A restless two weeks of arrivals into New York and Newport, followed by sail repairs and carbon fiber part replacements, mixed with endless sponsor meetings has taxed the endurance athletes of the NY-Vendee fleet. The sailors have had little time to rest or put their repairs and upgrades under the extreme testing loads they will surely see in the Vendee Globe qualifying transatlantic race next Wednesday.
But amidst the madness leading up to the race, the skippers, their teams and special guests and sponsors get to line up for Friday’s Vendee Liberty exhibition trials, a timed speed dash raced in heats. A welcomed break, the skippers will unleash their 60-foot IMOCAs and rip across the wind to see who claims bragging rights as fastest in the group. There will be no-one else on their race track. Just the skippers against the clock.
The Vendee Liberty is an exhibition not only gives the absolute hyper-speed, ocean-spraying experience of sailing a Vendee Globe boat to sponsors, it brings that live experience of seeing these radical round-the-world machines to a world audience through a lens only the magic of the New York City waterfront can provide.
The trials will be run out of historic Governors Island. Once an Army base during the American Revolutionary War, the Island has been transformed into a dynamic public space right in the middle of New York Harbor. Today it is a focal point for the arts and will host a Center for Climate Solutions, brining together the urban community to study, teach and develop solutions for coastal climate challenges.
There will be four heats of six and five teams per heat. Each will line up for multiple timed runs on the IMOCA’s fastest point of sail, with wind from the side, setting up the opportunity for the hydrofoiling boats to hit the afterburners and rise above the waves while the daggerboard boats will be adding maximum power to their sails to try and best the fleet.
Sunny spring weather Friday offers a complicated wind forecast for the fleet as overnight north wind flow will switch midday to a southerly seabreeze, possibly keeping potential speeds down for groups B and C, with scheduled runs between noon and 2:30 p.m. EST.
Surrounded by guests and understanding that this is just a showcase, the skippers still want to win, and plan to press their boats to the maximum.
