TIM GANNON PHOTO | Crew members John Ward, Chris Cuddihy, Ryan Cuddihy and Brian Banks take their boat for a practice run in Moriches Bay Saturday.

Round Island Row: Take Two!

On Thursday, Riverside resident Chris Cuddihy will again lead a crew of men  in an attempt to row non-stop around Long Island to raise money for veterans.

In August of last year, Mr. Cuddihy and his son, Ryan, were part of a four-man crew that raised about $5,000 for the Wounded Warrior Project, although they were unable to complete the row after two of the four crew members became ill.

This year, Mr. Cuddihy, who has done several endurance events for charity in recent years, and his crew will be leaving from the Mount Sinai Yacht Club at about 2 p.m. Thursday and the row will seek to raise money for Suffolk County United Veterans, which is based in Yaphank.

Mr. Cuddihy helped raised about $4,000 for that group in November when he did a 24-hour run around downtown Riverhead.

“It’s just a really great group of people,” Mr. Cuddihy said. “I gave them my word that we would do this.”

The Suffolk County United Veterans helps homeless vets find work and assimilate back into society. The group operates a shelter in Yaphank and has job training programs, college programs, and runs food pantries for veterans in Yaphank and on Roanake Avenue in Riverhead.

Mr. Cuddihy said his web site includes links to SCUV’s web site, so that the donations go straight to that organization.

“We don’t want to be handling the money,” he said.

For this year’s row, Ryan will not be available, as he suffered a broken leg in a snowboarding accident over the winter, but up to six rowers are planned.

Brian Banks, the Jones Beach lifeguard who rowed out to see if the rowers needed help last year and then ended up joining them, will participate from the beginning this year. He has participated in the Jones Beach Lifeguard’s competitive rowing team and is trained in water rescue.

John Ward of East Islip, a longtime friend of Mr. Cuddihy’s, will also participate. He has completed a Full Iron man Triathlon, a 7.5 mile nonstop swim across Long Island Sound, a 5.3 mile Great South Bay nonstop swim, and has completed Multiple Marathons.

Also in the boat is Aaron Williamson of California. He met Ryan when both were hiking the Appalachian Trail in 2009, and plans to fly in from California on Thursday morning and get in the boat that afternoon.

Joseph Lindsay of New Mexico, a cousin of the Cuddihys, is planning to fly in the day before the row, Chris said.

A possible sixth member of the crew is a Riverhead resident who works as a local chef, Mr. Cuddihy said.

Last year, they rowed in a Whitehull rowboat on loan from Bay Shore High School. This year, they will use a rowing catamaran that Mr. Cuddihy bought in Atlantic City, NJ for $300, and which must be assembled before they board it. The boat’s prior name, which they have decided to keep, is Bada-Bing.

Last year, the boat ran into a violent thunder and lightning storm at night as he approached the Rockaway Peninsula, which led to two of the crew members getting sea sickness. This year, they hope to time the row so they’ll have the tide on their side as they go through the East River.

But weather is still an unknown.

“We’re ruled by the weather on this,” Mr. Cuddihy said.

In recent years, Mr. Cuddihy has rowed across the Atlantic Ocean, ran seven ultra-marathons on seven continents in seven days, ran 24 hours in downtown Riverhead, attempted to row non-stop around Long Island, and ran/biked from New York City to Washington, DC.

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