United States Virgin Islands - St. Croix St. Croix YC Hospice Regatta
Two very different days of weather, two rainbows, five dolphins and 66 entries on the starting line made for a good venue to raise funds and awareness for hospice on St. Croix, at the St. Croix Yacht Club Hospice Regatta, February 19-21. Regatta director Julie San Martin announced the $50,000 fund raising goal was met through entry fees, donations and sponsorships. Continuum Care Foundation director Tracy Sanders accepted the regatta proceeds with gratitude, saying they will be used immediately for medical equipment and medications to give patients end-of-life comfort and dignity. View: COMPETITION On the one-design course inside Teague Bay, Chris Schreiber took honors in the Rhodes 19 class. He was also challenged by the wind shifts on Saturday, which put a premium on tactics and positioning. “Sunday was a gorgeous day,” he said, “with 10-14 knots of steady breeze.” Schreiber’s life has been touched by Hospice, and he enjoyed having fun while benefiting those who need end of life care. Matthew Flood escaped the cold in Westbrook, CT, and sailed his chartered 19-foot keelboat to a second-place finish. On the Buck Island Channel course, Robert Armstrong’s J-100, Bad Girl, won the Spinnaker Racing class with an all-Crucian crew and six top three finishes. Though helmsman Jens Hookanson was born in St. Croix, he has lived in the U.S. since age 16 and had never sailed in the annual SCYC regatta. He liked the race to Christiansted, followed by windward-leeward courses in the Channel. Tactician Carlos Skov is key to the program, according to Hookanson. Skov was especially touched by the win, as his mother was the first hospice patient on St. Croix, and weighed in at eight cases of Cruzan Rum. Armstrong and crew also received an invitation to the National Hospice Regatta Championships, to be sailed in Rochester, NY next June. Chris Stanton and his brothers’ Devil3 took second place, tied for points with Dave West’s Melges 32, Jurakan. Jib & Main competitor Steve Schmidt was awarded the Commodore’s Trophy for Best Visiting Yacht, SC-70 Hotel California, Too, (and best Margaritas), and Tortola’s Peter Haycraft won the Cape Air ticket raffle, as part of the Caribbean Ocean Racing Triangle (CORT) series. COMPASSION Continuum Care staffed a medical tent at the regatta, and treated sunburn, splinters, hangovers and one child who had a seizure. Supplies were donated by The Medicine Shoppe and Mt. Welcome Pharmacy, and the unused medical essentials will be further donated to Haiti relief. The St. Croix Yacht Club Hospice Regatta is the first leg of the Caribbean Ocean Racing Triangle, which will continue in Palmas Del Mar, PR, March 19, and end in Tortola, April 1.
Regatta website: http://www.stcroixregatta.com/
Hosted by: St. Croix Yacht Club Press contact e-mail address: regattapress@gmail.com.
Pre event info St. Croix YC Hospice Regatta Christiansted, VI, - October 5, 2009: A redesigned website, free online registration and instantly available race results are some of the new features of the 2010 St. Croix Yacht Club Hospice Regatta, according to Julie San Martin, regatta director. The annual party with international racing is scheduled for February 19-21, 2010, at the club in Teague Bay. “Skippers and crews of keelboats, cruisers, Optimists and multi-hulls should find the improvements to their liking,” she said, “and regatta management will be better able to put on a good race.” The web address remains, www.stcroixregatta.com. “Sponsors will like the direct links to their websites, too,” San Martin added, “Visitors can access the sites by clicking on a logo for more information.” The web designer, Luiz Kahl of Interactive Creations, used visually appealing graphics, organizational tabs, and links to island resources, regatta sponsors and racing management functions to make the user experience functional and easy. Past results, photos from the 2009 regatta, extensive information about hospice services and sponsorship opportunities, and access to online race management and information are also just a click away. Yacht Scoring, Kahl’s widely recognized yacht racing management and scoring system provides essential capabilities for participants, regatta organizers, and observers worldwide. The scoring service has been an integral part of the St. Thomas Yacht Club’s International Rolex Regatta since 2006, allowing organizers to post race results from multiple racing circles and classes, even before the crews get back to the clubhouse. St. Croix’s regatta organizers and participants can now enjoy online registration, downloadable event documents, such as Notice of Race and up-to-the-minute scratch sheets, crew/boat sign up board, and easy, instant communications to competitors. Regatta followers ashore can see how their favorites are doing simply by clicking on the website, thanks to real-time “Current Standings.” Results (race and cumulative) and competitors’ data are available immediately to the media and e-mail subscribers in a variety of formats, from detailed to summarized. Unlike some scoring programs, registrant information is entered only once to a single web-based data source, preventing errors caused by transferring or re-entering data for scoring, and again for publication. Individual passwords preserve data security while allowing access to authorized users. “Racers are encouraged to register now - pay later,” San Martin says, as entry fees aren’t due until February 19, 2010. However, early registration will help organizers plan a terrific party and competitive racing for all. Volunteers are also encouraged to sign up early and should see the website for complete information. “The St. Croix Yacht Club Hospice Regatta is run entirely by volunteers,” according to San Martin, “At least 40% of St. Croix Yacht Club’s 500 members are directly involved in February’s regatta. Fifty-six years ago, our club was formed for this very purpose!” Sponsors will like having their logos and website links posted on the site for all to see. Seaborne Airlines, SailProud Apparel, and West Marine are already on board and online. San Martin was pleased to sign on Premier Wine & Spirits and Cruzan Rum as returning regatta sponsors. She and Tracy Sanders, director of St. Croix hospice, Continuum Care, Inc., continue to look for individuals and companies to help raise funds and awareness for hospice care on St. Croix. Over one-third of the island’s population has inadequate insurance coverage for end-of-life care, though Continuum Care provides its services regardless of ability to pay. Funds raised are U.S. tax deductible per 501(c)(3) provisions. Sponsorship opportunities are listed on the regatta website, or from Julie San Martin, 340.690.9040, and Tracy Sanders 340.772.2273. More regatta info: The St. Croix Yacht Club Hospice Regatta will be held February 19-21, 2010. Inspired by Competition ~ Enhanced with Compassion, the organizers aim to raise funds and awareness for hospice on St. Croix. Continuum Care, Inc. is a Medicare-certified USVI company providing hospice care in the U. S. Virgin Islands. Fiscal non-profit sponsorship, provided by the St. Croix Foundation, offers donors 501(C)(3) tax deductible sponsorship options at several levels. See www.stcroixregatta.com for sponsorship opportunities and regatta information. The competition promises to be inspiring, with one-design and dinghy racing in Teague Bay and CSA handicap racing in the Buck Island Channel. Cruisers, live-aboards, and heavy displacement vessels with Simplified CSA ratings (to comprehend cubic feet of onboard refrigeration, drinkable canned goods and wine cellars) are invited for Hospice Class racing along the beautiful north shore of St. Croix. For more information on the regatta, hospice, St. Croix, and sponsorship opportunities, see www.stcroixregatta.com, or contact Julie San Martin, Regatta Director, 340.690.9040, or Ellen Sanpere, Media Relations, 312.285.9644. St. Croix Regatta to Raise Awareness and Funds for Local Hospice Care St. Croix Yacht Club Hospice Regatta “Goes Green” With SailProud Apparel Christiansted, VI, August 24, 2009: “SailProud Apparel will help the St. Croix Yacht Club Hospice Regatta ‘go green’ in 2010,” Regatta Director Julie San Martin announced today. The two year-old start-up company will offer beautifully functional, sustainable eco-friendly nautical apparel appealing to regatta participants, sponsors and visitors, while reducing the negative impact on the world’s environment. New race courses, including a long distance course especially designed for first time racers and live-aboard cruisers, will entice those heavy displacement vessels that don’t normally participate in standard windward/leeward racing. Hard-core racers (those without a six-month supply of wine and canned goods) will find the “sausage” and “triangle” courses they love in the Buck Island Channel, and one-design dinghy racers will race inside the reef in beautiful Teague Bay. A separate Teague Bay racing circle will host the under-15 set in Optimist dinghies. According to regatta director, Juliet San Martin, “We’ll give a start to anybody who shows up to race.”
The St. Croix Yacht Club Hospice Regatta is the first leg of the Caribbean Ocean Racing Triangle (C.O.R.T.), which continues in Culebra and the British Virgin Islands in March. As in the past, shore-side activities will include the famous Cruzan Rum party on Friday evening in the big tent, daily continental breakfast, live musical entertainment, and a weigh-in for winning skippers to receive his/her weight in Cruzan Rum. New in 2010: expanded on-site first aid facilities and a fundraising component to benefit Continuum Care, Inc., provider of hospice care in the Virgin Islands since 2000. While hospice care is a fully covered benefit under Medicare Part A and other health care plans, over 40% of patients on St. Croix have no insurance coverage at all. Continuum Care’s end-of-life services are provided regardless of a patient’s ability to pay, according to CCI founder Tracy Sanders, including emergency care, pain relief, caregiver and family education and grief counseling. Funds raised by the regatta will help to ensure continuing coverage for all who require supportive care in their final days.
St. Croix Yacht Club, founded in 1952, has hosted an international regatta since 1993. The club has approximately 500 members and is housed on 6 beachfront acres on St. Croix’s residential East End. The club burgee is reminiscent of the Danish flag, a white cross on a red background, with a sugar mill base in the center, symbols of Denmark’s influence on St. Croix. The United States purchased the Danish West Indies in 1917. The international regatta continues to be an all-volunteer event, well known for its legendary Crucian hospitality. The regatta’s affiliation with the National Hospice Regatta Alliance brings to the Virgin Islands great racing inspired by competition, enhanced with compassion.
St. Croix YC Hospice Regatta
'Glory Daze - 16th Annual St. Croix International Regatta' Ellen Sanpere Click Here to view large photo Hotel California, Too sailed from Curacao to race in St. Croix with pick up crew - 16th Annual St. Croix International Regatta - Ellen Sanpere Click Here to view large photo Steven Schmidt sailed 'a horrible trip' from Curaçao single-handed to race his Santa Cruz 70CR, Hotel California, Too, in the Main & Jib class, 'But the regatta was worth it,' he said. With a record-breaking 20 pick-up crew members on the rail, the customized sled made short work of the Gallows Bay course but did better on the triangles and windward-leewards on corrected time. 'They did good, we broke stuff,' said Schmidt regarding his second-place finish behind Tony Sanpere’s recently acquired J-36, Cayennita Grande. Sanpere raced with Schmidt last year and said, 'What we broke was smaller stuff than what they broke, except we almost lost a crew overboard.' Sanpere bought the vintage 1981 boat in Marblehead last fall and has a brand new crew, some of whom have never raced before. He said 'the crew came together better with each race,' and he was pleased with the victory, especially as the boat’s new instruments had not been wired yet. Chris Stanton’s Devil 3 won spinnaker 1 - 16th Annual St. Croix International Regatta - Ellen Sanpere Click Here to view large photo Chris Stanton and his brothers, Peter and Scott, took their Melges 24, Devil 3, to a Spinnaker 1 victory with six bullets in seven races. However, the Cruzan Rum went to the most competitive class, Spinnaker 2, where Chris Thompson of St. Thomas drove his J-27, J Walker, off the jib and flogged the main. His largest crewman, Frank Barnes, got the important job of sitting on the scales. Chris Thompson has crewman Frank Barns sit in at the weighing for the rum - 16th Annual St. Croix International Regatta - Ellen Sanpere Click Here to view large photo Tortola’s Guy Eldridge won the rum for the Racer-Cruiser/Main & Jib fleet on his Beneteau First 10R, Luxury Girl. The Commodore’s trophy and two Cape Air round trip tickets went to Peter Haycraft for his many years of having the best visiting boat, Pipedream, a Serena 38. Thompson, Schmidt, Sanpere, Stanton and several other skippers will compete again in Culebra and in the BVI, the next and final legs of the Caribbean Ocean Racing Triangle (C.O.R.T.) Inside the reef, in beautiful Teague Bay, three Rhodes 19’s raced on the one-design course with new SCYC commodore, Allan Mallory taking home the trophy. San Martin had encouraging news regarding the future of the St. Croix regatta, which has not had a name sponsor the past two years: the event will be affiliated with the National Hospice Regatta Alliance for 2010. As a charity race, all contributions are (U.S.) tax deductible and will go toward great racing and sorely needed hospice care for an aging population. Getting started early, $2200 was donated during the awards ceremony to Continuum Care, St. Croix’s hospice, which has cared for 800 families during its eight years of operations. Regatta website: www.stcroixregatta.com Regatta photos by Rob Jones and Ellen Sanpere Photo Album 1 -- Photo Album 2 -- Photo Album 3 -- Photo Album 4 Regatta website: http://www.stcroixregatta.com/
Hosted by: St. Croix Yacht Club Press contact e-mail address: regattapress@gmail.com.
Continuum Care Website: www.ccivi.com Continuum Contact: Tracy Sanders, RN, MN, CNS (Founder and CEO), email:tracyscci@gmail.com Pre-event St. Croix Regatta to raise awareness and funds for Local Hospice Care
2009 regatta results are posted here The St. Croix Yacht Club has announced acceptance of their annual international regatta by the National Hospice Regatta Alliance with fiscal non-profit sponsorship by the St. Croix Foundation. Regatta organizers intend to attract both new sponsors and new racers to this 501(c)(3) charitable event, while raising awareness and funds for their local hospice, Continuum Care, Inc. The date to save is February 19-21, 2010. Read the entire article:
There are new dates - one week later than in past years - and a whole new tack for the 16th Annual St. Croix International Regatta, hosted by the St. Croix Yacht Club (SCYC), St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, February 20-22. This year, the event joins a network of nearly thirty regattas in the U.S. and Canada that are members of the National Hospice Regatta Alliance. Regatta director, Julie San Martin, explains, "When our second year came around with no large corporate sponsor, it was my responsibility as director to figure out how to fund our regatta. Bob Phillips, a Storm Trysail member, pointed me toward this concept and one of my race committee members has participated in the Annapolis event frequently in the past. It seemed the perfect fit - we need sponsors and could not attract them without the non-profit designation. Plus, our local hospices are almost invisible, particularly to the poorest levels of our society. The goal is to grow our event while simultaneously making our community aware of a valuable resource and raising money to support this resource." What does this mean for sailors? "Sailors sponsored by businesses can now qualify for non-profit participation," says San Martin. "For example, EDC companies are required to donate a minimum amount to local non-profits." While the name will change in 2010 to reflect affiliation with the National Hospice Regatta Alliance, the St. Croix International Regatta will retain everything that competitors and visitors have come to love. This includes the top quality race committee, drop dead gorgeous private beachfront facility and organizers who not only notice that you've come, but welcome you personally. "We expect approximately 40 boats in Racing, Performance Cruiser or Racer Cruiser, Jib & Main, Large Multihull, Beach Cat and IC24 classes," says San Martin. Boats already registered to compete include Melges 24s, J/27s, J/80s, and 6 to 10 IC24s. Most of the racing will take place in the windy Buck Island channel. However, San Martin says, "All the big boats will get a Christiansted Harbor course, but not all at the same time. Traffic control at the harbor entrance gets dangerous when you get more than a dozen boats. Spinnakers will go one day, other classes will go the next day. If the weather is difficult, we'll put the turning mark outside the harbor entrance, in Beauregard Bay, off the Buccaneer Hotel." The signature feature of this regatta is that the skipper of the winning boat - defined as the most competitive boat in the most competitive class - wins his or her weight in Cruzan Rum. "New this year," says San Martin, "there will be a second skippers weigh-in for rum. One for CSA Spinnaker Racing 1 and 2, and the other will be for all the most competitive boat in the other classes." The "other" classes include Racer Cruiser, Jib & Main, IC24, Rhodes 19, Beach Cats and large multihulls. Visiting yachts will find plenty of mooring room in Teague Bay where the draft is 7-feet. The club operates a free shuttle from moorings to shore. Dockage at Green Cay Marina and St. Croix Marine is available by reservation. There are no charter boats and no bareboat classes. Off the water, a Cruzan Rum Welcome Party kicks-off the fun. There is live music and beach barbecues all weekend culminating with the Awards Ceremony at 5 p.m. on Sunday February 22. The Notice of Race (NOR) and electronic entry form are available at www.stcroixregatta.com. For more information, Tel: 340-773-9531; Fax: 340-778-8350; Email: stcroixyc@gmail.com.
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Championship 2009 | hospiceregattas.org Last Update 8.10.10
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Pipedream, Jurakan, and some non-registered entrants
