Team USA gear.

The series continues in Chicago in June. I highly recommend attending if you are a sailing fan or just love the excitement of a great match.

 

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Suzanne