The Olympic Yachting Events In Savannah

In 1996, Atlanta hosted the centennial Summer Olympics, with ceremonies and events held in that city from July 19 to August 4. As Atlanta is landlocked, the Olympic sailing events were held in Savannah (a few other events were also held in the Georgia cities of Columbus and Gainesville).

Several dozen yachting races were held between July 22 and July 29 1996, at Wassaw Sound and in the open ocean near Little Tybee Island. 78 countries competed, fielding 461 competitors in 312 boats. The Olympic Marina was based at Wilmington Island, with a barge Day Marina on the north of Wassaw Sound, off Little Tybee. Around 1000 spectators per day sailed out on specially-provisioned spectating boats to view the races.

The distance from Savannah to the main Olympic venues in Atlanta was thought sufficient to warrant a separate set of opening and closing ceremonies, and a separate official Olympic flame. This was the only official Olympic flame to be lit outside of Atlanta, and the first time opening ceremonies with a torch lighting were held outside of an official host city.

Savannah was also the port through which the Olympic Flag entered Georgia in September 1992, aboard the tall ship Eagle. From there it was transported to Atlanta, via several other Georgia locations over the course of a week. The Olympic Torch also arrived in Georgia through Savannah’s port, landing at Morrell Park aboard the schooner America.

On July 20 1996, after the opening ceremonies in Atlanta (on July 19) were complete, the torch was carried back to Savannah for the second set of opening ceremonies. The torch was carried through Savannah’s streets to Morrell Park, where a large crowd was in attendance, despite torrential rain.

At Morrell Park, the fire bowl atop the sculpture commissioned for the occasion (the present Olympic Yachting Cauldron) was lit. The flame burned through the duration of Savannah’s Olympic events, and was replaced after the conclusion of the games by its representation in copper. The closing ceremonies were held on August 2, two days prior to Atlanta’s closing ceremonies on August 4.

The Olympic Cauldron in Morrell Park is the only physical remnant of the yachting events in Savannah. Funding issues meant that the city never received any new permanent facilities as a result of hosting the Olympic sailing events, although an Olympic marina and sailing center had been planned.

Photos of Savannah’s Olympic ceremonies and events, and the official Savannah Olympic Guide, can be viewed on the City of Savannah website.

The Monument

In 1995, Arts Ashore, the group responsible for the organization of Savannah’s cultural celebrations in connection with the Olympic yachting events, began planning the monument that would provide both a platform for the Olympic flame during the games and a permanent memorial to the sailing events hosted in Savannah.

From a field of several potential artists, Arts Ashore chose blacksmith and artist Ivan Bailey (1945-2013), a native Oregonian but long-time resident of Georgia, whose connections enabled him to assist in securing funding for the planned work.

Ivan Bailey began his artistic career in Savannah in the 1970s, during which time he establishing Bailey’s Forge on Bay Street. Later, he moved to Atlanta.

Several other of Bailey’s works can be seen to this day in Savannah, including the 1977 repairs to the statue of a female figure that sits atop Forsyth Park’s famous fountain; an ironwork chandelier installed as part of the renovation of the Unitarian Church on Troup Square; and a small sculptural fountain in the garden of the Beach Institute.

One of his notable public works in Atlanta is the Phoenix Rising sculpture in the Virginia-Highland neighborhood’s John Howell Park.

In November 1995, Arts Ashore asked Bailey to create designs for the monument that would serve its dual purpose of accommodating the torch and standing as a permanent memorial. They chose his second design, on which work began in March of 1996.

The sculpture portrays a stylized representation of the Olympic Torch, mounted on a pedestal comprising five classical fluted columns.

According to the monument’s sculptor, inspiration for the columns came from the Porch of the Maidens at the Athens acropolis, the original six columnar figures reduced to five on the monument to produce a more unusual visual effect. Incidentally, it also represents the number of Olympic rings in the Games’ official symbol.

Arranged around the copper flame are a ring of six sails, representing the sails of the boats that participated in that year’s Olympic yachting events. The flame itself, positioned after the conclusion of the Games, was directed according to the direction of the wind during Savannah’s opening ceremonies.

The original design for monument spaced the columns more widely, topping each with its own sail and including a lower-set cauldron in the center. At the request of Arts Ashore, Bailey’s second design created a taller and more compact sculpture.

After the Savannah yachting events and the city’s closing ceremonies were over, the monument was permanently dedicated in Morrell Park on August 8 1996.

More Savannah Monuments & Memorials

– African-American Monument
– William Washington Gordon Monument
– Nathanael Greene Monument
– Haitian Monument
– William Jasper Monument
– James Oglethorpe Monument
– Casimir Pulaski Monument
– Tomochichi Memorial
– Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial
– Waving Girl Monument
– John Wesley Monument
– World War II Monument

See also:
– Museums in Savannah
– Guided tours of Savannah
– Black history sites in Savannah
– Historic house tours
– Historic District squares and parks