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HERALD oyster Bay hosts parade
Students win at BASH Awards
Junior attends top science fair
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VoL. 128 No. 22
MAY 29 - JUNE 4, 2026
$1.00
At 99, WWII vet looks back By WILL SHEELINE wsheeline@liherald.com
Courtesy SailGP
The SailGP team taught young sailors about wing foiling.
Learning new ways to use the wind By WILL SHEELINE wsheeline@liherald.com
Young sailors from Oyster Bay and New York City took to the Long Island Sound this week as Sail Grand Prix returned to the area for its Inspire Wing Foiling Clinic at the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club, introducing participants to one of the fastest-growing disciplines in sailing. Hosted in partnership with local organizations including Oakcliff Sailing and the WaterFront Center, the clinic gave 12- to 18-year-old sailors an opportunity to learn the fundamentals of wing foiling through hands-on training on land and in the water. The clinic is part of SailGP’s global Inspire program, which focuses on youth and women’s development through sailing education and innovation-based learning. “SailGP Inspire exists so we can get the next generation of athletes out on the water and excited about the sport,” Laura Hampton, youth and women’s development manager for SailGP, said. “So far, with our global partner Mubadala, we have been able to engage over 37,000 young people in our programming through innovation-led learning and on-water experiences.”
SailGP, an international racing league featuring high-speed foiling catamarans competing in nation-versus-nation events, returned to Oyster Bay for the second consecutive year as part of its New York race week programming. Hampton explained that Oyster Bay’s water conditions and established sailing community make it an ideal location for the clinic. “The conditions here are really incredible for wing foiling for teaching, and they’re the closest to New York City,” she said. “It’s a really nice community that really gets around the water, and there’s a real history of it.” Participants included local sailors as well as students from Rocking the Boat, a Bronx-based youth development organization focused on boatbuilding and maritime education. Wing foiling combines an inflatable handheld wing with a hydrofoil-equipped board that lifts riders above the surface of the water. The sport has rapidly grown in popularity in recent years because of its portability and accessibility compared with traditional sailing. “What’s really incredible about it is it’s the most accessible point of foiling,” Hampton said. “Anyone can buy this gear and kind of get out there and get learning, and it takes away those ConTinued on PaGe 10
Lou Laurino has watched A m e r i c a evo l ve f ro m t h e depths of the Great Depression through World War II, the Cold War and now the nation’s approaching 250th anniversary. The 99-year-old Bayville resident, World War II Navy veteran and retired surrog ate cour t judge sees the semiquincentennial not only as a celebration of the count r y ’s f o u n d i n g , b u t a s a reflection of the sacrifices, discipline and civic responsibility that shaped generations of Americans, including his own. “ I t ’s a n e x t r a o r d i n a r y a ch i eve m e n t fo r a yo u n g nation,” Laurino said. Bor n in Astoria, Queens — on Jan. 2, 1927, according t o h i s b i r t h c e r t i f i c a t e, though he says he was actually born several days earlier, on Dec. 28, 1926 — Laurino grew up in a working-class Italian immigrant household during the Depression. His father, Donato Laurino, had served in the Italian Ar my during World War I, and spent 15 months as a prisoner of war after being captured by German forces. H i s f a t h e r, L a u r i n o recalled, strongly encouraged him and his older broth-
er to join the Navy if America ever entered another war. H e v iv i d l y r e m e m b e r s hearing news of the attack on Pearl Harbor as a 14-yearold after leaving a Queens movie theater with his young er brother. “We sat down to have an ice cream soda, and the young man behind the counter said, ‘ We ’ re at w a r, ’ ” L a u r i n o r e c o u n t e d . “ We a s k e d , ‘Where’s Pearl Harbor?’ He said Hawaii.” At the time, Laurino was attending Stuyvesant High School, in Manhattan. He was also while in high school working roughly 30 hours a week, as he had since age 9, delivering bread throughout Astoria for 50 cents a day. The bread truck driver, a form e r S t u y ve s a n t s t u d e n t named Pete, taught Laurino algebra, trigonometry and F re n ch wh i l e t h e y m a d e deliveries. “He introduced me to r e a d i n g b o o k s, ” L a u r i n o said, “and the first book that I ever read was ‘20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.’” Determined to finish high school before being drafted, Laurino attended summer classes to complete the Regents exams necessary for g raduation. He ultimately passed them all, and enlisted in the Navy in December ConTinued on PaGe 7