WHAT IS THE ALIR?

Founded in 1977 by the Sea Cliff Yacht Club, the Around Long Island Regatta (ALIR) is Long Island’s premier sailing race that takes competitors nearly all the way around the largest and longest island in the contiguous United States.

The race is open to all sailboats 26 feet and longer and sailors of all levels. Given the regatta’s dynamic course and fleet diversity, the regatta offers challenge, competition, and camaraderie enjoyed by everyone from college sailors to weekend cruisers to bluewater racers.

The rhumb line of the traditional course is 207 miles beginning with an exhilarating start off the Statue of Liberty while spectators cheer from the stadium-style vantage of the Manhattan Sailing Club’s Willy Wall. The challenge begins with competitors dodging commercial traffic and unfavorable eddies ever-present in the harbor. Within hours, most of the fleet has made the turn to sail the only true ocean leg of any local distance race.

For a more prosaic description of the ALIR, read participant and Sea Cliff YC member, Josh Reisberg’s, overview of the race, The ALIR Through My Lens. In 2024, Josh and his co-skipper Mark DiSanti (also a Sea Cliff YC member) finished third over the line and took home top honors in the double-handed fleet.

WHat’s new in 2025?

Sea Cliff Yacht Club founded the ALIR based on a brief to create an accessible ocean race that would attract sailors of all levels. The club recognizes that time is precious and that the regattas it runs, including its flagship ALIR, must fundamentally be enjoyable and exciting for those who spend the time and expense to race.

To that end, Sea Cliff Yacht Club and the ALIR Committee are proud to announce the following new additions to the ALIR in 2025:

  • YB Trackers

    A feature of the world’s most prestigious regattas including the Vendee Globe and Sydney-Hobart Race, we’re proud to offer an exciting new opportunity for friends and family to more easily track their favorite crews.

  • onboard photo award

    The stories onboard are meant to be shared. We want to encourage sailors to create core memories with their crews and share their stories from the race course. Sea Cliff Yacht Club will be sponsoring a new trophy and exciting new prize for the best onboard photo taken during the race, which will be selected at the discretion of the race organizers from photos shared by crews on the ALIR’s Instagram page.

  • the long course

    For the first time in the race’s history, two courses will be offered—the traditional 207-mile ALIR course, and now, the 250-mile Around the Islands course. This new course will allow the most intrepid of the fleet the opportunity to go around both Long Island and Block Island, creating the longest distance race of any regatta between Annapolis and Newport. For sailors who truly enjoy being out on the water, this course gives them more of what they want. And for sailors who enjoy the physical and mental test of long-distance sailing, or who are preparing for races like the Newport-Bermuda Race, this new course is the perfect venue for them to test their resilience and seamanship.