The New York City Community Sailing Association has been conducting a series of sailboat races throughout the New York Harbor for several years, including a winter series of races known as the “Frostbite Series,” which keeps the sailing season alive into the winter months.
However, everything changed on Sept. 11, when the NYCCSA’s permanent home at Pier 25 in New York had to be immediately transformed into a rescue and recovery site for access to the World Trade Center. Barges that were set to cart off the tons of debris from the WTC to the Staten Island landfills had to be placed at the site where the expensive sailing vessels once stood.
“Without our knowledge or permission, the boats were moved across the Hudson,” said Bill Roistacher, the chairman of the NYCCSA and the organizer of the racing series. “It was a stormy night and some of the boats were damaged. But we knew we had to be moved. It’s not easy to relocate a sailing program. After Sept. 11, we ceased doing it. It seemed to be moot.”
Roistacher looked to sites in Jersey City to house the 16 to 20 boats that were docked at Pier 25, but there wasn’t an accessible site. In years past, Roistacher dealt with Port Imperial Marina and owner Arthur Imperatore, Jr., who also owns the NY Waterway ferries, so he reached out to Imperatore for help.
“It was almost a matter of chance,” Roistacher said. “They had to move us out of Pier 25 to a site in New Jersey. I knew Arthur for several years and had a good relationship with him, so I asked we could settle there.”
Imperatore was more that willing to have the sailboats dock at Port Imperial Marina in Weehawken. Knowing the group’s plight because of the WTC disaster, Imperatore even offered the marina at no cost for the first three months.
“We were so grateful to Arthur,” Roistacher said. “It was wonderful that he was able to provide that for us.”
Back into the water
So the NYCSSA set up temporary shop there. When the U.S. Coast Guard gave approval for private vessels to re-enter New York harbor on Sept. 29, the Frostbite Series was able to go off without a glitch.
“As it turned out, Weehawken became a very useful place to operate our Frostbite program,” Roistacher said.
On every Saturday since then, the group has sailed around the New York harbor in highly competitive races beginning in Weehawken. Only twice have the races been postponed – due to high winds.
“We don’t go out to race if the winds are stronger than 22 knots,” Roistacher said. “We’ve been fortunate to have some mild weather and nice weather throughout the winter. We’ve had some great sailing. As it turned out, everything in Weehawken was in a sense a Godsend.”
Roistacher said that the participants liked the access they had coming to Weehawken.
“It was literally right outside the Lincoln Tunnel and the area was nice to be around,” Roistacher said. “The hospitality of the people was very good. Frankly, we were delighted that we ended up there. Things could have been much worse.”
But there were some physical problems.
“The marina needed to be dredged,” Roistacher said. “Sailboats can’t be moved into or out of the marina until low tides, so that usually takes about two hours. In the winter, that’s tough, dealing with the tides. Plus, when the ferries go flying by, the boats rattle around these huge heavy concrete docks. The wave action had the boats pitching and tossing in their slopes. They had to be tied up heavily, with six lines each.”
Added Roistacher, “But things could have been a lot worse.”
The Frostbite Series holds its final race out of Weehawken this weekend. After the boats are hulled out at Port Imperial for the next month, the series will then move back across the Hudson River to Pier 25 and Pier 40 by mid-May.
“If we’re not there, we’ll be some place,” Roistacher said. “It’s up in the air.”
But Roistacher will always remember the time spent in Weehawken. In fact, Roistacher struck up a relationship with some students from Hoboken’s Stevens Tech while docked in Weehawken and they have worked out a cooperative plan, where Stevens Tech will lend Roistacher their vessel from time to time.
“We hope to continue the relationship with Stevens in the future,” Roistacher said. “Coming to New Jersey and Weehawken has really been a blessing.”