It’s early morning and all is quiet. Not a ripple to crack the water’s surface. We hit the road as night is fading into day. One by one, we all come out of our bunks. There are fourteen of us onboard for this short trip to Newport. With no wind, it’s pleasant to stay on deck. The crew is talking in small groups. Shifts at the helm are every two hours.
In the late afternoon, we anchor on the north shore of Fishers Island, all the way east in Long Island Sound. Tonight we are celebrating Laurent’s birthday. His little brother, Alan, is onboard and he received messages from the rest of his family through the satellite telephone. Claudine made an enormous chocolate cake with strawberries for the occasion. The evening goes on at the sound of Pascal’s accordion.

It’s early morning, each one of us is busy at his or her own tasks or one last shopping errand in town. We are all finally gathered at noon. We leave the “World Financial Center” and hit the road south toward the East River. Going around Manhattan, we pass the Bronx and Harlem in the north and Queens and Brooklyn on the south side. We go by the United Nations building once again. The sky is blue, it is cold, but there is no wind. It is very pleasant to stroll on deck and to dream thoughtfully inspired by the urban landscape. Everything is a bit unreal, as we are not so used to visiting cities with “Southern Star”. Very soon, we are in the open in Long Island Sound.
New York disappears below the horizon.
After a week in Manhattan, we feel the urgency to act. Even with many interviews still up ahead and meetings with numerous specialists, we have gathered in the last several months enough evidence from the best scientists on the topic of climate change. Signals from the scientific community are clear. The climate is changing quickly, too quickly, and humans are playing a role in this change. All the same, governments are still undecided, despite all the whistles blown by economists about the high cost of our inaction. The new green markets, however, are growth markets and they present solutions to the actual crisis. We are hoping with all our heart that governments will stop hiding their head in the ground.
The Copenhagen summit has to lead to concrete actions.