The Queen Mary 2 left France on July 25th UTC amid great fanfare and crowds who gathered to watch the spectacle of this first of it’s kind race. This event is celebrating a century of friendship and unity between France and America. The event commemorated the centennial of the United States entering World War I to fight with the allies and end the conflict. On June 26, 1917 the first Americans landed in Saint-Nazaire, France. Along with those Americans came jazz music and basketball. Therefore it was appropriate that these were incorporated in THE BRIDGE 2017 when the events were organized.
The race pitted the Queen Mary 2 against four Ultime Trimarans skippered by some of the greatest names in Ocean Racing. Francis Joyon – IDEC SPORT, Thomas Coville – Sodebo Ultime, François Gabart – MACIF, and Yves Le Blévec – ACTUAL.
The Queen Mary beat out the competitors finishing in July 1st. She made the crossing in 5 days, 15 hours and 45 minutes. Her average speed for the crossing was 22.7 kts.
© George Bekris
The Queen Mary 2 ended her race to New York as she crossed the finish at the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge at 5:00 am local time. After crossing she passed the Statue of Liberty and did a circle in front of it as New York Fireboat saluted her with a spray in the morning light.
The Queen Mary 2 has its thirteen passenger decks, the Queen Mary 2 is the largest, longest, tallest, widest, and most expensive passenger ship of all time. The 1,132 foot ship has a top speed of 29 knots and is so stable it a bit like being in a luxury hotel on the water. Her sweeping 2nd deck covered in wood runs the entire length of the ship with an uninterrupted view that runs from bow to stern. She is reminiscent of the golden age of cruising the oceans when the getting there was an event in itself. There are beautiful and elegant restaurants. Before the modern neon, water slide laden, running track and glitz liners so common in ports all over the world. This ship brings back the elegant grandeur of a time of elegance in travel. There is a feeling of going back in time as you step aboard and take in the grand lobby and halls lined with relief sculptures. She recently underwent a total refit so everything is sparkling and fresh onboard.
© George Bekris
There are many cabins to choose from including the opulent duplex Buckingham Suite at the stern the spanned deck 9 and 10 with a private viewing deck on the stern.
© George Bekris
During her crossing the passengers were treated to the well known jazz singers and musicians. Archie Shepp performed with his saxophone. Also performing during the festival ain onboard was Natalie Dessay. The festival of Jazz began with concerts Nantes, Saint-Nazaire, continued on the ocean, and will conclude with a concert in New York City at the Central Park SummerStage Festival on July 1, 2017. Bringing the events full circle from it’s origins in the United States to France and a century later back New York City.
There were other aspects to THE BRIDGE as well. Personal bridges and bonds made. Anna Boissier, a passenger on the ship, decided to take part in the cruise after finding out the link between herself and France in her own family history.
She was a American from Pennsylvania who married a Frenchman and moved to France twenty one years ago. She began investigating her own roots and found seven generations ago on her father’s side of the family a man named Lorenz Sandmanm, who came from the Baden region in Germany was in her family tree. He sailed on a ship to America 1752. The name Sandmann through time became Sentman. One of the Sentmans was Eli who joined the CO B303 Bn Tank Corps on May 3, 1918 during World War I. He trained and travelled across the atlantic with the American forces to a tank base in England. Eli was then sent to Neuvy-Pailloux, France later that year. He was stationed in France during the winter of 1919 before leaving the army and returning to america that spring.
After the war he started an automobile dealership in Philadelphia where Boissier’s grandfather worked as well. Their family continues to live in Pennsylvania with the exception of Bossier who has been in France for 21 years. This trip is especially exciting for her as she is set to meet her cousin Eli Sentman V in New York before the ship sails back to France. This trip was a bridge for Anna and her family as well. She will have a new connection in America that she would never had if she hadn’t began building bridges of her own. Now Anna will have family memories for her and her husband to take back to France.
© George Bekris
THE BRIDGE 2017 was not only a race. On the ship were business representatives in the 100 CLUB who chartered the ship to participate in the race against the Ultime trimarans in the transatlantic race. The 100 CLUB was established with the launch of the race in September of 2016 by Tony Parker, a sponsor of the bridge. There were 150 companies represented on board the QM2 to take place in 8 days of conferences and exchange of ideas mixed in with time to unwind in the middle of the Atlantic and let their creative minds collaborate on new ways to work together. This time allowed them uninterrupted opportunities to make contacts for the future in the ever changing world of business in the 21st century and it’s abundance of new business opportunities. It was a mix of small, medium and large companies all looking toward the future and how to best adjust and adapt going forward in a changing world. Allowing them to form bonds and alliances with each other that will last well past this transatlantic crossing. It just happened to take place on board one of the most majestic ships today on one the world’s greatest oceans, far from land and daily distractions.
© George Bekris
The FIBA 3×3 World Cup 2017 Basketball portion of THE BRIDGE was ongoing in France with 40 teams from 36 countries competing at the Parc des Chantires. The winners were Serbia in 1st place, Netherlands in 2nd and France took 3rd.
“I’ve always looked at sailing as a way of building bridges,” Damien Grimont, the founder and organizer, said. “Here, we brought the worlds of jazz, basketball, and business together to remember this 100 years and this race has been an amazing bridge between all of them. “The Queen Mary 2 was the biggest thing because it was so important to the lives of so many people, particularly in Saint-Nazaire (where she was built). There are such emotional ties and such energy from that boat; 100,000 people worked on it and four million hours of human labor went into its construction.”
This was the first edition of THE BRIDGE. It’s the hope of many that this becomes a tradition of bringing together the brightest minds in business with the top racers in the sailing circuit for an event that will grow with each edition.
The 150 companies participating in the 100 club were as follows:
4 MOD – 727 SAILBAGS – AAERON FRANCE – ACT.ALARM – ACTUAL – ADENINE – ADRIEN STRATÉGIE AID – AIR FRANCE – ALAIN CHARTIER – AMP – APRIL MOTO – ARIES ALLIANCE – ARMETON – ATELIER DES TENDANCES – ATLANTIQUE EXPANSION ERB – ATLOC – ATOL – AVOLENS – AXO- BERJAC -BIG SUCCESS – C3P – CDII – CABINET MOITIER ET CARRIÈRE – CANAPÉS DUVIVIER – CAPACITÉS CAPVISIO – CAZENOVE ARCHITECTURE – CELENCIA – CFLC GROUPE (CRLC – ATLANTIC SOL) – CHÂTEAU DES TOURELLES – CIC – CLEAR CHANNEL – CLUB APM MAYENNE – CM-CIC INVESTISSEMENT -C.M.R – COLBERT ASSURANCE – COLBERT PATRIMOINE ET FINANCE – CORNET VINCENT SEGUREL AVOCATS – CREATIC EMBALL SERVICES – DANTES YACHTS – DELOITTE – DOCUWORLD GROUP – DOLMEN -DURET IMMOBILIER – ENVOLIIS – EUROPCAR – EXCELIUM – EY – FICAMEX – FINANCIÈRE CONSEIL -GALÉO – GELENCSER – GÉNICADO – GESTAL – GIL TURPEAU ENTREPRISES – GOSSELIN DESIGN & DIGITAL – GROUPE COUPECHOUX – GROUPE DUBREUIL – GROUPE GRUAU – GROUPE IDYL’AUTO – GROUPE LE DUFF -GROUPE LEGENDRE – GROUPE LUCAS – GROUPE MOUSSET – GROUPE RIDEAU – GUESNEAU SERVICES -GYMGLISH – HARMONIE MUTUELLE – HERIGE – HISI – HLP AUDIT – HOFIA – IDÉA – IJINUS – INTERACTION INTERIM – INTUITI – KPMG – LA MAISON HEBEL – LAUDESCHER INDUSTRIE – LAUDREN ATLANTIQUE – LE CONSERVATEUR – LEROY MERLIN – LINER COMMUNICATION – LOCARMOR LOGISTIC SOLUTIONS – LUCAS G – MAINDRON – MANHATTAN ASSOCIATES – MCDONALD’S OLONNE-SUR-MER – MÉTIER INTERIM & CD – MITIS – MNM CONSULTING – MSTREAM – MULTIPLAST – NANTES SAINT-NAZAIRE DÉVELOPPEMENT – NAP – NEOVIVO – NOUVEL OUEST – OCF – ORATIO – OUEST COUVERTURE ÉNERGIE – OUEST-FRANCE – PAEONIA – PATRICK GELENSCER -PLAST’IC ENTREPRISES – PRÉFA TECHNICOF – PROTECT’HOMS – QUADRA CONSULTANTS – REALITES – RÉAUTÉ CHOCOLAT – REGARD 9 – RH-INC – SÉCHÉ ENVIRONNEMENT – SEGASEL – SÉMÉNIA – SFCMM -SIMAB – SIPAC ASSURANCES – SAS RABAS – SODEBO – SOFAGEM – STREGO – SUPER U VERTOU -SYD CONSEILS – TEAM PLASTIQUE – TEGRALIS – TIBCO – TGS AUDIT – TGS AVOCATS – THÉÂTRE 100 NOMS -THE LINKS – TRANSPORTS VÉZO – TRANSVERSALES – TRI OUEST – VALPG PÔLE GRAPHIQUE EPA -VD COM – VERTAL – VYP
For more information and facts about the race visit THE BRIDGE 2017
Visit George Bekris Photography for more photos of THE BRIDGE 2017 and the QUEEN MARY 2 in New York