Rowing team set to circumnavigate LI for charity

Rick Shalvoy and three friends will spend the next three or four days rowing nonstop and counterclockwise around the whole of Long Island - more than 300 miles - in a 24-foot skiff with just a few bags of food and only a bucket for a bathroom.

The crew will raise money on the journey for wounded service members and honor the memory of Smithtown Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Nathan B. Bruckenthal, who was killed in the Persian Gulf in 2004.

Shalvoy, 57, of Long Beach, said the four will face challenges on their trip, which begins at 9 a.m. Monday at West Neck Beach in Lloyd Harbor, but nothing like those faced by Bruckenthal and other Iraq war veterans.

"Some parallel exists here between the extreme difficulty of the event and the sacrifices of our servicemen," Shalvoy said. "But it's not a very good parallel."

Despite a forecast for rain, Shalvoy said the team is prepared. He is an experienced rower who has done several similar fundraising rows. Crew member Chris Cuddihy, 56, of Riverhead, was on a four-man team that rowed across the Atlantic Ocean in 2008. Cuddihy said they plan to be the first human-powered, nonstop circumnavigation of the Island to accept no outside help along the way.

The voyage is raising money for the Wounded Warrior Project, which aids injured military members.

Bruckenthal's father, Northport Police Chief Ric Bruckenthal, said the family is "very honored" by the charity work. The other crew members are Chris Rizopoulos, 37, of Coram, and Cuddihy's son, Ryan Cuddihy, 28, of Riverhead. The group's progress can be tracked online at roundislandrow.com.