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September 2017
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According to Alistair Duke, last year’s winning
captain, “by starting in the lower harbor they
added a little more excitement to the event
this year”. He later related how exciting it was
to sail through the harbor traffic and down
under the Verrazano Bridge to reach the open
ocean.
Alistair recounted that they had a thrilling
sail down under the Verranzano Narrows
Bridge and headed for deep water and a better
breeze but it cost them some time against
the boats that took the riskier inshore route
better known to the local boats. They did well
to catch up for the next 6 to 8 hours until the
wind went light Thursday night. By then the
inshore boats had a definite advantage, and
they kept it Friday was spent flopping around
with no wind just past Fire Island barely
moving at 1 and 1/2 knots. Wind picked up
around Plum Island and we had a sleigh ride
to the finish. At the start the crew volunteered
“We will eat well until Sat night, and a bit
hungry after that when provisions get thin”.
And they did, deli sandwiches after the start,
lasagna the first night, breakfast burritos
the next morning, risotto
Friday night and breakfast
sandwiches
Saturday
morning. I’m guessing none
of the crew lost any weight
that weekend.
They finished the race in I
day, 16 hours, 52 mins and
15 seconds, and respectable
time but not a winning
time this year. With no
major awards waiting they
headed back to Saugatuck
after crossing the finish
line. Despite not having the
repeat success they had hope
for, the entire crew hailed the
race as a huge success, well
organized, well run, and they
are definitely planning to be
back next year for the 42nd ALIR. Alistair said,
“Although we didn’t come home with the win
again he was happy the victory stayed in the
neighborhood, the winning boat and crew this
year were from the Cedar Point Yacht Club a
mile or so South of the Saugatuck Yacht Club
on the Saugatuck River.
James Coffman, the winning captain of
this year’s ALIR said “I would definitely
characterize the relationship between the
clubs as a very ‘friendly’ rivalry. Alistair is a
great sailor and his team has enjoyed a lot
of success as well. While we compete hard,
we also celebrate each other’s wins. Alistair is
Frequent Flyer on station for the start.
The horn sounds and the games begin.
a class act and I appreciate that he
radioed me shortly after the finish
to congratulate us”.
Team Gemini pulled off an
impressive win in the 41st Around
Long Island Race sailing their 2010
broad beam 37 foot Hanse 375
number USA 60468. As summarized
by Cedar Point Yacht Club skipper/
owner James Coffman, “We had an
epic start, beating our way out of
NY Harbor dodging the ferries and
container ships.We got stuck in the
doldrums off the southern coast
of Long Island near the Hamptons
and rounded Montauk Point in
the fog. We anchored in 2 knots
of adverse current and no wind
off Orient Point while watching
5 boats drift past us. After that
we had the spinnaker ride of our
lives as the winds built to over
20 knots from the NE overnight
with the boat hitting a record 13.5