Joe Cibellis and Joe Sgro set an event record in this 43′ Outerlimits. Can offshore endurance events provide a brighter future for offshore racing. Photo courtesy/copyright Tim Sharkey, Sharkey ImagesT

The Second Annual Don Aronow Memorial Around Long Island Marathon race was run successfully last weekend. A wonderful tradition is indeed reborn having survived two years against odds that were somewhat stacked by competing racing organizations.

After a shaky start based on an initial lack of entries, six boats finally queued up to take the starter’s flag. At the end of the day, a 43-foot had set a new course record, and a four-engine Fountain held bragging rights on the outboard side.

Joe Cibellis and veteran offshore racer Joe Sgro gave as good as they got in the Outerlimits by recording an eye-popping 3 hour and 5 minute time on the 271-mile course. Powered by Ilmor 725 hp engines with matching drives, the pair eclipsed Stu Hayim’s one-boat record of 3 hours and 7 minutes and Bill Sirois’ older race record of just under 4 hours set with a dual 400 hp Mercruiser/Bertram in 1966.