# Around Long Island Regatta 2015



## BarryL (Aug 21, 2003)

Hi Guys,

I will sailing in the Around Long Island Regatta (ALIR) tomorrow. I did it last year and it was fun so I'm back for more. It's my normal race ride, RJMS, is a nicely prepared 1988 C&C 35.

We start Thursday at 3:20PM. The weather is forecast to be hot and not that windy. Marine forecast for the area:
THU
SW WINDS 5 TO 10 KT...BECOMING S 10 TO 15 KT IN THE
AFTERNOON. SEAS 1 FT OR LESS...BUILDING TO 1 TO 2 FT IN THE
AFTERNOON. A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND TSTMS IN THE AFTERNOON.

THU NIGHT
SW WINDS 5 TO 10 KT...BECOMING W AFTER MIDNIGHT. SEAS
1 FT OR LESS. SHOWERS LIKELY WITH A CHANCE OF TSTMS IN THE EVENING...
THEN A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AND TSTMS AFTER MIDNIGHT.

FRI
W WINDS 5 TO 10 KT. SEAS 1 FT OR LESS.

FRI NIGHT
W WINDS 5 TO 10 KT. SEAS 1 FT OR LESS.

SAT
SW WINDS 5 TO 10 KT...BECOMING W AFTER MIDNIGHT. SEAS 1 FT OR
LESS.

We will have plenty of food and water so I will be sure to stay hydrated and I will sunblock so I get too burned.

I will have my SPOT GPS tracker on and active. If anyone wants to see where we are, use this link:
SPOT Shared Page

Wish me luck and I will be back with a race report sometime next week.

Barry


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## weinie (Jun 21, 2008)




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## justflie (Apr 10, 2012)

Good luck! Sounds a lot more fun than going to work. :svoilier:


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## edguy3 (Jul 7, 2009)

Good luck! 

Yesterday, I just did the first part of this run from Rockaway Point to Montauk ( and beyond) Sailflow weather was pretty much the same and was spot on for wind, waves and weather. Even spotted a whale not too far from the start. 

/ed


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## davester (Aug 8, 2007)

Good luck! I walked across the Manhattan Bridge this morning and saw several boats on their way to the start. I've wanted to do this race for a while... maybe next year.
Dave


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## CalebD (Jan 11, 2008)

Have fun Barry.
Maybe see you in Sea Cliff.


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## mbianka (Sep 19, 2014)

Had some nice winds riding at anchor in Port Jeff today. Hope that cold front that came through Thursday afternoon did not cause too much excitement for the start. Heard Mr. NOAA on the VHF issue some special marine warnings for New York Harbor. Look forward to hearing your report.


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## CalebD (Jan 11, 2008)

Well, you did not have any really bad weather from what I could tell from my land based observations in both East Hampton on Gardiner's Bay on Friday late afternoon and Bayville on Saturday also late afternoon. I was on a beach watching for sailboats making their way back west after rounding Montauk on both occasions. You did have full moon tides which made the currents in Plum Gut and the LI Sound a force to be reckoned with. 
I blew off visiting the SC YC this evening as I was driving back to my home in NYC and thought there just might possibly be some alcohol involved after such an event. I still had some serious driving to do. I also thought I would be a bit of a spectacle just roaming around their club shouting the name "Barry Lenoble". Consider yourself lucky.

Looking forward to your post race report.


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## BarryL (Aug 21, 2003)

Hi Guys,

I'm back. Short recap, I may do a longer version with pics / video a little later. Right now I'm too tired to write much.

High points: We won our class! We finished 6th overall We raced in class 4, PHRF Spinnaker. There were 5 boats. We sailed hard and went as fast as we could for as long as we could. After we crossed the finish line, we headed towards the yacht club to unload some people. We saw one of the boats in our class on a mooring and thought 'too bad, I guess we didn't win.' Inside the club we saw that our boat was listed as first in class. We corrected over the other boat by 41 seconds! After 190+ miles of racing we on by less than one minute! That made the umteenth sail changes, the short tacking to stay our of foul current, the hiking on the rail in downpours, the lack of sleep, the work of flying the chute in 20+ winds all worth it!


Low points: spending the first 8 hours soaking wet because NOAA got the weather TOTALLY wrong. Instead of warm weather and light wind we had 25 kts wind, torrential rain, lightening, etc. I was wearing shorts, hiking on the rail, and getting gallons of salt water splashing in my face. I was wearing my jacket, but so much water was coming over the raid that I was sitting in puddles for most of the day. Then it started to rain, so heavy at times that I could barely see the bow. We were going as hard as possible, so it as all hands on deck and no time to change to dry clothes and full foulies. 

High points: sailing in the Long Island sound Friday night. Watching the sun set and the full moor rise while having a steady 12-15 kt breeze, just south enough for us to sail due west.

More later!

Barry


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## Slayer (Jul 28, 2006)

Looking forward to more details and pics if any!!!


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## CalebD (Jan 11, 2008)

BarryL said:


> Low points: spending the first 8 hours soaking wet because NOAA got the weather TOTALLY wrong. Instead of warm weather and light wind we had 25 kts wind, torrential rain, lightening, etc.


Guess I forgot about the thunderstorms and lightning on Thursday while driving out the Grand Central to points east while your regatta was starting.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Very cool. Congratulations on the win!!

Curious. Do you guys sail up the East River?


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## BarryL (Aug 21, 2003)

Hey,

Some pictures from the race.

I'll try to add some vids later


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## BarryL (Aug 21, 2003)

Hi,

The race isn't technically around Long Island. It starts off Coney Island and then you sail in the ocean past montauk, up past Orient Point and into the Long Island Sound, then west to Glen Cove.

The owner keeps the boat in Port Jefferson. Last Monday he moved the boat to Sea Cliff, Tuesday to Sheeps Head Bay. Thursday the race started and after we finished Saturday morning he turned around and returned the boat to Port Jeff.

I don't believe ANYONE sails in the east river. Too narrow, too many other vessels, too much current.

Barry



Minnewaska said:


> Very cool. Congratulations on the win!!
> 
> Curious. Do you guys sail up the East River?


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

BarryL said:


> ...I don't believe ANYONE sails in the east river. Too narrow, too many other vessels, too much current....


I didn't think so either, particularly when you couldn't know your transit time for sure, which is why I asked. Again, congrats.


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## CalebD (Jan 11, 2008)

Nice pics Barry.
Which lighthouse is that pictured?
I was wondering how you guys entered the LI Sound, via Plum Gut or the Race? 
Could that lighthouse be on Little Gull Island? Hence, using the Race to enter the Sound?
Your spot tracker only showed me your last 24 hours going up the western Sound.

Also, did you spend any time in Sea Cliff after the race or did you head back to Port Jeff with the boat?

Guess I have always wanted to do the ALIR at least once.


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## BarryL (Aug 21, 2003)

*Re: Around Long Island Regatta 2015 - the long version*

Hello,

That light is the one at Orient Point (which means we transited from Gardiners Bay to the Sound via Plum Gut.

We were debating the best way to enter the sound. As we sailed past Montauk the wind was from the west, at around 10 kts and built to 15 or so. We were pointing as high as possible, roughly NE, but not high enough to get to to Orient. By checking the current and tide tables, we saw that the current at the Race was about 5 kts, while the current in Plum Gut was aroud 3 kts. Both were foul (meaning on the nose), and the current turned fair at 4:30 at Plum gut and later at the Race. Knowing that information made the decision to tack over and beat towards Orient seem like the smart choice.

BTW, as we rounded Montauk we were in company with a 3 other boats, a Bene 36.7, a Navy 44, and a Hanse 430. The Bene cracked off and went through the race, the other boats went through Plum Gut. The Bene finished way behind, and I think going through the race was a mistake.

Regarding the SPOT tracker, all the info should be there, you may have to select different times. I just 'exported' all the data and then read it into Google Earth, which made it easier to see the entire trip.

After the race ended 3 of us got off at Sea Cliff. We hung around for a bit, had breakfast, enjoyed a surface that didn't move, and then I headed home.

Deciding to do the race is not something to be taken lightly. This was my second race and there were times both years when I was really wondering why I was out there. We had some times of just awful weather and really rough conditions. Then the skipper calls for a spinnaker drop and you can't say 'are you crazy, I want off this boat!' and have to get to work and get it done. One of the crew got very seasick at the start (the worst conditions of all were the 30 minutes before the start, motoring to the start area into hellacious mixmaster seas), and was throwing up every hour. He hung in there and was able to complete his tasks anyway, and I give him a lot of credit because I know he felt like complete crap. He was seasick all day and all night Thursday but felt a lot better Friday. Then there were times we had like Friday night: Steady breeze at 9-13 kts, from the south, allowing us to sail at 35 degrees apparent, right at lay-line, The boat heeled over 10 degrees, moving at 6-6.5 kts, with a bright full moon behind and all the stars in the sky overhead. I manned the helm from 9:00pm to midnight and it was the best night sailing I have ever done. Two guys were off watch and sleeping below, one guy was on the rail, but laying down and I think sleeping, while the last guy was in the cockpit with me. The boat was so nicely balanced that I touched the wheel maybe once a minute, and moved it an inch here or an inch there. It was like that for my entire stint at the helm and was just amazing. I had to compare that to my time at the wheel 24 hours before, when I was struggling to keep the boat heading east. It was pitch black, raining, gusty winds at 20+ kts, #2 headsail up, large seas on the rear quarter. I could not see the waves, I could not see the windex, I had no visual reference points. I tried steering by compass and by the wind instrument. I just could not go straight - a wave would push the stern, I would correct, the wind would pull us up, I would correct, we'd surf down a wave at 10 kts, that would be fun, I would start to round down and see an accidental gibe in my future, that was scary. Very difficult and after my time at the wheel was done I went below to rest. I was completely soaked, so I changed into dry clothes and made a little nest in the rear 1/4 berth. Just as I drifted off to sleep the skipper called all hands because the wind was down and it was time to set the chute. At least this time I was smart enough to put on my foulies and I stayed dry. Once the chute was up I went below to sleep. I didn't bother changing because someone took the dry berth so I slept on the wet settee.

Winning the race takes away a lot of the pain!



CalebD said:


> Nice pics Barry.
> Which lighthouse is that pictured?
> I was wondering how you guys entered the LI Sound, via Plum Gut or the Race?
> Could that lighthouse be on Little Gull Island? Hence, using the Race to enter the Sound?
> ...


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## mbianka (Sep 19, 2014)

How long was the sail from Coney Island to Montauk Point?


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## BarryL (Aug 21, 2003)

Hi Mike,

Our race started at 3:20. We were moving at over 8 kts for most of the night and though we would be past Montauk before the sun came up. I went off watch at 1:00AM Friday morning and we were still moving quickly. When I went back on deck around 4:30AM it was just getting light out and we were ghosting along under spinnaker in dense fog. Eventually the fog lifted and the wind shut down. We then struggled to find wind. Without fog we were able to see about 10 other boats around us. We could see the montauk light, and boats close to land and some breeze. We were a few miles south of land and in no breeze. It was frustrating to watch the boats that were close to the land just sail by while we (and a few other boats) just sat with collapsed spinnakers. Eventually a southerly filled in and we officially rounded Montauk at 10:30 am or so.

Barry



mbianka said:


> How long was the sail from Coney Island to Montauk Point?


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## BarryL (Aug 21, 2003)

Hey,

Last post.

A short video I put together:






B


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## mbianka (Sep 19, 2014)

Barry thanks for sharing the trip. Nice that you got the bad weather out of the way in the beginning. I've been thinking about doing a solo cruise around Long Island for awhile now. Non stop Sandy Hook to Montauk. I had one more question:

Did you notice a lot of commercial traffic (not the other ALIR boats) on your night watch in the Atlantic?


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## BarryL (Aug 21, 2003)

Hi Mike,

From Sandy hook to Montauk is over 100 mile so if you are sailing it could easily take 20 hours.

We say many large cargo type ships, but they stay pretty far south off the coast of LI. We stayed closer in, around 5 miles off the coast and there were very little boats there.

Barry



mbianka said:


> Barry thanks for sharing the trip. Nice that you got the bad weather out of the way in the beginning. I've been thinking about doing a solo cruise around Long Island for awhile now. Non stop Sandy Hook to Montauk. I had one more question:
> 
> Did you notice a lot of commercial traffic (not the other ALIR boats) on your night watch in the Atlantic?


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## Hudsonian (Apr 3, 2008)

Congratulations on you class victory. RE: Post 21. Having shared your experience, we have the following rule of thumb, "Be within a 1/4 mile of the beach when the sun rises on the second day."


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Hudsonian said:


> ....."Be within a 1/4 mile of the beach when the sun rises on the second day."


Yikes. A quarter mile off the beach in the dark.

I just took this race off my bucket list.


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## mbianka (Sep 19, 2014)

BarryL said:


> Hi Mike,
> 
> From Sandy hook to Montauk is over 100 mile so if you are sailing it could easily take 20 hours.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the info. Unlike the ARLI race I would pick my weather window and would be in no hurry. I've done a sail around Long Island before but, stopped at Atlantique and Shinnecock Inlet. I would not be stopping this time. In years past my girlfriend has dragged me out to Amagansett for a beach vacation. Where I sat on a beach chair and watched the ALIR sailboats heading for Montauk wishing I was out there. Missed it by a week this year. Happy for your win.


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## mbianka (Sep 19, 2014)

Hudsonian said:


> Congratulations on you class victory. RE: Post 21. Having shared your experience, we have the following rule of thumb, "Be within a 1/4 mile of the beach when the sun rises on the second day."


Yikes! 1/4 mile! Crew better be fully awake. A trawler ended up on the beach in Amagansett a few years ago after one of it's drag sleds hit a shoal and swung the boat around onto the beach. I think the shoaling around Shinecock Inlet might be a problem at that distance. Other areas perhaps not so much.


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## davester (Aug 8, 2007)

Minnewaska said:


> Very cool. Congratulations on the win!!
> 
> Curious. Do you guys sail up the East River?


Some do, at least part of the way. I would expect this boat would drop its sails before turning into the wind to go through Hell Gate.


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## paulk (Jun 2, 2000)

Sounds like you got a little bit of everything. Congratulations!


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## mbianka (Sep 19, 2014)

davester said:


> Some do, at least part of the way. I would expect this boat would drop its sails before turning into the wind to go through Hell Gate.


There are good reasons why they don't do the ALIR through the East River. I've transited the East River/Hell Gate a number of times. Managed to sail through Hell Gate once in a NW wind but, as I headed down towards the Queensborough Bridge the tall buildings on Manhattan Island (and currents) cause very disrupted wind patterns causing boat spins. The Tug Boat Captains are not amused. Imagine twenty or thirty ALIR boats doing it at the same time! I now always transit under power. I now have electric propulsion so I don't have to have the prop turning all the time only when I need to straighten the track out. When I had a diesel engine it would be on for the entire transit. I usually motor/sail but, mostly use the motor to keep the boat moving straight in the East River from the UN through Hell Gate and visa versa.

Here is a video of a Hell Gate transit I made just a few days before Hurricane Sandy. There was no wind so I was pretty much motoring the entire trip from Nyack to Port Washington. This video covers the Hell Gate part:


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## JimsCAL (May 23, 2007)

The ALIR has never been on my bucket list. My mooring is within sight of the finish line and I have lots of fellow club members that have done the race. Most say never again. It is usually a case of little to no wind or squalls. And tales of either anchoring or going backward in the currents at the east end are common. Not my idea of fun on the water.


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## Hudsonian (Apr 3, 2008)

I have done the ALIR several times and look forward to doing it again but I can certainly see it's not for all or even most. I recall ghosting into the finish early one morning; it taught me a lot about remaining alert and concentrating when exhausted. But generally we've had ample wind. 

You have to decide for yourself whether changing head sails four time within four hours is senseless masochism or an important response to demanding conditions. If, when these challenges arise, you believe that the task at hand is worthwhile, accomplishable, and that your personal effort makes a difference, you'll find the race rewarding and you'll learn a lot. At least I have. I'm a better and more confident sailor for having competed in the ALIR.


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