GOVERNORS ISLAND — New Yorkers are setting sail for a good cause this week at the New York Harbor School's first annual regatta.
On Thursday afternoon, corporate teams will join Harbor School students in a sailboat race around lower Manhattan and Liberty Island. Sailors and spectators alike will then land on Governors Island for a Post-Regatta Bash at Water Taxi Beach.
Nathan Dudley, principal of the Harbor School, said it was only fitting for the school to host a major fundraiser where students spend much of their time — on the water.
"What better way to both call attention to our school and what we do…and give students a chance to be on the boats?" Dudley said.
The race will feature four America's Cup yachts — the Weatherly, Nefertiti, American Eagle and Intrepid — along with 12 J/24 racing boats from the Manhattan Sailing Club.
The fleet will depart from North Cove Marina at 1:30 p.m. Thursday and will navigate a course looping around New York Harbor, while spectators who reserve tickets in advance can hop on a viewing boat to watch the action up close, with commentary from Willie Geist of MSNBC and Savannah Guthrie, host of NBC's Today Show.
Everyone will be able to dry off at the Post-Regatta Bash from 6 to 9 p.m., which will feature an awards ceremony along with Goslings Dark 'n Stormies, Fishers Island Oysters and Brooklyn Brewery season brews.
The money raised from the $1,000 sailing tickets and $100 party tickets will support the Harbor School's water-based programs, including scuba-diving, sailing, aquaculture and ocean engineering, Dudley said.
"We would not be able to do everything we do just with the money we get from the Department of Education," Dudley said.
The Harbor School, a public high school that moved from Bushwick to Governors Island last year, weaves maritime-themed lessons into a traditional college-preparatory curriculum, with the goal of engaging students with practical, real-world problems.
The school's long-term goal is to plant millions of oysters in New York Harbor, to filter the water and recreate the thriving eco-system that once existed there, while at the same time giving the students a sense of responsibility as stewards of their surroundings, Dudley said.
"They're not just going to school in the classroom," Dudley said. "Their classroom is the harbor."
For more information about the Harbor School Regatta, or to purchase tickets, visit the event's website.
