4 Watery Events We Can’t Wait to Dive Into in 2014

The oceans, bays, harbors and other surrounding waters of the Hamptons and the North Fork are among the most alluring aspects of the East End, providing endless beauty and inspiration for locals and visitors alike. Among the things they inspire most are endlessly creative ways to entertain ourselves, be it as participants or spectators. With an eye toward warmer days but a nod toward the watery wonders winter can provide, we toast a quartet of quintessentially East End aqua-tivities we are looking forward to in the new year.

Antigua-Barbuda Hamptons Challenge
The East End has the best of everything, and since 2012 that has included sailing competitions. In only its first two iterations, the Antigua-Barbuda Hamptons Challenge has created not only a rousing regatta, but one with the greatest prize in the Northeast—a trip for the winning captain and crew to head to the Caribbean to compete in Antigua Sailing Week. Not to mention inspiration for the rest of the East End to head way south for the winter.

Paddlers for Humanity Brewathalon
Couch potatoes across the East End finally got to prove to their gym-going friends that all those years spent lifting weights 12 liquid ounces at a time would pay off. Teams of two, four and five members headed to Montauk to compete in the first Brewathlalon,  a five-leg race requiring each team to have a starting chugger (yes, that’s as in “beer chugger”), a 5K runner, a 1.5-mile paddler, a 25K biker and an ending chugger. Chuggers were not allowed to compete in the run, paddle or bike portion of the event.

Rubber Duck Race
Organized by Friends of the Big Duck to raise money for restoring a barn on the Big Duck’s property in Flanders, which will become a duck farming museum, the  inaugural 2013 race saw more than 400 rubber water fowl hit the waters of Flanders Bay and drifted more than 100 feet toward a spectacularly exciting finish. Rumor has it that local bathtub sales increased 40% in the week following the event.

Every Polar Plunge
The season of jumping into the frigid waters surrounding the East End has only just begun, and already we’re missing the heart-stopping, skin-tightening, head-rush inducing action. Who’s in?