Big Boat Series Sailors Gather to Mourn Dead With Boat Parade and Ceremony.

News & Lifestyle Editors

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 14, 2001

A group of boats that had been entered in the now-canceled Big Boat Series, sponsored by St. Francis Yacht Club, will gather in the marina today and embark on a trip to honor the memories of the people killed in the recent, horrific terrorist attacks.

The boats will gather in the turning basin at St. Francis Yacht Club at 2 p.m. From there, they will form a flotilla and power up to the Blackcaller buoy off of the Presidio Park. At the buoy, they will dress their ships in honor of the dead, raise their spinnakers and sail along the city front to Pier 39. At the city front, they will drop their sails, place themselves in a formation end-to-end, and deposit flowers in the water in memory of the dead, and return to St. Francis Yacht Club.

The Big Boat Series is one of the premier sailing events in the United States, and attracts sailors and boats from around the world. Some of the boats that will be participating in the memorial will be Pendragon V (Los Angeles), Jeantex_USA (Los Angeles), Flash Gordon 2 (Seattle) and Copernicus (Chicago).

While Friday will be focused on the memories of the dead, and the event itself has been canceled, the boats will sail informally on Saturday in an attempt to live up to the president's request that we all "return our lives to normalcy" and not allow the terrorists to control our lives.

All members of the media are welcome to join the boats on the memorial sail. Owners have agreed to take the press on their boats should it be requested of them. To arrange a spot, please call Nick Barran at 818/416-2427.