August 4, 2002
“HARBOR HAVENS - On the doggiest of days, nothing delivers relief
like an 80-foot schooner or ‘The Beast’.”
By Bill Morris
On a gummy summer day in New York there’s no better place to be than out on the water. And there’s no better boat to be aboard than the Adirondack.
This majestic 80-foot schooner sails out of Chelsea Piers on two- hour cruises that will give you a refreshing new perspective on the city’s skyline - and a breezy break from the city’s sulfurous heat.
“This is the thing to do, man,” says Teddy Clarke, the captain, as he eases the boat out into the Hudson River at the start of a recent evening cruise.
Clarke, who grew up in St. Croix and now spends part of the year in Highlands, N.J., still speaks with the musical lilt of the West Indies. His eyes shine as his two crew members unfurl the schooner’s mainsail, foresail and two headsails and they fill with wind. Soon the boat is knifing toward the Jersey Shore, and Teddy Clarke looks like the happiest man alive.
“This relaxes people and they get to see the city from a different view,” he says. “When it’s hot in the city, it’s cool out here. When you leave that dock, it’s like turning on the air conditioning.”
He tells the truth. Within minutes, the 49 passengers have been lulled by the cool breeze and the boat’s hypnotic rhythm. The city’s noise and heat are just a memory now, and the jagged skyline has been transformed into a sparkling curtain of glass and steel.
As soon as they have the sails trimmed, the two crew members move around the deck serving complimentary soft drinks, beer, wine and Champagne, all part of the cost of a ticket. (Daytime cruises, with complimentary soft drinks and beer, cost $30 during the week and $35 on weekends; evening cruises during the week cost $40, $45 on weekends; private charters are also available.)
The two-masted, wooden Adirondack is modeled on the 19th-century schooners that carried pilots out to dipper ships anchored offshore. The pilots guided the clipper ships into tricky inner harbors. The Adirondack was designed and built in Albany by two brothers, Rick and John Scarano, who have been in business more than 20 years.
‘We have a reputation in the industry for building some of the fastest boats,” says Rick Scarano, 48, sipping Champagne as the schooner glides toward Ellis Island. “This boat was built in 1994 and it’ll be around for 100 years.”
“People are surprised by it, and they’re ecstatic,” says Karen Helmer, who coordinates charters on the Adirondack. “For local New Yorkers, it’s a discovery.”
One thing they discover is that a sail aboard the Adirondack is a tremendous value.
“This city can get expensive,” Helmer says. “People are finding that a couple of hours on the water with complimentary drinks Is really an inexpensive way to socialize and be outside and have a new experience.”
Some keep coming back.
Charlie Lowery has one eye on his 6-year-old son, Jaime, who, under the watchful eye of Capt. Clarke, is steering the boat within a few hundred feet of the Statue of Liberty.
‘This is our third cruise,” says Charlie, 44, an institutional investments manager. “It gives Jaime a chance to sail and he gets a big kick out of it. It’s so nice to be on the water and see Manhattan from the water. It’s a wonderful amenity for New York.”
