THE OFFICIAL PORTS OF OPSAIL 2000, PART VIII
New York H arbor fills with boats ofall varieties as the world's fleet ofsail training ships gathers in the great port in 1986 Crossing.from the Lower Bay to the Upper beneath the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, the ships have passed the Statue ofLiberty and proceeded up the North River to the left, before going to the berths around the harbor where they will be open to visitors. (Courtesy Frank Duf!Y/Granard Associates)
Where Sea and City Meet New York Harbor, Legacy and Promise by Joseph F. Meany, Jr. n Jul y 4, 2000, New York H arbor will fill wirh rhe sighrs and sounds of rail ships: mases and ya rds, halyards and sheers, and bi ll owing sailclorh. Sin ce rhe grear age of sail, when Don ald M acKay' s exrreme clippers cas r off fro m Sourh Srreer piers and srood down rhe Easr River roward rhe sea, N ew Yo rk has seen such sighrs on only four previo us occas10ns. T he firsr O perarion Sail , in 1964, was co nceived as a fa rewell ro rhe las r few surviving call ships. Bur such was rhe power of rheir presence char rhe evem gave rh em new life and ocher OpSails fo llowed . The Fourrh of July 1976, rhe fo cal mo mem of rhe Bicem ennial of Ameri can Independence, was warched by millio ns who shared
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SEA HISTORY 93, SUMMER 2000
Walrer C ronkire's awe and emhusias m for rhe specracle and rhe ships ar rhe cem er of ir. T he Bicenrennial was fo llowed in 1986 by "Liberry Weekend," rhe m agnifice nr rededicarion of rhe Srarue ofLiberry, as rhe call ships passed again benearh her gaze. Finally, rhere was OpSail 1992, when rhe call ships groped rhrough an earl y fog in rhe Narrows ro celebrare rh e quincenrennial of Columbus's voyage, and rhe presence of ships from Russ ia, U kraine, and Easrern E urope bo re resrimony ro rhe end of rhe Cold War. Now, rh e new cenrury and rhe new millennium w ill be ushered in wirh an even grearer specracle of rall shi ps in OpSail 2000 , wirh New York again irs cenrerpiece. I was privileged ro sail in bo rh rhe 1986 and 1992 evenrs, and rh ey we re experi-
ences char I have never fo rgo n en . Recenrly I reread rhe diary I kepr during rhe Li berry Weekend evenrs. I called ir "Jo urnal of a Voyage fro m Wes r Sayville ro New Yo rk Ciry in rhe Year of G race 1986." H ere is whar ir was like: Morning, July 4 rh 198 6, Li berry Weekend, aboard Priscilla, rhe 1888 wooden oysrer schooner lovingly res rored by rhe Lo ng Island Ma ri rime Museum. W e lay ar anchor amid rhe fl eer of "small ships" in Gravesend Bay awairing o ur momenr ro jo in rhe parade of call ships char wo uld shor d y pass m ajes ri cally ben ea rh rhe Ve rrazano-N arrows Bridge and move norrh in ro rhe shelrered U pper Bay. G ravesend Bay, on rhe Broo klyn shore jusr so urh of rhe Narrows, was rhe designared sm all ship
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