On March 11, Cristian Mendoza-Baquiax, 37, pleaded to the three homicide counts, one count of second-degree manslaughter, one count of aggravated DWI — a class E felony — two counts of second-degree assault and two counts of third-degree assault, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney’s office. Mr. Mendoza-Baquiax, who is being represented by the Legal Aid Society, is facing five to 15 years in prison at his April 15 sentencing. 

On Aug. 7, 2024, Cristian Mendoza-Baquiax, 37, was driving a white 2010 Accura MDX northbound when he passed another northbound car on County Rd. 105 at a high rate of speed into the opposite lane, where he struck several vehicles. One passenger in Mr. Mendoza-Baquiax’s car, Nelson Reyes-Muxin, died as a result of his injuries, while another passenger in his vehicle sustained multiple fractures to his arm and a dislocated shoulder. 

The driver of another vehicle involved in the crash sustained two fractured legs and a dislocated ankle and was airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital for medical treatment. Additionally, two other individuals were transported to local hospitals for injuries sustained in the crash.

According to authorities, Mr. Mendoza-Baquiax exhibited signs of intoxication and stated that he “had six beers,”  He was subsequently placed under arrest and consented to a blood draw upon request by police. One toxicology test revealed a blood alcohol concentration of .21%, though a sample taken earlier revealed a .25% BAC, according to prosecutors. 

“This defendant’s fateful decision to drive while under the influence of alcohol caused the tragic death of Nelson Reyes-Muxin and severe injuries to several other individuals,” Mr. Tierney said in a statement. “This conviction is a reminder to all that drunk driving kills.”

While Mr. Reyes-Muxin was the only one involved in the accident who died, Mr. Mendoza-Baquiax pleaded guilty to three homicide charges based on three different theories of aggravated vehicular homicide, according to Mr. Tierney’s office. Each charge required proving DWI, reckless driving and causing a death, along with 1).18 BAC and causing death, 2) having prior conviction and causing death and 3) causing death and serious injury.

The investigation was conducted by Detective Michael Carrieri of the Riverhead Town Police Department, authorities said, and the case is being prosecuted by Suffolk Assistant District Attorney Alexander Bopp of the Vehicular Crime Bureau.

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Roanoke Ave. Elementary Principal Thomas Payton’s hair before the cut. (Credit: Jahquel Blount) Barber Rashad Goff did the honors at Roanoke Elementary Friday (Credit: Jahquel Blount)

For 20 years, Roanoke Avenue Elementary School principal Thomas Payton has gone to extreme lengths to instill a love of reading in his students. His annual reading challenge isn’t part of the job description — it’s a tradition built on creativity, enthusiasm and quite a bit of good-natured self-sacrifice.

The tradition, like Mr. Payton, came out of the sprawling Clark County school district in Las Vegas — the fifth largest in the nation — which holds an annual weeklong reading campaign around the March 2 birthday of beloved children’s book author Dr. Seuss, born Theodor Seuss Geisel.

For a week, the entire school logs every minute spent reading, whether in classes, at lunch, on the bus or at home. Schools set six- and seven-figure goals, and this year’s goal for Roanoke Avenue students was to collectively read 90,000 minutes.

“It was really big in Vegas,” Mr. Payton said. “So when I came to Riverhead, I thought it would be cool to bring it with me.”

It started simply enough. “The first year, I got my head shaved and that was it,” Mr. Payton recalled last week, moments before settling into a barber’s chair on stage. “The next year, I dressed as a chicken and did the chicken dance. From there, it just kept growing. I dressed as a clown. One year, I rode in on a tricycle. Another year, the kids turned me into a human [ice cream] sundae. Every time, I had to make it bigger.”

When Mr. Payton transferred to Roanoke Avenue in 2010, the tradition came with him. Over the years, he’s faced off in a lip sync battle with a fourth-grade teacher, been bombarded with water balloons and been duct-taped to a wall. Last year, he was happy to be slathered head to toe in Silly String. This year, he circled back to the head-shave — this time with a twist.

“I had [barber] Rashad [Goff] shave the word ‘READ’ into my head,” Mr. Payton said proudly.

This year, Roanoke Avenue students didn’t just meet their goal, they obliterated it. School officials confirmed that students logged a staggering 127,000 minutes — an average of about five and a half hours of reading per child. While, there were carve-outs for the youngest students — those who can’t yet read could be read to — Mr. Payton said parents signed off on their children’s reading logs every night.

“It’s a legit log,” Mr. Payton emphasized. “Parents sign off on it. These kids did their reading.”

The effort was bolstered by creative evening events, including a Tuesday night “Curl Up with a Good Book” session with milk and cookies, where parents and students read together. Wednesday featured the school’s first-ever family game night, designed to get kids off screens and engaged in interactive activities — many of which, of course, involved books.

By Friday, anticipation had reached fever pitch. The entire student body packed into the auditorium, their chants of “Shave your head! Shave your head!” rivaling the energy of a championship game. Teachers egged on the crowd from the aisles. Sections of students clumsily attempted “the wave.” It was a scene of pure, boisterous joy.

Members Worldwide — a videography team of college students, including videographers Curtis and Daytwon Spruill and photographer Jahquel Blount — captured the excitement in a video shared with Riverhead News-Review readers.

Third-grade teacher Christine Santos’ class logged the most reading minutes schoolwide — more than 13,000.

“I tried to base everything this week off of reading,” she said, “whether it was working in groups, reading an article and then working together. I had them read their math questions, and they did a math quiz during reading. I had them do funny reading as a period, and then they worked themselves on independent reading with books and Scholastic News stories.”

Mr. Payton said each September, the first question on students’ minds is what he’s going to do for reading week.

“If I can put a little incentive in to pump them up, I’m certainly going to do that,” he said, adding that last week, the excitement in the air was palpable.

“You see kids coming back from lunch, they’re walking by our office, waving and making motions like they’re pretending to shave my head,” the principal said. “They’re just having a ball with it.”

In 20 years of reading week challenges, Mr. Payton noted, his kids have “never missed their mark.”

“I think I’m going to have to go over 100,000 minutes, because the last few years they’ve hit 120,000, 130,000, 150,000.”

Ms. Santos said it’s not just the kids who are competing.

“It’s a great tradition — super exciting — and it’s always great to have them work towards something,: she explained. “But, secretly, we all like to compete at the grade levels and Ms. [Donna] Verbeck is our veteran teacher and I always try my hardest to see if I can beat her, and I finally beat her this year.”

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Strain Stars’ Riverhead manager Narita Kaur, CEO Yuvraj Singh’s cousin, said business has been booming since day one.

“We knew that cannabis is a growing industry, and we expected insane numbers, but it was still beyond our belief,” Mr. Kaur said of the early sales. “The amount of people that we saw from opening day to now has just continued to grow.”

In 2024, Long Island’s eight cannabis retailers generated $109,352,654 in total revenue and $20,777,004 in sales tax, according to the state Office of Marijuana Management. As of November 2024, Long Island accounted for 11% of retail sales statewide, despite being home to only 3% of New York’s dispensaries.

The 2021 law legalizing recreational cannabis sales requires that the municipality where a dispensary is located receives 4% of the taxes collected — with 3% going to the town and 1% to Suffolk County. In 2024, Babylon netted $2.6 million in cannabis taxes, while the county brought in $871,000, for a total of nearly $3.5 million in revenue. Those figures are expected to grow as more dispensaries open.  

“There are so many towns across Long Island piercing their tax caps,” said Gahrey Ovalle, president of the Long Island Cannabis Coalition, a nonprofit industry trade group. “They have the ability to collect cannabis tax revenue without raising taxes. This surplus tax revenue can accommodate and alleviate” local budgets, he said. 

“The towns themselves and the supervisors and elected officials are recognizing that this cannabis industry is a lot more profitable than what they thought” Mr. Ovalle said.”

He also noted the region’s cannabis dispensaries have not sparked any of problems envisioned by opponents.

“There are almost zero issues and zero complaints in Babylon with nuisance, crime. In Riverhead, there were two complaints, and it was about the signs that are on the stores, not the stores themselves,” Mr. Ovalle said. “No issues, no traffic, no crime, no selling to children.” 

For years, one of the biggest challenges to state-sanctioned cannabis dispensaries has been that no banks would do business with them because marijuana is still illegal at the federal level. That left dispensaries with loads of cash on hand, which made them robbery targets. Solving for that has paved the way for strong growth in the young industry.

“None of the large banks that work across multiple states and at the federal level are offering any kind of cannabis accounts,” Mr. Ovalle said, “but there are a lot of state-run banks and local banks that absolutely do. We have quite a few here on Long Island.”

Beyond tax revenue, legalized weed has also introduced a new profession into the area economy: budtenders.

Strain Stars staffer Nicholas Cordova said he wants to make a career out of marijuana and has devoted the last four years of his life exclusively to educating himself about the wild world of weed.

“It’s all up here,” Mr. Cordova said, tapping his head. “It’s the knowledge that you gain throughout your travels. I used to go to Freedom Rally festivals [in Boston], harvest festivals, and people would show off all their cannabis, and you would educate one another, because it’s an industry that was untapped.”

With hundreds and hundreds of different cannabis products, he said, there’s a universe of options to choose from, and a good budtender can guide a new customer to their best bet. 

“We’re here to sell feelings,” Mr. Cordova explained. “We’re here to sell emotion. I like selling cannabis by asking, ‘What are you trying to do?’ We try and set the mood here [at the counter]. ‘We’re trying to go out with the boys’ or ‘We’re trying to watch the game.’ ‘We’re just hanging out. We’re just home on the couch.’ ”

Mr. Cordova said he showed up for his job interview with Strain Stars with a notebook full of ideas, and was quickly hired. His birthday is April 20, or “420,” an internationally recognized reference to marijuana that some say originated with The Waldos, a group of early 1970s potheads at a high school in San Rafael, Calif. (Contrary to popular belief, 420 is not a police code for marijuana, nor is it the number of chemical compounds in cannabis or the day Bob Marley died.)

The East End’s other state-sanctioned retail dispensary, Beleaf (4462 Middle Country Road, Calverton) opened last fall with a focus on customer service. Its Budtenders guide shoppers through a wide variety of options, including tinctures, vape cartridges, edibles and pre-rolled joints as well cannabis-infused drinks such as seltzers and even cold-brewed coffee. The shop also carries cannabis-infused teas by Harney Brothers of Millerton, N.Y. Each flavor has a different recommended application, including ones for sleep and focus.

“Whenever someone walks in the door, they’re going to be greeted, and then one of the budtenders will come out and speak to them,” said Beleaf co-owner Mike Reda. “You know, not everybody wants or needs help. That’s why once someone’s familiar with the store, we do have the express kiosk [for self-service]. If someone wants to come in and order real quick and then just proceed to the counter, they have that option. But if someone’s looking for a more educational experience or recommendations, that’s what the budtender is for.”

Strain Stars opened its Riverhead location in December at 1871 Old Country Road and offers 1,200 distinct products ranging from flower and pre-rolled joints to edibles and beverages. 

“We saw how things progressed in Farmingdale, at our first store, and we were prepared, excited and a little bit anxious to do this big project,”  Mr. Singh said. “Now that it’s finally here and done, we’re very excited and hope for the best.” 

The new location, at the corner of Kroemer Avenue and Route 58, sat empty for a number of years as properties around it were developed. Despite logistical challenges, Strain Stars was able to finish construction and open for business relatively quickly. 

“There were a lot of negotiations here and there,” Singh said. “But this property was vacant for almost 20 years, and we were just fortunate enough to be able to lock it down, kind of in the right place at the right time.” 

As the initial growing pains subside, and the tax benefits start hitting public coffers, Mr. Ovalle expects a lot more legal dispensaries to come on line in the region over the next few years. Local governments “are starting to become more open, at least conceptually,” he said, noting that the whole industry is “starting to normalize. We’re being treated like a regular business — just like a construction company or a pizza shop.” 

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Riverhead police have issued a town-wide wind advisory from 6 p.m. Thursday through late Friday afternoon. Sustained 25 mph winds with gusts of up to 50 m.p.h.are expected — which could result in downed trees and potential power outages.

Police are advising motorists to treat all downed power lines as being energized, and to stay clear and call 911 if they spot one.

“Remember the Ps of preparedness: Have a PLAN, PACK and emergency kit and PAY attention,” police said in a statement.

To report power outages, call PSEG at 1-800-490-0075 or visit the PSEG website.

For more weather-related information, visit the National Weather Service.

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The free service reflects Americans’ switch to cell phones from landlines.

“When you call 911 from your cell phone, quite often, we don’t receive any information other than the phone number. It’s just the carrier, and there’s no information,” Southold Town Police Chief Steve Grattan said in an interview this week.

Yet with a Smart911 profile, users can put as much or as little information about themselves and their living situations as desired. Some people will simply list the names of the occupants in the event of a fire. Older people might want to upload their medical history, or a list of their prescriptions and any other medical information that might assist a first responder.

Homeowners can add any pets or service animals in the home, list emergency contacts, and even the make, model and license plate of their vehicles. Individuals with special needs or those prone to psychiatric emergencies could list so in their profiles.

Riverhead Police Captain Danielle Willsey said this week that the department has been promoting Smart911 technology for years, but that most Smart911 calls the department receives come from commercial businesses with registered profiles.

The Smart911 system “also includes a facility profile, so when a business calls, we get a lot more information.”

“If they have a key lock box, it lists where it is. Sometimes they upload plans to the building on there, plus contact information.”

Police can’t access Smart911 profile unless they call 911, she said, so it’s hard to tell how many residents have created profiles.

“We haven’t seen it a lot with the public, and it may just be awareness, or it may just be that people who have signed up to be proactive have not had to call 911.”

She urged anyone with interest to create their own profile. The system also offers an app so a person in an emergency can livestream video or send pictures to authorities as well.

“We would recommend everybody doing it,” she said this week. “You never know when you’re going to be in an emergency situation and call from your house.”

She said it can be particularly helpful for seniors.

“Many of them live alone, and maybe they can’t remember the medications they take. We would have that list right in front of us. It’s totally up to the person. You do not have to fill in every spot. You can give whatever information you want to put in there.”

Mr. Grattan, who set up his own profile for his family home, said that it’s safe to share personal information for emergency purposes only.

“I know there’s people that are a little bit leery about Big Brother, but we don’t have any access to any of that information unless you dial 911. That’s the only way we can see that information,” said Mr. Grattan.

In a life-or-death emergency, the chief said, “time is of the essence.”

He added, “So any information that’s provided to us that’s beneficial to responding emergency personnel, whether it’s EMS, medics, police or fire, we’ll have all that information the moment the cell phone calls 911.”

A review of months of Southold Town police incident reports show that officers respond to 911 “hang-up” calls — nearly all of them accidental dials — at least several times every week. Mr. Grattan said Southold police are required to respond in person to every 911 call.

“Even if that person calls back and says, ‘I’m sorry that was an accident,’ we’re still showing up.”

At a recent Cutchogue Civic Association meeting, Southold Police Sgt. Bob Haase urged the community to give Smart911 a try. A Feb. 26 post about Smart911 on Southold Town Police Facebook page has garnered more shares than any other post to date, Mr. Grattan said.

Cincinnati, Ohio, adopted Smart911 in 2018, following the death of a teenager who was asphyxiated when he got stuck between the seats of a minivan and died before first responders could locate him. At the time, according to NBC News, Smart911 was being used at 500 dispatch hubs nationwide.

It’s not clear how widespread Smart911 is being used in the U.S. today. Spokesperson for parent company, Motorola subsidiary Rave Mobile Safety, did not respond to calls and emails requesting user data.

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Around 7:15 p.m., two unidentified individuals operating a newer model Chevrolet Silverado were observed removing the trailer (pictured below) from the dealership and fleeing westbound on Route 58, officials said. A manager at the dealership did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Anyone having any information in reference to this matter is asked to contact the Riverhead Police Department at 631-727-4500.

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“Kevin [Carrick] and John [Cuddy] from the Emerald Society came into the restaurant and told me, and I was shocked,” he said in an interview this week. “I was shocked and overwhelmed. It’s such a complete honor to be chosen for it.”

Still, the garrulous cook wondered with a laugh if the East End Emerald Society made the right choice.

“First of all, they’re going to give me a microphone the night of the [parade] fundraiser. I said, ‘That’s a mistake.’ I wanted to be Johnny Carson growing up. Everybody wants to be a baseball player but I thought Johnny Carson was the best.”

He also light-heartedly warned his friend [and Riverhead Town Councilwoman] Joann Waski about the decision.

“I said to Joann, ‘Listen, this could be the longest parade ever, because I’m going to be hugging and kissing and shaking everybody’s hands and yapping and talking.’ She said, ‘no, no — that’s exactly why we asked you to be the Grand Marshal. I’m going to pull you along!”

The honorary appointment was a nice touch following a bit of a tough year for Mr. Meras and his family. 

Last fall, Star Confectionary — which Mr. Meras’ family has operated for more than 140 years — was robbed for the first time in its storied history and $10,000 was stolen from a safe inside the restaurant. 

“It was [$3,000 in] sales tax money that you pay each quarter,” he said from behind the counter at Star’s the morning after the robbery. “And then there was [$7,000] that was going to the bank for deposit for the week to pay the bills.”

Mr. Meras also lost a prized stack of $2 bills, which he collects — a habit the diner owner picked up from his mother.

But even the robbery had a silver lining.

When word got out about the break-in, Michelle Papa, a veteran waitress at the Main St. diner, launched a GoFundMe page for the Meras family, and the following morning — after more than 130 individual donations, the restaurant proprietor had to call her to stop seeking contributions.

“One of the girls that works for us, she’s been here since she was 14. She’s 40 now. And she set up the GoFundMe, and within 12 hours, it reached the goal of the money that was stolen from the safe,” Mr. Meras said. By the time they turned off the fundraising, $10,850 had been raised.

He said that one customer’s $5 donation brought him to tears.

“It was a blessing and a curse: a curse that we had it stolen, but a blessing — that outpouring of love from the whole community.”

For someone who doesn’t even live in Jamesport and isn’t of Irish heritage (he’s Greek), Mr. Meras feels blessed.

“My best friends are from Jamesport, so I spend most of my time there. I absolutely love Jamesport!”

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Straight out of college, Mr. Lewis enrolled at Manhattan’s American Musical Dramatic Academy, with dreams of starring on Broadway.

“I did a lot of regional theater, traveled around,” he said, including touring Europe during six seasons with the Glory Gospel Singers and working on Disney productions in Hong Kong and on Disney cruise lines.

“I’ve been very fortunate to see a lot of the world.”

After years on the road, Mr. Lewis, who lives in Medford, said he suffered some setbacks and decided to move back to Long Island and “sort of reset and readjust.” He had a license to work as a security guard and took a job at Peconic Bay Medical Center.

Tara Anglim, PBMC’s associate executive director for culture and experience, said in an interview this week that she and her colleagues sensed something special in Mr. Lewis.

“He’s one of those hidden gems,” she said. “I kept hearing from patients, families, and staff about how special he was, how kind he was, and how he always went out of his way for people.”

She noted how impressed she has been with Mr. Lewis’ listening skills.

“He will take something as small as sitting down and listening to someone, and that patient will open up and share things with him that they haven’t shared with anyone,” Ms. Anglim said. “He’ll find those little nuggets, things that are in his power to do to make them feel seen and heard and valued.”

Recognizing his gift, hospital leadership urged Mr. Lewis to apply for a patient experience specialist role, which he secured following a panel interview. But even after landing the job he was initially unsure of what he had to offer in his new role.

“He quickly saw how he could change someone who was so sad or in pain or just despondent and not really feeling hopeful about anything,” Ms. Anglim said. “And so it just energized him.”

He was encouraged to start a healing-through-music program at the hospital.

“We love nothing more than when Jerome does a one-on-one singing performance for a patient.” Ms. Anglim said. “We all knew what a great singer he was, because even as a security officer, sometimes he would just sing a song for someone that was really having a hard day.”

Mr. Lewis has built musical connections throughout the PBMC universe. 

Peter Sultan, one of the hospital’s top orthopedic surgeons, is also a skilled pianist.

“We have a piano in the lobby of the hospital, and one of the things [Dr. Sultan] does is between surgeries, as a stress reliever for himself, he will come down and play the piano,” Ms. Anglim said.

“He and Jerome connected from that, and they have become such good friends — so they play together all the time, sometimes for our patients, sometimes at community fundraisers or employee events. They’re kind of our go-to duo.”

Outside of PBMC, Mr. Lewis was also a familiar face at The Suffolk in Riverhead — where he works as a weekend security guard.

“Everybody loves Jerome,” said Gary Hygom, The Suffolk’s executive director. “He’s a gentle giant, and we just adore him. But I had no idea he was a performer.”

That changed at a Christmas party in 2023 when, to the surprise of many, Mr. Lewis took the mic.

“I got up there and sang a soulful version of Santa Claus is Coming to Town, dressed as Santa Claus,” Mr. Lewis said with a laugh. “Everyone was like, ‘Wait, what’s happening?’”

He approached Mr. Hygom a few months ago with an idea for a show dedicated to Nat King Cole.

“Of course, my answer was ‘yes,’” Mr. Hygom said. “He’s family. It wasn’t about money—it was about supporting someone we care about. And now? He’s outselling some of our main-stage shows.”

For Mr. Lewis, Nat King Cole has long been an inspiration.

“He was a pioneer, a class act—his voice, his style, his musicality,” he said. “He represented elegance and excellence.”

In preparation for the Feb. 13 show, Mr. Lewis and his four-piece band have meticulously rehearsed 20 of Cole’s timeless songs, including L-O-V-E, Unforgettable and Stardust.

One song holds special meaning for him.

“Smile is one of my go-to songs for patients in difficult times,” the singer said. “You can’t sing Smile and not smile. I’ve always incorporated Nat King Cole into my performances, but this is my first full-length tribute to him. It’s going to be an incredible experience.”

He said that his act is a tribute, not an impersonation.

“It’s not me trying to be Nat King Cole on stage. That’s why I call it a celebration of Nat King Cole’s love songs,” Mr. Lewis said. “I want to interpret his music with my own soulful flair, but also honor his artistry. He was an expert storyteller and his musicality allowed people to feel the love through his music, through his voice. To have this opportunity to honor someone who I’ve always looked up to … I’m so excited.”

So are his PBMC colleagues.

“Our whole team has tickets,” Ms. Anglim said. “We’re all going to be there, and we can’t wait to cheer him on. It’s going to be a wonderful show. He’s an incredible performer, but he’s an even more exceptional human being.”

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Riverhead Police Chief Ed Frost said in an interview this week that Mr. Trivelli’s “strong communications skills,” and the rapport he developed with the suspect, “made it a successful, safe conclusion for the individual and obviously the police officers that were there.”

The Riverhead News-Review reported on the Jan. 21, 2024 incident, in which police said Anthony Almeida, 43, fired multiple shots from a rifle and then remained holed up inside the building for nearly three hours before surrendering.

The incident drew numerous law enforcement agencies — including Suffolk County Police hostage negotiators — to Cross Island Concrete on Kroemer Avenue.

Mr. Almeida “attempted to enter Joseph Almeida’s [his father] locked office while holding a Ruger 9mm rifle in his hands,” according to case records reviewed by the News-Review.

Mr. Almeida announced “multiple times that his intention was suicide by cop,” according to a Riverhead PBA Facebook post about Mr. Trivelli’s role in the incident.

“When the defendant was asked to go downstairs, he fired about four shots from the Ruger 9mm before going downstairs,” Riverhead police said at the time.

Police say the younger Almeida then “barricaded” himself inside the building, remaining there until being taken into custody just before 7 p.m., authorities said.   

Chief Frost said Mr. Trivelli did an “excellent job with de-escalation.”

“He’s a fine officer, and he knows what he’s doing,” the chief said. “He’s definitely a valuable asset to our department and the community as a whole.”

Mr. Almaeida’s attorney, Daniel G. Rodgers, said his client has turned his life around since the incident a year ago and just this week pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor to end the case.

“This was as young man who had some issues, but through the help of the court and the probation department, has turned his life around and is doing well.”

In addition to Riverhead Police detectives and a K-9 unit, the Suffolk County Police Emergency Services, Hostage Negotiation and Electronic Investigations responded to the scene — as well as the New York State Police, Southold Police Department, New York State Environmental Conservation Police and the Riverhead Fire Department and Town Volunteer Ambulance Corps.

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“My job is to put on a regatta once a year,” he said. “I’ve been vice commodore for 10 years, and this is the first regatta.”

While serious ice boat enthusiasts travel all over the country to find solid ice to race on, Long Island has experienced a decade-long ice drought.

A four-man LRIBYC team spent all day Friday testing the ice on Lake Ronkonkoma — drilling holes through in different places and measuring its thickness for safety, as well as canvassing the massive body of water for any other trouble spots, which — when discovered — were marked off with hazard flags.

Declaring the lake safe for ice boating, organizers put the word out late Friday: the races would take place Saturday morning.

But early Saturday morning, as racers pieced together their boats and strung up their sails, a key ingredient was still missing: wind. Ice boat captains waited for hours until the wind kicked up to about 10 m.p.h., and finally took flight across the ice in the afternoon.

LRIBYC commodore Scott Valentine said patience is just part of the sport.

“I’ve gone to world championships where we’ve had to sit in a hotel for a couple days because of no wind or temperature — if it’s too cold, we can’t sail.”

With the wind came bright sunshine, which cracked the ice in places on the lake.

“They were very comprehensive on testing the ice,” East Marion racer Rich Clark said of the Lake Ronkonkoma team. “But ice will crack like that when the sun comes out … It makes you a little nervous when you first hear it, but basically nothing happens — it’s just the sound of the crack. It’s a long, lengthy crack. It doesn’t crack around you, where you fall in, but it can be a little scary, and it happened a couple of times during the races on Saturday.”

East Marion racing veteran Mike Acebo said the ice drought made last weekend a big deal for dedicated sailors.

“Long Island boaters have waited for 10 years now, and we waited probably another five years before that. So it’s just getting to be a rare thing to have ice on Long Island. We’ve almost all given up hope of having ice on Long Island, but lo and behold, we’ve been offered a chance to sail on Long Island. So it’s kind of a special weekend.”

‘Blessing of the lake‘

Long Island racers are drawn to Lake Ronkonkoma, the island’s largest freshwater lake, for its storied history as a premier ice racing spot. The LRIBYC was founded in 1923. Saturday’s first DNs race was dedicated to late ice boating legend Richard Crucet, who Mr. Valentine described as a “driving force” in the Long Island ice boating community. Mr. Crucet passed away in 2014 and had been a big promoter of the sport on Long Island and across the country.

The dearth of freezing weather in the region has gone on so long that it’s driven some iceboating enthusiasts to resort to light-hearted, age-old Nordic rituals.

“It’s an old, old thing,” Mr. Acebo told The Suffolk Times last year of annual efforts to “seed” local waters with ice to induce freezing. “Usually it would happen at the [winter] solstice, the changing of the season. They would get together and they wear stupid hats and fur coats and hockey sticks and they’d throw ice in [the bay].”

He said the LRIBYC — as well as his local Orient Ice Yacht Club — has been performing the ceremony for years during iceboating droughts.

“Every year they would have a blessing of the lake and a ‘seeding of the ice.’ That’s what they called it. It was like storm cloud seeding, but they were seeding the lake to get it to form ice.” 

On New Year’s Day this month, a group of OIYC diehards, dressed as Norse gods and swarthy Vikings, gathered on the shore in Orient. They wielded hockey sticks and swept piles of machine-made ice into the bay, hoping to induce Mother Nature into a deep freeze. In a previous year’s ceremony, they built a little boat, set it on fire and sent it out into the bay. For whatever reason, their patient prayers were finally answered this month.

A similar ceremony unfolded on the shore of Lake Ronkonkoma before Saturday’s race, Mr. Acebo said. 

Mr. Valentine won all three DN races on Saturday, a popular class of ice boats first developed in Detroit Mich. in the late 1930s. He captained a brand-new DN he’d gotten after an accident in the year prior. “Last year at the North American championships, a guy totaled my boat during the race,” he said. “I had the right of way, and he came up on my blind side and hit my boat, and destroyed it and his boat.”

Though racing boats can cost thousands of dollars to build, the competitor graciously gave him a new boat free of charge.

“Proper ice boat etiquette dictates that if you do something wrong, you have to fix or repair the damage,” Mr. Valentine said. “He’s ranked eighth in the world, and his friend builds boats, so he said he’d build me an exact copy of his boat, and he did.” 

The thirst to race across the frozen bays dates back centuries on the North Fork, according to Mr. Acebo.

“During the late 1800s, early 1900s up to [World War I], the farmers had nothing to do in the winter,” he said. “What were you going to do when your fields were covered with snow? They built old style, stern-steer iceboats … every farmer had an iceboat in the ceiling of his barn.”

‘Exhilarating’

Despite the long pause, local iceboaters still yearn for their next race.

“The first time you try it, and you get going, and there’s a nice breeze and you pull the sail tight, the boat takes off like a jet,” Mr. Acebo said last year. “That’s the feeling. It pushes you back in the cockpit. The speed is exhilarating. And the speed goes faster and faster and faster and you think you’re doing 100 miles an hour when you’re doing 45. 

“I mean, it’s just the most incredible feeling you can have. Now I drive a Porsche. I’ve skied downhill, rafted in the Grand Canyon. I’ve flown gliders … I rode a motorcycle across the country,” Mr. Acebo recounted. “This is the most exhilarating thing that I’ve ever done.” 

This week, Mr. Valentine and Mr. Truesdale are heading to the ice boat world championships, which are set to begin next week and move around the country based on what location has the best ice. Organizers are eyeing Wisconsin, specifically Lakes Winnebago and Monona, according to the DN North America website.

“No matter what happens, when Pete and I go, we always have a great time. We’re sailing with the best of the best in the sailing world: America’s Cup people, collegiate champions, Olympic champions,” Mr. Valentine said. “They’re all super people. You can talk to them, have a good time, sit at the bar with them, have dinner with them. There’s great camaraderie there.”

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