Joe Sgro Memorial Run Organizer: ‘One More Thing I Wasn’t Ready To Lose’

With the exception of Joe Sgro’s family members, no one was more devastated by his loss than his longtime friend Joe Cibellis of New York. Sgro, the former president of Outerlimits Offshore Powerboats, was 63 years old when he died in late 2017 from injuries sustained during a poker run to Key West, Fla. The soft-spoken character and his buddy Cibellis were tight on and off the water. They even set an Around Long Island, N.Y., together in an Outerlimits SV 43 sportboat in 2011.

On short notice, friends and family stepped up for a lunch run to honor Joe Sgro last Saturday in Long Island. Photos by Tim Sharkey copyright Sharkey Images.

With the COVID-19 pandemic affecting group events in New York and the city that shares its name, it didn’t look like the third annual Joe Sgro Memorial Fun Run was going to happen—at least this year. But Cibellis refused to give up.

In short, he made it happen last Saturday. And while the event didn’t attract a large fleet, it was joyful and meaningful for all who participated, including members of the Sgro family.

“I didn’t want it to fade away—I couldn’t let it go,” said Cibellis. “We only had five or six days of notice but we still had 16 to 20 local boats come to enjoy the day, have lunch and celebrate Joe.”

Knowing that producing a run with a lunch stop was out of the question in New York City, he shifted his focus to Long Island.

“We started in Oceanside and stayed pretty much running along the south shore until we reached the Hamptons,” said Cibellis, whose 82-year-old father and 22-year-old daughter successfully battled COVID-19 earlier this year. “We had a catered lunch outside at Mariner’s Cove Marine brought in by Scotto’s Fine Catering of the Hamptons.

Check out the slideshow above for more images from the third annual Joe Sgro Memorial Fun Run.

“Mariner’s Cove and Scotto’s with their food truck went out of their way to help us,” he continued. “We all had our own docks. We had fresh-made pizza, chicken parmesan, sandwiches, brownies and soft drinks, all outdoors at tables and maintaining social distancing. We did the best we could with a tough situation and we couldn’t have done it without them.”

Asked why he didn’t simply reschedule the third annual Joe Sgro Memorial Fun Run for next year, Cibellis paused for a moment before speaking.

“It’s been a tough year for everyone,” he said. “This was one more thing I wasn’t ready to lose. Joe deserved it—he earned it. I could have let it go till next year, but I had to go for it.”

A healthy catamaran contingent including this Wright Performance 360 showed up for the Sgro event.

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