Four-man around-LI rowing crew down to one

A group of four men determined to row around Long Island in memory of wounded service members may be down to just one man in a kayak after two crew members fell ill and rough waters put their boating plans in jeopardy.

Originally, the plan was to make the event a nonstop, unsupported row around the Island with all four crew members, said Chris Cuddihy, 56, of Riverhead. Now Cuddihy, an experienced rower, is considering finishing the trip on his own in a kayak.

"I don't like to quit," Cuddihy told Newsday on Thursday. "I'm in the process of trying to convince my wife that I can finish this on my own."

The men set out west from West Neck Beach in Cold Spring Harbor Monday in a 24-foot skiff with the goal of reaching Lloyd Harbor Beach by Thursday.

Their more than 300-mile journey was intended to raise money for and awareness of wounded service members and to honor the memory of Smithtown Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Nathan B. Bruckenthal, who was killed in the Persian Gulf in 2004.

However, the original crew of Cuddihy, his son, Ryan, 28, Rick Shalvoy, 57, and Chris Rizopoulos, 37, ran into major problems. After hitting rough seas Monday night and Tuesday morning off Long Beach, Shalvoy, of Long Beach and Rizopoulos, of Coram, were hospitalized with dehydration and seasickness.

Despite the setback, the Cuddihys and a new rower, Brian Banks, 25, a Jones Beach lifeguard from Merrick, were in the water west of Fair Harbor, on the south shore of Fire Island, just before noon Wednesday. The three men rowed most of the day and reached the Coast Guard station in Moriches a little after 11 p.m. Wednesday.

However, Chris Cuddihy said Banks had to return to work Thursday, and he didn't feel confident about bringing Shalvoy or Rizopoulos back into the water. Faced with a two-man crew, Cuddihy said they called off the multiperson row.

He is now hoping to return to the water by himself. At 11 a.m. Thursday, he was still weighing his options.

Next year, however, Cuddihy said the men plan to try the trip again.

"We didn't complete what we set out to do . . . We still intend to do that next year," Cuddihy said. "I think we have to revisit how it is done."

Cuddihy added that in some ways, the crew achieved part of their goal.

"We've made people recognize what sacrifices that young men like Nate made," he said. "It really is about the wounded warriors."