A Beneteau Buzz: Partially Made In Buffalo
Let me first say that I am not a sailor. It was Bill Zimmermann who first dragged me out on a Buffalo waterfront sail when we did a story on his 7-Seas Sailing School. Ever since then I have not looked at sailing in quite the same way. Whenever I take my dog to LaSalle Park I find myself scanning the lake for sailboats coming in and out of the Erie Basin Marina.
Supposedly Lake Erie has some of the best sailing winds in the country, and that's just one of the reasons that we have landed the highly sought after Beneteau 36.7 North American Championship. The racers are, at this moment, engaging in one of four races that are being held today. Last evening I was asked to sail in the in the local Wednesday night race that many competitors entered to get a feel for the competition. Over a hundred boats could be seen racing from one leg to another, and as the boats rounded the outer markers each hoisted up a colorful spinnaker sail turning. Anyone who witnessed the preliminary race would never look at the lake the same way.
There were many sponsors that chipped in to bring this important race to Buffalo, but there was one of particular interest that should be noted. Saint-Gobain, a French multi-national company that "produces a variety of construction and high-performance materials" has a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Western New York. As part of the sponsorship agreement Saint-Gobain offered to donate fiberglass to Beneteau in exchange for helping to secure the race in Buffalo (along with other local and national sponsors). The donated fiberglass is a major component that is used for making the sailboat racing hulls. So when you're looking out at those Beneteaus racing all over Lake Erie, just think that some of those boats came from materials derived from a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in WNY.
*Thanks to the crew of the Star of the Sea for inviting me to take a close-up look at the boats and the race. To learn more about the race, click here.
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al-alo
watch out for that breakwall. it seems like it has a bullseye on it lately.
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MJWorthington
The picture with the windmills is great.
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EricOak
Anyone know what time the races start?
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chris69
we definitely need a regatta that goes from the westernmost part of lake erie (Detroit) to the easternmost part of lake erie (Buffalo)
dont need to remind everyone that Rochester joined the Great Lakes Cruising Coalition.....but Buffalo still has not. It would help our local econom if hundreds of Great Lakes Cruise Ship passengers disembarked at the DL&W
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