Day 250, Year 10: MGH America’s Cup Experience
Date: Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Weather: Perfect Sailing Day with Wind 12-15, Temp in the 70’s F
Location: Quissett Harbor, Falmouth, MA
The event we were invited to attend today was called the Massachusetts General Hospital America’s Cup Experience. And what a wonderful experience it was. Mark’s oncologist, Dr. Eunice Kwak, somehow managed to get us invited. At first we were hesitant to accept as it looked quite expensive. The cost of securing a place on the Mariner III observation boat was $1,000 per person and if we wanted to sponsor an America’s Cup Charter yacht it would only cost us $25,000! This was a fund raiser after all. But we were promised it would cost nothing for us to attend, so we accepted. It was never clear whether or not we would be on the Mariner III observation boat or on one of the America’s Cup boats, but when we arrived we were handed Mariner III caps, so that settled that issue. Everyone attending was also given a big, beautiful zippered gear bag with a Henri Lloyd foul weather coat and a sweatshirt blanket inside, all with the MGH America’s Cup Experience logo. Wow! And from there things just got better and better. The location of the event was the New York Yacht Club in Newport. It looks like a magnificent stone castle and we were treated like royalty. The luncheon tables were set on the lawn and on the large covered porch with white table cloths that blew gently in the wind. Fresh flowers adorned the tables and the buffet luncheon spread looked too good to eat. Unfortunately, photos are not allowed inside the Yacht Club, so I have no pictures of the food. But trust me. It was gorgeous and it tasted as good as it looked. There was a bar on the lawn and you could have anything to drink that your little heart might desire, just for the asking. After lunch we walked down to the water where there was a cookie bar waiting for us and then we loaded the boats. The sponsors, with their crews, of each of the six America’s Cup boats were delivered via launch to their boats and then the Mariner III pulled up to the dock so we could board. This classic yacht was built in 1926 and she has been beautifully maintained. There were spreads of food that looked like art work on all levels of the boat and you were served anything you requested to drink. We met Meagan Coons, the associate director in the MGH Development Office that sent us our invitation, and talked with her at length. Once we were out on the water, the races began. There were six America’s Cup yachts, all from the Twelve Meter Class (1958 to 1987). Three of the most famous of these boats, Intrepid, Columbia, and Weatherly, were racing today, as well as American Eagle, Heritage, and Nefertiti. Intrepid won the America’s Cup in 1967 and in 1970, and she was the overall winner today, followed by Weatherly and Columbia who tied for second place. The wind was perfect for sailing and the blue sky had the most incredible cloud formations. It was all just picture perfect. After the races ended, all of the boats toured the Newport waterfront while we were served warm chocolate chip cookies. Yum!!! Once back on the dock, a bar materialized to serve everyone Dark and Stormys to drink while walking back up the hill to the Yacht Club. After a few minutes, we were directed to go to the Carriage House to dress for cocktails and dinner. Cocktails were served on the lawn with all the shrimp, clams, oysters, and clam chowder you could eat. There was a short presentation about the role of this ‘experience’ in terms of fund raising for Mass General and a new MGH Sports Medicine initiative was announced. Then it was inside for a lobster dinner. The whole day was fabulous. Thank you, MGH, for including us in this experience.
Note: I took so many photos and videos that I filled my memory card. I don’t think I have every done this before. But, as I said, it was a picture perfect event. Obviously, I won’t be posting all of these, but I will post many of them in the next few days. Tonight I will post just a few of the best to give you some idea of what the day was like.
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