RALI

2010 Don Aronow Memorial "Race Around Long Island" Marathon

   After a dormancy of over 40 years, the Around Long Island Marathon Offshore Powerboat Race was brought back to life.
At the request and endorsement of Michael Aronow, (Don’s son), Charlie McCarthy of Banana Boat Company fame and current Historic Offshore  Raceboat Association President, Guy LaMotta of the Dry Martini Race Team and Manhasset Bay Marina, they enlisted Billy Frenz of the NATIONAL POWERBOAT ASSOCIATION to produce this endurance run…a throw back to the times of speed, endurance and navigation…the components of  offshore powerboat racing.
     The original offshore races were run from Miami to Bimini and back; in the Keys from Marathon to Key West, and in the northeast, the Around Long Island Marathon Race.  The races could be anywhere from 150 to 500 miles in length…enduring to say the least.
     Records for the Around Long Island Race dated back to 1959 when Jim Lacy won the event in a 17’ Hunter with a 70 HP Mercury Outboard averaging 34.2 mph…taking him 8 hours and 30 minutes to complete the run. Stu Hayim did a solo attempt at it 3 times and then finally completed it in 3 hours and 6 minutes in 1989 with a 32 Skater Cat Hull powered by twin 650 HP Eickerts and Merc #6 Speedmasters. Why even Fred Kiekhaefer of Mercury Fame, won this event with Bill Sirois in 1968 with a 31 Bertram powered by twin 475 HP Mercruisers (what else) in 3 hours and 59 minutes.

So this time, 6 teams enter, 4 make it to the start, 1 makes it to the finish line.
The glory goes to Joe DeFusco in his 30 Sonic with Twin 310 HP PCM small-blocks and Merc Alpha SS outdrives at 6 hours and 15 minutes for the 271 mile course.
     Due to super preparation and navigation, the crew of Joe DeFusco as Captain/operator/mechanic, Jonathan Tobin as navigator, and Charlie McCarthy as “on-board” veteran racer, the team  marched on through a level Long Island Sound chop, to the choppier “Orient Pt to Montauk Pt” stretch, to the “Oh-gee” swells and waves of the Atlantic Ocean. Then the steering broke…they ported for 30+ minutes…fixed the steering and filled all the levels and off they went…again into the Atlantic Ocean.
     A few hours later they were back at Buoy #27 off of Port Washington on Long Island Sound…where they started from some 6 hours and 15 minutes ago.
     The start: Guy Lamotta in his 53 Magnum, “Dry Martini”, lead the contestants to the start at 31 knots…Johnny O’Loughlin took the lead in his 48 Outerlimits Cat, “Justice”, dw/1075 HP Mercs running out in front of Tommy Abraham’s 27 Cigarette/Squadron XII with an 800 HP and no.6 outdrive. Then came the 30 Sonic of Joe DeFusco with small-blocks and Merc Alphas, but then the British Team of Dean Gibbs in ”Going Lean”. He got his new Ouad-engine Fiat Diesel powered  52 Outerlimits “hooked-up” …and came rolling through the pack. Somewhere around Port Jefferson the “Bilge-Gremlins from Hell” were hanging out though…down went Johnny ‘O’ with a fuel pump problem and then Tommy in his 27 Cigarette realized the seas were too big for him at 90 mph, so the ‘gremlins’ then went to Dean Gibbs and took a bite out of his chain inside of the ‘drop-down box’, from the engine to the driveline.
     Now here comes Joe in his Sonic, out of “sight-line” because he is on a straight track from buoy #27 to Orient Point…excellent navigation…our other friends and racers close to Long Island’s north shore, can not be seen. He does not know until his breakdown and repair session after entering the Atlantic Ocean,  that Charlie receives a phone call from Rich Luhrs informing him that they are in the lead…and if they finish …they will WIN.
     The rest is now HISTORY… 2010 brings back the infamous AROUND LONG ISLAND MARATHON and the little guy WINS. Preparation and Persistence Prevail!

The GPS Replay of this event can be viewed from a link off the website.