The WaterFront Center’s Junior Big Boat Team Celebrates Historic 2nd Place Finish at Around Long Island Regatta
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The WaterFront Center’s Junior Big Boat Team Celebrates Historic 2nd Place Finish at Around Long Island Regatta
July 28, 2025, Oyster Bay, NY – The WaterFront Center (WFC) is proud to announce that our Junior Big Boat (JBB) team, with an average age of just 19, has made history as the first WFC junior team to compete in a coastal/offshore race at the Around Long Island Regatta (ALIR). Setting sail on July 24, 2025, from New York Harbor, the team conquered the grueling 205-nautical-mile course, averaging 6.2 knots, and celebrated an outstanding 2nd place in their division and 7th place overall at the awards dinner held on July 27, 2025, at Sea Cliff Yacht Club.
Led by coaches Cormac and Jon, the team of talented junior sailors—Olivia and Isabella Silvestrini (15), Dylan Longobardi (14), and Rowan Shenoy (17)—was the only junior program racing in this year’s ALIR. They competed alongside four Youth Challenge Cup (YCC) teams, where 25% of the crew is under 18, proving their mettle against seasoned sailors. Despite facing a 50-knot squall off Huntington Harbor that tore their #2 jib and forced them to drop anchor to hold their ground, their resilience and skill secured this remarkable achievement.
“This historic finish showcases the incredible talent and determination of our junior sailors,” said George Ellis, Executive Director at The WaterFront Center. “To place 2nd in their division and 7th overall in such a challenging race is a testament to their training, teamwork, and grit. We’re immensely proud of them.”
The team’s preparation was a labor of love, with coaches Jon and Cormac dedicating countless hours since winter to ready the boat—repainting the bottom, installing a chart plotter, and adding an AIS system. The WaterFront Center extends heartfelt gratitude to Sea Cliff Yacht Club Commodore Keith Maler and the ALIR Committee for waiving the team’s entry fee.
The race, spanning July 24 to July 26, followed a course from New York Harbor along Long Island’s South Shore to Montauk Point, through Plum Gut or The Race into Long Island Sound, and finished in Hempstead Harbor off Sea Cliff Yacht Club.
For more on this incredible achievement, visit our blog at thewaterfrontcenter.org. Relive the race through live tracking at https://www.yachtscoring.com.
About The Waterfront Center: The Waterfront Center, located in Oyster Bay, NY, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting people to the water through education and recreation. We provide access to the waters of Oyster Bay Harbor and Long Island Sound through marine education programs, sailing instruction, paddleboard, kayak, and sailboat rentals, as well as harbor tours aboard our National Historic Landmark oyster sloop CHRISTEEN and the oyster dredge IDA MAY. For more information, visit www.thewaterfrontcenter.org.
