'Round-LI rowers abandon quest, but still raise $4G

Rower Chris Cuddihy attempted to return to the waters off Moriches on Thursday - in a kayak - aiming to complete the journey he launched last Monday with three other crew members.

But the kayak proved difficult to steer through challenging surf, so Cuddihy, 56, of Riverhead, was forced to abandon the attempt, bringing an end to the arduous odyssey that began at West Neck Beach in Lloyd Harbor.

The original four-man crew had aimed to row the 300-mile journey around Long Island nonstop to raise money for wounded military veterans.

"I was really upset that we had to call it off," Cuddihy said Sunday. "But, when you are out there and worried about people being sick, I had to push my competitive nature to the side."

Cuddihy and his son Ryan, 28, of Riverhead, were the only original crew remaining on the 24-foot skiff Wednesday night when it entered Moriches Inlet. With them was Brian Banks, 25, of Merrick, a Jones Beach lifeguard who joined the effort Tuesday after two crew members were hospitalized.

"Brian was fabulous," Cuddihy said Sunday.

Original crew members Rick Shalvoy, 57, of Long Beach and Chris Rizopoulos, 37, of Coram had been hospitalized with dehydration and seasickness after Monday night storms caused rough water conditions.

"Both Rick and Chris wanted to come back on the boat as of Wednesday," said Cuddihy. "Sometimes you push too hard though, and I was worried about having them come back."

After realizing that the journey would no longer be nonstop, the three men battled tides to get through Moriches Inlet and arrived tired and hungry at the Coast Guard station Wednesday night.

On Thursday, Banks returned to work and Cuddihy decided not to proceed with only a two-man crew. He set out alone in a kayak, but decided the conditions were too rough.

"We were spent," he said Sunday. "I had an hour of sleep in two days and we kept hitting obstacles." He also suffered a badly infected thumb.

Cuddihy, who was part of a four-man team that became the first to row a multihulled boat across the Atlantic Ocean, said that there was something different, perhaps tougher, about this trip.

"It's psychological," he said. "When you are rowing and you know that home is just a small distance away, you certainly are in a different state of mind."

The project raised more than $4,000 for wounded service members, Cuddihy said, and honored the memory of Smithtown Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Nathan B. Bruckenthal, who was killed in the Persian Gulf in 2004.

"I wanted to finish this," he said. "But I hope everyone realizes that we pushed hard and did our best."