I
want to start...
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Two Universities in Manhattan
- Columbia and Fordham - have sailing teams. Both base
them here at City Island. What does that tell you about
learning to sail here instead of in Manhattan or the Hudson/NY Harbor area?!
Here's a short
video clip of the Fordham University Sailing Team starting
a race. Watch boat #4 carefully - they are called over the line just
before the start, so they have to turn around the "pin" end and re-cross
from the correct side - but face a solid wall of boats that have right
of way as they do. Watch how they deal with it, and listen to the
reaction of the coaches in the background! (Opens with Quicktime
- free, easy download
from Apple if you don't have it.)
How close are we to Manhattan?
See for yourself!
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| This view is from the west side of City
Island, through sailboat masts and dock pilings These boats were
all in the water in March 07 when the shot was taken. You'll recognize
parts of the Manhattan skyline here.
We're less than the length of Manhattan
away from it!
Easy to get to by public transit or by
car, we're not much further away than any Manhattan or New Jersey school
for most people.
And we'll pick you up from Manhattan,
too!
The real difference is two-fold: the quality
of the sailing environment, and how long it takes to get from the dock
to productive sailing waters. No other location even comes close
to
ours for great sailing waters with few distractions to learning.
And, we're located right in those waters - no time wasted getting
to them! See our Start
Sailing page for more on this. |
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See
videos of our students in action,
showing you our sailing
location better
than we can describe it!
Our anchorage, looking from City Island
toward Great Neck, Long Island. We're located on the east side of
City Island, making the area secluded, yet the boats are moored in productive
sailing waters so no time is wasted getting to them and then on to the
open Sound as our itineraries dictate. We don't even need engines
on our learn-to-sail boats, which some schools pass off as "valuable motoring
practice" or other nonsense. We teach you to do everything under
sail, including starting and stopping!
That's the hard part. Our
anchorage has instant access to the open Long Island Sound, and the best
all-around protection from rough weather. Students and mooring customers
alike waste no time getting to great sailing waters. You're in them
already! |
And
at the other extreme...
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| (The Hudson River, as seen
from on the water off the Chelsea area looking toward New Jersey.) |
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...an all too typical scene in the New
York Harbor/Hudson River area. The Circle Line stops for no
one, least of all our competitors' sailboats. We snapped this photo
while delivering our 6th Beneteau from Haverstraw down and around Manhattan. |
Another example of how close we are to Manhattan. The 200mm focal
length exaggerates a bit, but not much.
The Dockmaster really loves those sunset shots!
Taken from Western Long Island Sound, off the southern tip of City
Island, September 8.
(Steve Card, photo)
| We're a short walk from breakfast, lunch
and even dinner options, and in the rare event we can't pick you up, public
transit drops you off a stone's throw from our door. We have on-site
parking, and for those busy summer days, there is safe, legal parking right
outside on the street.
From our classroom area, you can look out
over the Harbor and Sound, and watch boats sailing by that illustrate points
your instructor is making. She or he might point out a boat and ask
you what "point of sail" it's on, or if its sails are trimmed correctly.
Maybe which one of several has the right of way. This makes classroom
time more fun, engaging and effective.
Here, instructor extraordinaire Peter Schorr
keeps them entertained while he educates them. Note the large model
sailboat to the right. It has real sails and fittings, and with a
large box fan for wind on demand, we can simulate everything you'll do
on the water before you get out there - making that time much more productive.
The model boat rolls across the floor, pivots in any direction, and even
"heels" (tips) left and right - just like a real sailboat. |
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And finally:
wouldn't you rather pass by this on the way to sailing
school?..
(Dawn, near Turtle Cove, approaching City Island.
Steve Card, photo.)
...or see one of these guys during your lunch break?
(Hawk, probably a red-tail, along Shore Road.
Steve Card, photo.)
Section of a large scale or "harbor" chart
of the City Island area.
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| Here's a section of the chart of our local
waters:
City Island Harbor and the
western end of Long Island Sound.
City Island and Hart Island are adjacent in the middle; Orchard Beach is
visible above City Island. On the bottom right is Kings Point in
Long Island, where the Merchant Marine Academy is located. The Throgs
Neck Bridge is slightly out of sight to the bottom left; Stepping Stone
Light House is centered on the bottom. |
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| NYSC is near the middle of City Island,
somewhat closer to the south end. This protects us from strong weather
from most directions, particularly the northeast, and also from commercial
traffic in the open Sound. Yet, we can easily access the Sound from
2 directions for navigation excursions and other "legs" requiring more
distance.
Winds tend to be reliable and steady due
to the topography here: it's not like sailing on a lake or enclosed bay
with shifty, variable winds that are tough for racers to figure out, let
alone novices. (Don't even get us started on NY Harbor!) Our
winds funnel steadily up, down or across City Island Harbor and the Sound,
making your learning experience much easier and more enjoyable. Once
you've learned properly, you can adapt to less environments. They're
not the place to learn! Even in ideal sailing waters such as ours,
wind can change direction from time to time during any given lesson, as
well as from day to day. Wind shifts are part of sailing, and you'll
experience them everywhere. Due to our location, wind shifts are
not nearly as severe or consistent as in other areas. |
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