Volunteers Give Vets A Day On The Water

Sean Duclay, left, holds nametags representing 219 veterans who lost their lives as a result of suicide and PTSD, with veterans and volunteers at the “Let’s Take a Veteran Sailing” event.  Photos courtesy of Stacy Aslan and Phil Sweeney

By Connor Beach
beach@longislandergroup.com

A fleet of 43 sailboats set sail from the Centerport Yacht Club on July 29 for the fourth annual “Let’s Take a Veteran Sailing” event.

The event, sponsored by Huntington Station-based charity SailAhead, brought together around 140 veterans, their families and guests with 100 volunteer skippers and crews for a therapeutic day of sailing in the waters off Huntington.

Brothers Kilian, 21, and Sean, 19, Duclay, founded SailAhead in the winter of 2013 as a way to combine their passion for sailing and desire to help struggling veterans.

From its humble beginnings when the Duclay’s would take one or two veterans sailing, SailAhead will this year host six events and give hundreds of veterans the opportunity to sail.

In 2015, the brothers, both graduates of Walt Whitman High School, decided they wanted to host a big event that would help us spread awareness of veteran suicide and PTSD.

Sean Duclay said a friend, Bob Slingo, helped them pitch the idea to the members of the Centerport Yacht Club.

The sailors are all smiles at the fourth annual “Let’s Take a Veteran Sailing” event in Centerport.

“It’s funny because we were kids essentially asking the Centerport Yacht Club’s commodore if we could use his yacht club members, his yacht club’s money and his yacht club facility to host an event with veterans we didn’t know, and they said yes,” Duclay said.

Over the last four years hundreds of veterans have taken part in “Let’s Take a Veteran Sailing,” an event Duclay said would not have been possible without the help of American Legion Greenlawn Post 1244.

“The commander there helped supply us with the bulk of the veterans that we took sailing with us this year,” Duclay said.

Duclay said that each year the feedback for the event has been unanimously positive from both the veterans and the volunteers.

Duclay credits sailing’s “inherent mystery and magic” for the therapeutic feeling that many people experience while out on the water.

A fleet of 43 sailboats sail the waters off Huntington to provide therapeutic relief to veterans and their families.

“Anything to do with nature, the elements and the rawness of the wild has an inherent feeling of relaxation to it,” he said. “When I go from the dock to the sailboat, the way I describe it is like an there’s an invisible net that divides me from all my stressors.

They stay on land and it really just lets me live in the moment when I’m at sea.”

As part of SailAhead’s mission, the Duclay brother’s carry with them the nametags of 219 veterans who lost their lives as a result of suicide and PTSD. When SailAhead began in 2013, it was estimated that approximately 220 veterans committed suicide every 10 days.

“We say that the 219 symbol represents the one veteran that we as a community are trying to save,” Duclay said.

This year SailAhead flew several families of veterans from across the county to Centerport so they could speak on behalf of their loved ones who lost their lives from suicide.

Duclay said the emotional event garners so much support from the community and local military groups that work together to make it a success.

“It’s not meant to be depressing, it’s meant to be an emotional slap to the face that we need to wake up and help our veterans and active duty soldiers get help,” he said.

Assembly Race Could Be Decided In Court

Assemblyman Andrew Raia, left, and challenger Michael Marcantonio

By Connor Beach
cbeach@longislandergroup.com
 
Supporters of veteran New York State Assemblyman Andrew Raia (R-Northport) have filed a suit in the State Supreme Court challenging the residency of first time Democratic challenger Michael Marcantonio.

The lawsuit filed by three of Raia’s supporters, including Ralph Notaristerano, argues that Marcantonio does not meet the New York State residency requirements to challenge Raia for the 12th assembly district seat.

State law requires that a candidate be a resident of the state for five years and a resident of the assembly district for 12 months immediately preceding the election.

Marcantonio, 31, an attorney with Manhattan-based Kirkland & Ellis, called Raia’s challenge “total nonsense,” adding that the suit was filed after financial filings showed that Marcantonio had raised $107,000 for his campaign, nearly double that of Raia.

“Andrew Raia has never had a serious opponent in his entire career,” Marcantonio said. “Now he’s suing us to kick us off the ballot.”

Raia, who was first elected to represent the 12th district in 2002, ran unopposed for reelection in 2014 and defeated Democratic challenger Spencer Rumsey by 17,778 votes in 2016.

Raia contends that Marcantonio does not meet the one-year district residency requirement because he has signed leases and lived in two separate apartments in New York City while working for Kirkland & Ellis.

Raia also argued that Marcantonio fails to meet the five-year state requirement because he resided in Durham, North Carolina while attending law school at Duke University, from which he graduated in 2015.

“He registered to vote in North Carolina and registered his car in North Carolina… that makes you a North Carolina resident, particularly under the eyes of the law in New York State,” Raia said.
Marcantonio said, although he does lease an apartment in New York City where he sometimes stays after working long hours, he maintains his primary residence in Northport.
“My driver’s license is at home in Northport, my taxes were filed out of Northport, my bills go to Northport,” Marcantonio said. “I spend a significant amount of time there, and it is my only home.”

Marcantonio said that even while attending Duke Law School he continued to live in Northport for half the year. He said he decided to register to vote in North Carolina in an effort of fight “Republican voter suppression tactics” in the region.

If the courts allow Marcantonio to run, both candidates agreed the LIPA tax certiorari case surrounding the Northport Power Plant property is one of the major issues facing the Northport and East Northport communities.

Marcantonio said he is “fine” with the Town of Huntington and the Northport-East Northport School district entering into non-binding mediation with LIPA and National Grid, but is “completely against any settlement on this issue.”

He criticized Raia’s leadership on the LIPA issue, and argued that the district needs an assemblyman in the Democratic majority who can influence legislation.

Raia said he signed on to co-sponsor legislation by Assemblyman Charles Lavine (D-Glen Cove) that would spread out any tax reductions for LIPA over 15 years and “set up a reserve fund to soften the blow.”

In addition to the LIPA case, Marcantonio cited state corruption, the need for better sewer systems in Suffolk County and declining air quality as important issues facing the district.
Raia said addressing the “heroin pandemic” in Suffolk County was at the top of his list, along with fighting MS-13.