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Welcome to Surfski.info's live coverage of the 2007 New York Mayor's Cup.
We're going to do our usual thing of updating this page with text and photos which we hope to get from our correspondents on an escort boat - you'll need to refresh the page as you're watching to get the latest details.
We'll use local New York times in the headers - it's 16h30 here - 10h30am...
 Approx position of the paddlers
14h20
Information is a bit sparse now - so I guess we'll be signing off now for a while. I just called Ray Fusco, the race organiser and he said he'll try to have some results available in an hour or so.
So - until then, thanks for watching! I'm off now to go watch the Rugby World Cup semi-final (on TV) between South Africa and Argentina - Go Springboks!
13h58
OK, we'll call the guys again in a few minutes to get news of the guys further back... We're also hoping for some photos of the drama with Greg Barton & the fishing line - what a terrible way to end the race...
13h54
Here's a shot of Eric Borgnes, taken at 12h00
 There goes Eric Borgnes...
13h50
OK, Ian Grey just finished in 4th spot. Looks like Sean Brennan and Joe Glickman coming in 5th and 6th.
13h46
Greg finished about 10 seconds behind... he will be mad about that fishing line...
Zsolt is in third...
13h45
3:15 unofficial - he's almost there and... Herman's really going fast, and the race has been won by Herman...
13h43
Herman is about 7 lengths ahead, Greg is sprinting to catch up, he's making distance,about 100m to go...
13h42
The water is really rough now - but Herman is doing fine. The fishing line did him in...
Herman is looking strong, Greg is trying to catch up.
They're going against the tide - only 4.5kts... 200m or so to go...
13h40
The wind is coming from the left and is a bit stronger, the water is rougher... Herman has pulled away substantially, Greg has fallen back... They're about about half a mile behind...
Greg got caught on a fishing line... got free again and is trying to catch up...
13h37
They're about half a mile from the finish - Herman is slightly ahead - they're hugging the shoreline - the river is pretty calm for this area. The wind has picked up a bit. Herman has dropped Greg... Greg just fell back...
13h36
 Statten Island Ferry
The ferry just kicked up a huge wave as it pulled in - they had to paddle through it... Herman has pulled a little way ahead right now...
13h34
The Statten Island Ferry is just coming in but they've avoided it. The ferry is huge!
The ferry just pulled in, no problem.
Zsolt is hanging in there, but it looks like Herman/Greg...
We're in about the last mile right now.
13h30
Herman slightly ahead, Zsolt has slipped a length and half back. Herman can't drop him. The guys are putting their heads done, Zsolt has dropped back. Herman is still just ahead... "This is it, this is war right now..."
Greg & Herman have dropped Zsolt...
13h28
This is an interesting part of the river - because they're so much traffic. OK, they're under the Manhattan Bridge.
 Manhattan Bridge.
The front three are all looking very strong still.
They're about to go under the Brooklyn Bridge.
13h25
They're going under the Williamsburg Bridge.
 Williamsburg Bridge
13h20
Ian Grey has fallen a few hundred feet behind - Herman and Greg are neck & neck at the front; Zsolt right behind Herman...
They're approaching the Manhattan Bridge...
They're going about 11kts right now with a strong current behind them - they're hugging the Manhattan shoreline... we can see the Statue of Liberty.
Ian is falling back. Greg is leading, just, but they're all looking real strong...
They're going at over 12kts...
Here's our team of correspondents!
 Mireille
 That's Roger - thanks guys!
13h15
Here's the UN building... That video was taken when Sean Brennan was with the other four front runners - look at the chop on the water and the smooth, smooth strokes of those guys!
 United Nations HQ
13h12
Greg is making a move - but the others are hanging in there...
Here's our video footage - thanks to the team at the NY Mayor's Cup we've raised the bar on live reporting again...!
http://blip.tv/file/426116/
13h10
Herman just caught a bump & moved into the lead - but they're all still close together.
Is Herman making a move? He's about a boat's length ahead - we've got about 6miles to go...
13h05
Right by the United Nations building. The diamond is still intact. Ian pulling, Zsolt is at the back, the two others on either side. Sean is about a quarter mile behind with Joe Glickman just behind.
OK, we have video going up on www.blip.tv... too cool
12h57
The escort boat is going through Hell's Gate "it doesn't look bad at all" but the lead bunch is still out of sight. We'll call them back in a few minutes. In the meantime, we've got some video footage coming up...
12h55
The escort boat is trying to catch up to the leading bunch - the leaders should be through Hell's Gate by now...
12h50
Info on Hell's Gate:
By the late 19th century, hundreds of ships had sunk in the strait. On September 24, 1876, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers used 50,000 pounds of explosives to blast the dangerous rocks, which was followed by further blasting work. One explosion in Hell Gate was the largest man-made blast in history up until the Atomic Age.
Though Hell Gate is still considered difficult to navigate due to strong tidal flows, its reputation is based on myth more than fact. At certain points in the tidal cycle, its waters briefly go slack, making it as placid as a lake. Even at peak current, competent kayakers and canoeists pass through without trouble. The greatest danger is the artificial one posed by heavy commercial vessel traffic through the tight channel.
12h45
The escort boat fell back to take some shots - so we should get some news of the guys further back like Erik Borgnes & Joe Glickman.
12h43
A couple of the paddlers have retired - Dorian Wolter's rudder broke and one of the OC paddlers retired with back spasms.
12h40
They must be near Hell's Gate by now...
12h32
OK, it wasn't video, it was a large image - pretty cool anyway - of the front bunch.
 Herman Chalupsky, Ian Grey, Greg Barton... (Photo: Mireille Miller-Young)
12h25
Cool - I can see a couple of megabytes of video clip coming into my email account...!
12h20
Just past the Yankee's Stadium. Temp is 64 degrees, the water is currently very calm. Barton just jumped ahead and is pulling the diamond again. Sean Brennan has been left way behind.
What's interesting is that the guys have different stroke rates - Ian Grey has a high cadence, Greg Barton's cadence is by far the slowest in the group; Zsolt & Herman are somewhere in the middle
12h13
Here's Hell's Gate...
 Hell's Gate - looking very gentle!
12h08
Sean Brennan has fallen way back - the rest of the guys all got ahead on the waves from those boats.
They're about 15-20 minutes from Hell's Gate...
12h06
Ian Grey is now pulling the group. You really appreciate how strong these guys are when they go past the kayakers - they look as though they're paddling in slow motion!
Pretty soon they'll be south of the GW bridge... around the 14mile mark... just about half way.
 Latest (approximate!) location of the paddlers...
12h05
The water is extremely flat now - "Barton's right next to the river edge now"... The rest of the pack is being "gentlemanly" and not running Greg into the pylons!
Zsolt is in the lead, Ian second, Greg & Herman at the back of the bunch now - (I bet they're resting.)
Passing an area of the river where there are a lot of rowing clubs - about 190th street. Hell's Gate is in another 4 miles our so. The guys are going about 7kts right now. The current isn't as strong.
Barton now past Herman into 2nd place, passing another kayaker - just blew by him...
12h00
The river right here is heavily affected by the man-made structures - you get whirlpools and so on. The guys are all close to the Manhattan side of the river.
Barton is third. Sean Brennan is further back now.
11h58
Zsolt is just flying on a nice bump - must be doing 11kts. He's looking around to check on the other guys.
Ian is coming second, just behind Zsolt, looks like the group is coming together again - Barton and Chalupsky are coming up. Sean Brennan is trying to ride waves to come up to the group again...
11h56
Whoops - there goes Barton - caught a wave to catch up to Zsolt! A police boat has just gone by, going past warehouses, industrial buildings...
11h55
We've got 3 skis on the Manhattan side; 2 on the Bronx side, Zsolt's stroke has slowed right down, he's just getting a free ride!
"Now they're all changing back to the Manhattan side - Barton is on a wavefront ride. This is a lot of fun!"
11h52
A media boat just threw a huge wake at the guys - broke up the diamond...
The river is only about 400ft wide - the waves huge in the river. Zsolt is riding the waves... "I'm sure someone is going to say something at the end of the race, shoot, he just pivoted 70 degrees [broached]. Everyone's catching the wave now - Zsolt's pulled ahead, the whole group is just a bunch of guys trying to stay on the waves..."
11h51
The elite team are going past the Turning Bridge - hugging the shore right now.
 Turning Bridge
Still the same top 5 guys in the leading group...
The packs further back are still out of sight.
11h50
At the moment - they're at the mouth of the Harlem River - it's beautiful here - Columbia University has a boat house here for their rowing team.
mountainous - 300-400ft cliffs, green trees, very woodsy, a couple of buildings, "you would not think this was part of New York!"
11h40
Jim just pointed us at some tidal/current charts - here are the relevant ones for the time that the guys will be paddling down the east side. Note how the current changes direction!
 Currents around Manhattan Island right now...
 George Washington Bridge
11h35
Hell's gate: "the confluence of the Harlem River and Long Island Sound where it forms the East River.
Caroline Brosius had this to say about Hell's Gate: "I learned that Hell's Gate is not really a singular location, but can
be the gateway to a river possessed. An OC1 makes that particularly
challenging. Not only was there three foot standing chop to deal with,
but all the waves that pushed up to four feet plus were coming from the
ama side (the ama provides stability to the OC1). This does not
include extra challenges such as the cigar boat race, the tug and barge
traffic and various water ferries that travel at high speed and produce
large wakes."
Sounds fun.
11h30
Half way down the east side of Manhattan, there's a "special" place called Hell's Gate. That's where three bodies of water collide to produce a maelstrom of waves going in all directions...
11h25
They're close to 155th street - travelling at 9-10kts, on smoother water, about a mile to go to the GW bridge.
Same diamond - Sean is now part of the leading group - all looking smooth & relaxed. "Amazing balance - the only thing moving is their arms."
Under the bridge in 5-10kts... about 10miles from the start..
11h20
The leading diamond is still intact but Sean Brennan has put in an interval and is pulling up to the front bunch. Greg Barton is pulling the rest. Sean is one boat length back.
11h10
This is where the guys will turn south - they go under the George Washington Bridge, another 2 miles or so to the entrance of the Harlem river. They then travel down to Randall's Island.
 New York Mayor's Cup - top end of the course...
11h05
Here's a batch of photos:
 The leading diamond - Greg, Ian, Zsolt, Herman
11h00
Greg is leading, Herman, Zsolt and Ian are riding Greg's wakes.
Past Pier 94 in mid-town Manhatten - the second group of four has split into two pairs and they've all fallen back somewhat.
They'll be under the George Washington Bridge in 20-30 minutes...
Just opposite Central Park although you can't see it from here... They're "riding the diamond" right now.
"They look terrific - just so smooth - going 9-10kts (16-18kph)" They're in a current running at about 2-3kts.
10h52
We've got 61 people logged in right now - welcome guys! Feel free to leave comments & ask questions - we're going to put up the shout box in a few minutes to make it easier.
Calling the boat again...
10h50
Positions unchanged - the two groups are working together travelling nearly 10kt (18kph) north with the current in the river. There was a drama a few minutes ago when a ship looked as if it was about to reverse over a sea kayak...
They're travelling past 34th Street, coming up to the Empire State Building. The second pack is Glickman, Wolter, Borgnes, Sean Brennan.
 And they're away!
 Before the start
10h45
They're travelling about 10kts at the moment - nearly 18kph! They must be going with the current...
The fourth guy is Ian Gray...
In a second group about 10 sec behind are:
Joe Glickman, Dorian Wolter, Eric Borgnes plus one other...
10h40
The guys are travelling north along the Hudson River.
The top 4 are:
Herman Chalupsky, Zsolt, Greg Barton and one other are in the leading pack...
10h35
A pack of 5 people have dropped the rest - they're trying to identify who's who.
The sun glare is making it difficult to make out the boat numbers...
10h32
They're getting great video - we're hoping to post some video clips in near real time.
The front bunch have already settled down into a pack.
The guys on the boat are reorganising themselves - we've got photographers, video cameras & talkers!
10h30
All the surfski paddlers are sitting, waiting for the start...
There's Zsolt, Herman Chalupsky, Greg Barton
and it's started,
"The guys have taken off like rockets!"
One Very Special Race
I spoke to race organiser Ray Fusco last night - man, he's one wired dude - fits my image of a New Yorker - fast talking, intense kind of guy. Very focussed on what he's doing with this race - and he was up to his ears in logistics.
He had some fascinating things to say about the organisation too - there are some 14 US Coastguard vessels on the water this afternoon along with several NYPD boats. The race runs through a working harbour in one of the most security concious places on the planet! As Ray said - one mistake and the race will never be held again!
Here's where the start is - directly opposite the World Financial Center.
The surfskis should be about to start - we're crossing to the escort boat now...
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