23 / 86
September 2017
23
boatingonthehudson.com
The competitors are milling around in the starting area,
the breeze is up, it’s 2:00 PM on July 27th 2017, the horn
sounds and they are off for a 205 mile race around Long
Island. It starts under the watchful eyes of Lady Liberty
and ends at the breakwater in Hempstead Harbor. After
the finish line it’s on to the Sea CliffYacht Club to celebrate.
The race is known as The Around Long Island Regatta.
This race was first run in 1977 making this the 41st annual
run. The race is open to sailors of all levels and all sailboats
26 feet and larger handicapped according to PHRF
(Performance Handicap Racing Fleet) rules which allow
dissimilar classes of boats to race against each other fairly.
The race typically last one to three days making a good
test for all involved. The race course combines Harbor,
ocean and sound racing in unpredictable July weather
making it a tactical strategic challenge every mile, not to
mention a real test of patience in the light summer winds
on Long Island Sound in mid-summer. For you power
boaters out there sailing thought the Eastern end of Long
Island Sound in the summer means negotiating currents
of 4-5 knots in boats making headway in the single
digits, in a good wind. If
you have ever cruised the
Sound in summer you
know any kind of reliable
breeze is rare.
This year’s event actually
started with the Captains
Meeting
Wednesday
July 26, 2017 at Liberty
Landing Marina and the
festivities officially end
Sunday afternoon, July 30,
at the Awards Ceremony
and Beach Party hosted
by the Sea Cliff Yacht Club,
Sea Cliff, New York.
The idea for the ALIR was
brought to the Sea Clift
Yacht Club back in 1976-
77 by Frank Braynard, one
of the creators of the South Street Seaport and the Bi-
centenial Tall Ships celebration in 1976. With the start
in the harbor against the backdrop of lower Manhattan,
the Statue of Liberty and Jersey City, the ALIR will reach a
whole new level of popularity.
This year the race starts in the harbor just North of the
Statue of Liberty and heads south under the Verranzano
Narrows Bridge and out into the Atlantic Ocean. There
they head East along the South shore of Long Island
passing Long Beach, Jones Beach, Fire Island, the
Hamptons and on to Montauk Point. After rounding
Montauk Light they will head northwest to Plum Gut or
through The Race, into Long Island Sound. Once in the
Sound they head due West to Hempstead Harbor and the
finish line at the Glen Cove breakwater. After that, it’s a
great party of music, food, drinks and awards at the Sea
Cliff Yacht Club on Sunday afternoon.
Starting the race in the harbor made the actual start
observable to many more spectators than the previous starts
off Rockaway Point near Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn.
The new start welcomed spectators and media from New
York, Brooklyn and New Jersey. Regetta Chairmen Jim Aikman
and Doug Wefer were very excited about this new venue and
opportunity to showcase the ALIR Race in the same arena
as the Americas Cup races last year. Not only was the start
observable from New York City but there were great vantage
points at Liberty State Park in New Jersey. There was a picnic
like atmosphere in the park where I went to see the start. It
was a mix of sailing enthusiast and people boarding the
ferries to the Statue of Liberty. It was interesting to hear the
exchanges between the tourists and sailors explaining what
all these sailboats where doing, seemingly going around in
circles awaiting the start. We may have the seeds of a whole
new group of sailing enthusiasts.
To support the move to NewYork Harbor the Liberty Landing
Marina in Jersey City will serve as a venue for overnight sailboat
dockage prior to the start. Jason Dalli, General Manager at
Liberty Landing Marina, loved the idea and made Liberty
Landing Marina a co-host for the event and sponsored the
Captains Meeting the
night before the start
at the Liberty House
Restaurant in Liberty
State Park. Mr. Dalli said,
“ We have always had
competitors stop over
on the way to the start
of the ALIR but this year
we are delighted to be a
more integral part of the
event”.
I got lucky at the
Liberty Landing Marine
Center and struck up
a
conversation
with
a customer who just
happened to be the
overall winner of last year’s
race. Alistair Duke, the
captain of “Frequent Flyer”. Alistair invited me down to see
the boat and meet the rest of the crew.
Defending overall winners competing in the PERF division.
The “Frequent Flyer crew: Tom O’ Connell, Tom Keegan, Eric
Stanley, Itala Goncalves, Scott Wetzel, Captain, Alistair Duke
have been sailing together for many years. They sail out of
Saugatuck Yacht Club in Westport Connecticut, and this year
were the only member boat in the race. Their boat is a 2003
36 Foot Beneteau 36.7 sail number 52361, one of 250 in the
US , about 15 in this area, all built between 02 and 08. It’s a
one design yacht, a number of boats built to the same specs.
A displacement boat as opposed the newer surfing hulls by
Beneteau, and one of six in class six for the ALIR this year.
The captains plan was to be Finished by Saturday night, 36-
48 hours depending on the wind. The crew would do 4 hour
watches, 4 on and the 4 off to rest. Later on after the race,
Alistair said they may try 3 on and 3 off next time, he felt it
would be easier to maintain concentration.
Gemini crew at the awards ceremony