Around Long Island Regatta

July 25th, 2024

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ALIR videos

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

July 14th, 2024

Enter ALIR by this Date - late fees apply going forward

Monday, July 21st, 2024 @1700 hours
Final entry deadline

 July 24th, 2024
Captains' Meeting - Liberty House, Liberty Landing Marina, Jersey City, NJ

July 25th, 2024, 8:00am-10:00am
Complementary breakfast for ALIR racers, hosted by Liberty Yacht Club

July 25th, 2024
Start of the 47th Around Long Island Regatta in spectacular New York Harbor!

July 28th, 2024 
Awards Ceremony & Beach Party
Sea Cliff Yacht Club, Sea Cliff, NY

Around Long Island Regatta in the News

Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty, founded in 1922 in the seaside village of Cold Spring Harbor, NY, has signed on as title sponsor of this year’s Around Long Island Regatta (ALIR). Well known “around Long Island” for its iconic whale logo, Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty is an ideal partner for this iconic race. ALIR host club Sea Cliff Yacht Club is proud to welcome the company as the title sponsor. “I hope that other Long Island companies see the value in supporting the ALIR, and this is just the start,” said SCYC Commodore Steve Feinsilver.

“Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty is a Long Island company through and through,” said Chief Executive Officer Deirdre O’Connell. “Supporting the Around Long Island Regatta is a natural fit. We don’t just sell the Long Island lifestyle, we live it and love it. We are proud to sponsor an event that epitomizes some of the best of what Long Island has to offer to residents and visitors.”

ALIR Committee Chairperson Shana Spanier-Ciniski stated, “Having Daniel Gale as a sponsor is very exciting. Their support can only make a great event even better. Excuse the pun, but this year’s race will be a whale of a good time, thanks to Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty.”

The 46th Annual Long Island Regatta is a 206-mile race that starts with a breathtaking vista at the base of the Statue of Liberty and circumnavigates Daniel Gale’s beloved island with a busy New York Harbor first leg. After a long run down the south shore, and around Montauk and Orient Points, the course runs up Long Island Sound to finish at the Breakwater in Hempstead Harbor. Open to all sailboats 24 feet or longer, with ten different divisions, the regatta is a geared toward serious racers, cruising boats and weekend sailors looking to challenge themselves. Race dates are July 27 - 30. For more information and to register, visit ALIR.org.

https://www.liherald.com/seacliff/stories/sea-cliff-yacht-club-inducts-first-female-commodore,128774

Sea Cliff Yacht Club inducts first female commodore

Posted 
Long Island Herald

Over its 128-year history, the Sea Cliff Yacht Club has seen a multitude of changes, from its membership to its programming to its community service projects. One of its constants, however, has been male leadership. That changed last Saturday, when Robin Maynard was named the club’s first female commodore.

“It really, truly is an honor, and it was important to me also to be a role model,” Maynard said. “Boating is a male-driven sport, and it’s nice to push female boaters and female sailors [forward].”

Maynard, 48, said she has been a member of the club for 12 years, and has sat on its board in various capacities for the past decade. Although she grew up relatively far from the water, in West Orange, N.J., she said she has always been drawn to the ocean. Sea Cliff’s proximity to the water, she said, and her love of its Victorian architecture were what brought her to the village in 2000. Whether she is out on one of her three sailboats, her powerboat or her scull, she said, she feels at home on the water.

“Being on the water is just a special thing,” Maynard said. “It’s very relaxing. There’s no better view than sunset at the Sea Cliff Yacht Club.”

Although she began sailing several years before joining the club, Maynard said she became a member when her daughter, Samantha, was 2 because she wanted her to get involved in boating early. Samantha, now 15, rows competitively at the private Kent School in Connecticut.

Bringing rowing to the yacht club is one of Maynard’s goals. She also wants to improve the club’s beach area with new furniture, she said, and update its dining room.

While the coronavirus pandemic has made things difficult for the club and its 175 members, Maynard said it is very proactive in its health regulations. A committee of doctors has put a number of procedures in place, she said, including temperature checks, distancing of tables, thorough cleaning and limiting capacity, and a tent equipped with heaters will augment club capacity as the weather gets colder.

Harvey Bass, a member for 34 years who served as commodore from 2012 to 2014, said that Maynard has shown her dedication over the years as a board member. She has a strong operational background, Bass said, having served on a number of committees, and has even made financial contributions. Her ascension to commodore is a milestone, he said.

Maynard is a no-nonsense person who gets things done, Bass said, and is very inventive when it comes to creating events. For Halloween she created a “trunk-or-treat” event in which members decorated their vehicles and children made their way around the club parking lot collecting treats. She enjoys bringing the club’s families together for all sorts of programs.

“The Sea Cliff Yacht Club is year-round,” Bass said, “so you have to have a person who inspires people to come by the club even on those cold winter days that have nothing to do with sailing.”

Thirty-six year club member Doug Wefer, who was commodore from 2001 to 2003, said that women have played an important role in the club for years. It’s about time it had female leadership, he said, and Maynard’s devotion and energy make her the perfect choice. While some private yacht clubs are set in their ways, he said, Sea Cliff is more open-minded.

“Considering the role that women play in our club, doing everything, [and] all the volunteerism that there is,” Wefer said, “it’s appropriate that women also lead the club, so it’s great to see.”

Maynard, an attorney at Marchese & Maynard, is the village’s associate judge, and served on the village board in 2017 and 2018. “I think the more that you give back and the more that you’re involved in the community, the more fulfilling it is,” she said. “It’s also a good example to set for our children to be active in our community. I try to give back as much as I can.”

Sea Cliff Mayor Edward Lieberman said he has gotten to know Maynard well through her many contributions to the community, and described her as philanthropic and humble, a caring, devoted resident of the village. The yacht club could not have made a better choice for its first female commodore, Lieberman said, noting that her induction punctuated an eventful week in woman’s history, with Sen. Kamala Harris being elected the nation’s first female vice president.

“The year 2020 has now seen a fulfillment of the woman’s movement and the history of women’s suffrage,” Lieberman said, “that in the same week we have a woman vice president of the United States and a woman commodore of the Sea Cliff Yacht Club, both historical and inspiring places of leadership.”

Of the world class sailors that participated in the Around Long Island Regatta, a three-day race that ended in Sea Cliff on July 28, among them was 12-year-old resident Samantha Maynard, a five-year member of Sea Cliff Yacht Club’s junior sailing program. She was the youngest sailor from Sea Cliff Yacht Club that competed in this year’s regatta.

The race is designed for sailors of all skill levels running in as many as 10 divisions, and includes crews of weekend cruisers, blue-water competitors, Academy sailing teams, and even junior sailors like Samantha, sailing along a 205 nautical mile course.

“It’s a big deal to have to sail around Long Island without stopping,” said event co-chair Doug Wefer, of Glen Head.

For Samantha, who’s more accustomed to chartering single-person boats like optis (basic training boats) and lasers (more sophisticated trainers), the regatta was “not that hard.”

“It was easier than I thought it would be, but it was still challenging,” Samantha said, as she adjusted the white sailor’s knot bracelet that was unmistakably present against her tanned skin. “It was an adventure and something new that I enjoyed.”

For this year’s regatta Samantha joined Harvey Bass, a former commodore and member of the yacht club, aboard his ship the No No Nanette, rounding out his six-person crew. In 2007, he assembled the first junior boat of Sea Cliff sailors to compete in ALIR.

“That year all the juniors ran the boat and they wound up with a second place finish,” said Bass, of Sea Cliff. Over the years Bass has selected junior sailors to help man his 37-foot Hunter boat during the regatta in an effort to promote the love of the sport at a young age.

“What few people realize is that sailing is more than just sailing itself, because with young people it really teaches them a lot of other things,” he said. “You teach them how to get along with others because, especially on a larger boat, there’s a lot of cooperation involved.”

The regatta begins in New York Harbor and heads due east past Brooklyn and Long Island’s South Shore, before winding around Montauk, across Gardiner’s Bay, and then into the Long Island Sound before ending in Sea Cliff.

While aboard, Samantha was responsible for tacking, putting the bow through the eye of the wind, jibbing, putting the stern of the boat through the eye of the wind, and trimming, or adjusting the sails. Once the boat reared into the Sound she took charge of the some of the steering. She said the last leg of the course, a 30-mile stretch to the yacht club, was the most challenging, taking 17 and a half hours.

Samantha first learned that there might be a delay on Saturday morning. Emerging from below deck she was told that the Nanette had been stuck in the same spot since 2 a.m. “The wind was just dead the entire day,” she recalled. “It was so frustrating just not moving anywhere.” After sitting in no wind for 24 hours, the anticipation of crossing the finish line in Hempstead Harbor was something Samantha would never forget.

“Since I’ve never done the regatta, I never had this feeling,” she said. “The accomplishment was just great.”

Although this was her first year competing in ALIR, Samantha has raced in events sponsored by the Junior Sailing Association of Long Island Sound, which supports its member sailing programs through leadership, training, and programming. She admitted she finds greater difficulty sailing in the shorter races, which take place over the course of a few hours rather than a few days.

“With the races I do on my laser, I’m thinking every single second, like ‘where are the puffs of wind?,’ ‘where exactly can I go?,’ ‘how am I going to get around this mark?’” she said. “I’m constantly thinking about what I’m going to do on the course. The ALIR was shocking to me because you’re still always thinking, but it’s a slower process.”

Fostering an appreciation for the sport is part of Bass’s mission, and getting young sailors like Samantha out on the water “delivers on that mission all the way around,” he said.

For Samantha, sailing is her first love, and the yacht club is her “second home.” “Every single summer since I was seven I’ve been waking up, going to swim practice and then sailing all day long,” she said. “It’s been so nice. They teach us very well here.”

“It makes me a little more confident about what I can do in the future,” she added. Samantha hopes to pursue a dual career as a naval engineer and a patent lawyer so she can create unique inventions for boats and help the sailing community.

Wahoo added its name to the list of Naval Academy sailboats that posted impressive accomplishments this summer.

Skipper Matthew McClelland and his crew aboard the Ker 50-footer secured overall victory in the 43rd Around Long Island Regatta, which began on July 25. Wahoo wound up with a corrected time of 1 day, 13 hours, 12 minutes and 35 seconds – just over an hour better than a 39-foot entry fielded by the United States Merchant Marine Academy.

“We were ecstatic about the result. To end our month of sailing on a high note was very rewarding,” said McClelland, a Georgia native who also led Wahoo to second place in class for the Marblehead-to-Halifax Race.

The Around Long Island Regatta starts off the Statue of Liberty in the Hudson River then proceeds south through the Verrazano Bridge into the Atlantic Ocean and east along the south shore of Long Island. After rounding Montauk Point, the fleet heads westward into Long Island Sound to the finish inside Hempstead Harbor.

It is a 205-nautical mile passage featuring numerous challenges, including brisk tidal currents, hazardous shoals and often fickle winds.

As often occurs in this race, the wind shut off in the middle of the first night and competitors were forced to choose between staying offshore or hugging the beach in search of breeze. Wahoo opted to stay further offshore and was becalmed for a while.

Wahoo was one of two entries fielded by the Naval Academy Varsity Offshore Sailing Team along with the Reichel-Pugh 66 Zaraffa, which captured line honors with an elapsed time of 1 day, 8 hours, 42 minutes and 40 seconds.

Zaraffa led the fleet the entire way, but didn’t have as much wind as the trailing boats and therefore was not able to extend. A critical juncture of the race takes place around the midway mark when the fleet rounds Montauk Point.

Zaraffa skipper Sean Caraher chose to stay outside of the various land masses located in Long Island Sound in order to avoid foul current. Wahoo rounded Montauk Point about an hour later and elected to sail through what is known as Plum Gut.

“We hit the current just right and were able to sail a shorter distance than Zaraffa, which ultimately made a big difference,” McClelland said. “That was one important decision we got right.”

Winds became fluky upon approach to Oyster Bay and the Wahoo crew worked hard changing and trimming sails in order to make headway. Zaraffa crossed the finish line just after 2 a.m. on Saturday with Wahoo coming home about an hour and a half later. The Reichel Pugh 66 owed the Ker 50 almost four hours on handicap so that competition was easily decided.

“There were three times during the race when there was basically no wind so finding a way to keep the boat moving was crucial,” McClelland said.

Nick Walden served as navigator while Jonathan Hitt was executive officer on Wahoo, which had an elapsed time of 34 hours. Hitt and Katie Boyle were the primary drivers on their respective watches.

“Perseverance was the key when the wind shut off at the western end of Long Island Sound during the middle of night,” said Jahn Tihansky, head coach of the Navy offshore sailing program. “Those last 12 miles took about three hours, but the Wahoo crew pushed hard, changed sails as needed and kept their foot on gas pedal.”

McClelland and company had to wait until Saturday evening when several smaller boats finished to find out if their corrected time held up. M.A.T. 1180, a Mark Mills-designed 39-footer crewed entirely by Merchant Marine Academy midshipmen, was runner-up in fleet.

It was a banner summer season for the Naval Academy Varsity Offshore Sailing team, which also notched class victories in the Annapolis-to-Newport Race, Marion-to-Bermuda Race and Block Island Race Week. Zaraffa was previously overall winner of the Marblehead-to-Halifax Race.

“I’m proud as heck of the whole team across the board. Every crew brought home at least one trophy, which speaks to the depth of talent and quality of the program we have,” Tihansky said.

About ALIR

The Around Long Island Regatta, first run in 1977, covers a 205 nautical mile course combining ocean, harbor and open sound racing. The race’s 10+ divisions include sailboats 24 feet or longer and sailors at all levels who typically finish in one to three days. This unique race is for everyone – weekend cruisers, serious blue-water competitors, double-handers, academy sailing teams, even junior sailors. Racing yachtsmen earn points for the Northern Ocean Racing Trophy and other IRC distance trophies.

Considered Long Island's premier sailing race, the annual Around Long Island Regatta starts on a Thursday near the end of July just off Ellis Island in New York Harbor. The challenging harbor start and prevailing southerlies sets the boats tacking towards the Narrows and out into the Atlantic. The ocean leg parallels Long Island's south shore along Long Beach, Jones Beach, Fire Island, the Hamptons and on to Montauk. Some boats choose the shortest distance hugging the shore while others opt for deeper water in search of better wind.

After rounding Montauk Point, sailors must judge wind, tides and current as they head northwest to Plum Gut, where they hope a favorable current will flush them into the Long Island Sound. The final westerly leg is all about reading wind shifts and working currents to their advantage along Long Island’s north shore or the southern shore of Connecticut. The race ends in beautiful Hempstead Harbor at the Glen Cove breakwater.

The weekend concludes with the ALIR Awards Ceremony and Beach Party hosted by the Sea Cliff Yacht Club on Sunday afternoon. Trophies are awarded for the first three finishers in each division, with many additional awards for various categories. There is always music, food and drink, a welcoming Yacht Club crowd, and great sailing tales – some of which might even be true!

Contact Us

For More Information about the Around Long Island Regatta please send your inquiries to:

Email: alir@seacliffyc.org

Sea Cliff Yacht Club Office - 516-671-7374
Regatta Desk 516-945-9209 (While Race In Progress)