Clipper City won’t fully relocate to Tribeca’s Pier 25 as planned, according to its operator, Manhattan By Sail.
The steel schooner, which had plans to move to the newly renovated pier, will continue to operate out of Pier 17 in the South Street Seaport at least a few days a week, according to Manhattan By Sail President Tom Berton.
Berton hopes to be able to operate the Clipper part-time out of Pier 25 in order to take passersby on sailing trips into the harbor and coordinate dockside activities with Manhattan Youth and other local organizations. The sailing ship has already made three or four trips to the pier in the last month, Berton noted, but has run into some logistical snags with respect to docking at the pier.
“There are a few navigational issues… we’ve been testing the water and spent some time docking, evaluating the water and wind,” said Berton. “The weather was sort of funky, so we’ve had a little bit of a slow start.”
Berton is confident that the issues will soon be resolved and that the Clipper can be more consistently up and running at Pier 25.
“There’s a lot of opportunity, it’s just the timing right now,” he said. “We see a longterm plan. We’re hoping we can establish ourselves there.”
