Sandy-Damaged Racing Boat Repaired and Back on Water

A racing sailboat that was nearly destroyed during Superstorm Sandy has returned to the water in style.

The Sinn Fein was among about 30 boats stowed at the Raritan Yacht Club in Perth Amboy, N.J., when the storm hit. It was the only one that wasn’t destroyed, but it suffered extensive damage to its rudder, mast, engine and electrical system.

Twenty months later, the Sinn Fein is back in the water and last week finished third in its class in a race from Newport to Bermuda.

The boat’s 82-year-old captain, Metuchen resident Peter Rebovich, has owned the boat since 1973. He tells the Star-Ledger of Newark that the crew was elated and that the boat performed better than he’d expected.