Winter 2009-Spring 2010
PortSide  brings USA's largest passenger sailing vessel to Atlantic Basin
PortSide working with the NYC EDC, got a winter berth for two majestic schooners:  the Clipper City, a 158' long topsail schooner, and Shearwater, a 82-foot 1920's luxury schooner yacht.  Both vessels are operated by Manhattan By Sail. As part of the deal, they are offering 550 free community sails on Fri 4/30, Sat 4/1, Fri 5/7, Sat 5/8. Sails leave at 10am and last about an hour and a half. Sails depart from Pier 11 Atlantic Basin. 

As of Fri 4/16/10, 240 free tickets will be distributed via the web here

For those who don't use the web, tell them physical tickets are available as of Fri 4/16/10,at the office of Brooklyn Community Board 6 (250 Baltic Street, between Court Street and Clinton Street) from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday to Friday. Tickets are limited to two per person.  Tickets at Community Board 6 that have not been picked up 3 days before the sail, will become available on line.

directions

Visit dynamic Red Hook while you are here! Download our neighborhood guide.

PortSide seeks volunteers to assist at the 4 sailing events above as well as at other events coming up this summer.  Join a PortSide planning meeting Tues 4/27 6-7:30. Details on our Volunteer page.

Harbor Day 2009
PortSide and NYC EDC co-sponsor Dutch Flat Bottom Fleet event
As part of the year-long Hudson Quadricentennial, festivities, some 400 visitors greeted the historic Dutch Flat Bottomed Fleet in Atlantic Basin on Sunday, September 13, 2009. Visitors swarmed the pier, the Flat Bottom boats, and boarded a surprise visitor in the form of the 150’ barquentine Peacemaker. 

Our friends from the Low Countries were a jolly lot, each boat had a team jersey in a vibrant color, some crew wore wooden clogs painted with their boat logos, and all often erupted into song to the sounds of their escort, the shopping-cart-sized Musikboot that tootled around the fleet with its creator Reinier Sijpkens playing the trumpet while grinding a player-organ.  For more on the fleet, see the Visitor Guide Video of the event here

December 2008
PortSide throws Mary Whalen's 70th birthday party in Atlantic Basin
Some 500 people trooped through the Mary A. Whalen, ate birthday cake and chatted over the wood stove during the grey day. Visitors came by water; the historic tug Pegasus came from Jersey City and swung by Manhattan to pick up some guests.  The active-duty tug Janice Anne Reinauer joined the gang. The MV Manhattan swung through Atlantic Basin for a cheer and a wave, and several gigs from the Village Community Boathouse rowed over from Manhattan.

Some History

PortSide's vision for the BlueSpace was to create a place, a maritime hub, where many vessels come and go. Our shoreside programs are designed to have a synergistic relationship to this activity.

PortSide did not get the space for which we did the 2005 business plan with funds from NYC's Department of Small Business Services.

This has turned us into an itinerant ship, and creator of programs at various locations.

April 2009, NYC's Economic Development Corporation (EDC) sole-sourced PortSide to create a maritime hub and cultural center in Atlantic Basin, Red Hook, next to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. 

This will allow PortSide to fulfill the plans proposed in our 2005 plan, which were affirmed in April 2008 by the EDC Maritime Support Services Study that proposed that each borough have a maritime hub.