This December our frostbite fleet started its 33rd year. We started in December 1992 as “Snapper Inn Frostbite Fleet “ with four JY15s boats purchased by sailers and three loaner boats from JY Sailboats. The Snapper Inn restaurant, owned by Richard and Kathie Remmer allowed us to keep boats on their lawn all winter and we slid the boats into the water over the bulkhead. A non sailor friend of mine, John Donaldson volunteered to be race committee and he picked it up quickly. By 1996 the fleet was big enough that Bill Bleyer of Newsday wrote a two page article on our fleet and even sailed one of the boats. Years later we were on News 12 Long Island and Elisa DeStefano sailed with me in a JY. Over the years participating sailors have included complete novices, weekend warriors, regional and national champions and a two time Olympic sailor, We were on a roll. By 2000 we had 25 boats on the Snapper Inn lawn and were running out of room. Over the years, we have had our numbers go up and down, but generally we've had between 7 and 15 boats on the starting line any given Sunday from November to mid April. Six years ago in 2019 Richard Remmer called and told me there was a piece of property on the river that had been destroyed by superstorm Sandy and was now vacant and owned by the Friends of Pickman- Remmer Wetlands Inc. and we could use it as our home. That is when we became the Connetquot River Dinghy Club. The molded plastic JY15s began falling apart and we transitioned to Vanguard 15s. Now in 2025, the frostbite fleet includes twenty three Vanguard 15s. The last time we raced we had seventeen boats captained and crewed by sailors of all ages and abilities on the starting line. "What a long, strange trip it's been". -- By Jim Ryan