Port Jefferson Village Takes Third Regatta Cup

While Port Jefferson Village won its third Regatta cup on Saturday, the real winners were the Lustgarten Foundation and Mather Hospital – each of which received donations of $31,000 each following the fundraising efforts through the regatta.

"Each year this thing seems to progress," said Gary Passavia, president of the Setauket Yacht Club Foundation. "It's a cause that touches everyone."

Passavia said this kind of fundraiser suits this area of Long Island well, and Port Jefferson Mayor Margot Garant agreed.

"It's a great day for the village and for Mather Hospital and the Lustgarten Foundation," Garant said. "I'm just really, really thrilled."

On the actual race itself, in which she rode with the Estre and captain Laura Baische, Garant said: "It was gorgeous. Perfect temperature, the sun was shining. The wind was up for the first two legs, and died down for the third leg. The minute we turned that buoy and headed north again, the wind picked up and we just cruised by everybody."

Actor Ralph Macchio, the event's celebrity participant who lives nearby, said he was happy to participate after his wife, who works at Mather Hospital, asked him to jump on board.

"It's such a simple giveback to help bring attention to a good cause," Macchio said. "Pancreatic cancer is something that strikes all of us in some way, shape or form, through family and friends, from patients of my wife's to Patrick Swayze, a celebrity name who fought this terrible disease. It's nice to be able to help bring attention to create more research to bring it to a point where it no longer exists."

The village team finished with 52 points, while the Mather Hospital team finished with 75 points. In a regatta such as this one, the team with the lowest point total is declared the winner.

The individual winning boats for the village were the Ragtime, captained by Geoff Storms with crew members Brian McCaffrey Sr. and Brian McCaffrey Jr., and the Calypso, captained by Tim O'Mara with crew members Bob Juliano and Kelly Juliano. Mather's winning boat, the Paladin, was captained by Jason Richter with Mather representatives Frank Sini and John Sini, and crew members Stella Richter, Tufan Karaosmangoglu and Tagi Garbizu.