# Around Long Island Regatta - 2018



## BarryL (Aug 21, 2003)

hi Guys,

Brief Race Report:

I competed in the 2018 edition of the Around Long Island Regatta (ALIR) onboard RJMS, a 1988 C&C 35-3. This was my 5th ALIR, all on RJMS. 

In case you aren't aware of the ALIR, the race is very simple. Start in NY harbor, near the statue of liberty. Go into the Altantic ocean and sail past Montauk Point, Orient Point and finish in Glen Cove harbor. It's over 200 miles, many in the open ocean. 

The owner has spent a considerable amount of time and money preparing the boat. The crew were all ALIR veterans and were hoping for a good race. We were in Spinnaker division 4, with 10 boats.

We had a good start (not that starting position is important in a 200+ mile race but it never hurts) and were in second place. We were the third group to start and started passing the slower, non spinnaker boats. We started in mild conditions - 6-8 kts of breeze, on a tight reach. Soon the wind went aft and we were among the first to put up a chute. Under the bridge and out in the ocean we cracked off and then put up the big chute. The wind built and we had a great ride in the ocean. Speeds were 8+ kts as we headed towards Montauk. Usually after a few hours the faster boats start passing us, but this time no one did. We were trying to figure out what happened to the fleet, maybe the breeze died back there, but forgot about it and just sailed on. 

The breeze held most of the way east. It got light around 3:00AM and went south. We headed further offshore to keep the boat moving. Eventually we gybed over and headed north towards Montauk. We rounded Montauk at 5:00Am, just as it started getting light. The wind died a few times and some boats started appearing behind us. The wind filled in and we started moving again and got into the Long Island Sound around 9:00AM. A check of the tracking software (Kattack, available to all) showed us leading our fleet.

Out in the sound the wind totally shut down. We saw two boats appear from behind us, our competition. We tried to get the boat moving but the wind was very light. One boat moved in close to shore, the other stayed out in the sound. We were in the middle. Eventually the southerly filled in and we get going. The boat closest to land got it first and he moved into the lead. The breeze continued to build to 14-16 kts and we were all flying. 

We tried our best but the two boats were too fast and they boat passed us. We had the slowest rating so this wasn't a surprise but we needed to stay close. 

Friday turned into Friday night with conditions unchanged. We saw rain ahead and big lightning show, but none on the water (very lucky). We had dinner while on the rail (Lasagna and a little merlot - which raises the spirits) and sailed on. Finally we reached Glen Cove and headed south into the harbor. The wind got very light and fluky and we did more tacks in the last 30 minutes than we did all race. We drifted across the line around 10:45PM.

Once it was all over we found we were the third boat in division 4 to finish. We corrected into second place in division 4 and 3rd over all in the spinnaker division. 

i am very happy with the results!

Barry


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## Statesman15 (Mar 24, 2018)

Awesome recap! Thanks for sharing, sounds like a fun race to be a part of. Living in Newport when the Bermuda race went off I envied every boat going out, this seems like a taste of that kind of racing.


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## JimsCAL (May 23, 2007)

My boat 's mooring is less than a 1/2 mile from the ALIR finish line at the Glen Cove breakwater. When heading out for the weekend Saturday morning, a number of boats were SLOWLY drifting towards the finish with chutes barely able to stay filled. It looked like agony. 

For those into FAST, the first to finish was Numbers from Oak Cliff Sailing out of Oyster Bay. When I checked Friday morning, she had a 50 mile lead (!!!) over the second place boat. I later heard at one time the lead was 75 miles. FWIW the boat rates MINUS 144 in PHRF. Second to finish many hours later was the USNA's Hooligan which "only" rates minus 96.


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## mbianka (Sep 19, 2014)

Thanks for the report sounds like a good way to spend a few days on the water around the island.


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## chef2sail (Nov 27, 2007)

Great report
MKIII is a favorite boat of mine😀🌪


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## BarryL (Aug 21, 2003)

And still competitive too!

Last year the owner added a bow sprit (removable Selden model) and new asymmetric sails. That made flying the chute a lot easier.

BTW We also won the 'classic' award

Barry



chef2sail said:


> Great report
> MKIII is a favorite boat of mine??


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## chef2sail (Nov 27, 2007)

BarryL said:


> And still competitive too!
> 
> Last year the owner added a bow sprit (removable Selden model) and new asymmetric sails. That made flying the chute a lot easier.
> 
> ...


That's way cool

Our "old gal" Haleakula" turned 38 this year. She is encumbered with davits, dinghy, Radar pole, 6-6 volt AGM and has become more of a cruiser. She is starting to show a little aging but no water intrusion into any of the balsa. Despite all the extra convienences when we tighten her up and push her racing wise it amazes me still how we can outpoint and go to windward like few other boats and remain competitive over even some much larger and more modern sailing machines. We have always loved her turn of speed and her "classic" appearance. After 23 years of ownership she still makes us smile when the wnd pipes up.


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