Saturday July 10, 2010
We are pleased to announce that for 2010, we will once again join forces with the Niagara-on-the-Lake Sailing Club to plan an international regatta that will serve as the qualifier race for our NHRA National Championship Race. This event will take place the day after our cruise & clambake on Saturday, July 10th and will be followed by dinner and awards at the NOTL Sailing Club.
The fact that we are combining two well-known events will certainly be of benefit to both sailing clubs. From our perspective, it will mean additional participation at our cruise and clambake, along with an increased number of race participants. We plan to promote the event as a weekend of boating and sailing fun, offering unique and exciting opportunities for both the serious race enthusiast and those guests sailing and cruising in support of Hospice.
The Jack Beatty Hospice Memorial Regatta is a qualifier race for the National Hospice Regatta Alliance Championship. It is open to all yachts with a valid PHRF certificate, C&C-29's, J-22's, and Sharks. The National Hospice Regatta Alliance (NHRA), represents 27 organizations that host local sailing regattas to benefit hospices across the U.S. and Canada. The 2011 NHRA Regatta will be hosted by the Rochester Yacht Club (RYC) and will showcase the many local Hospice Regattas and celebrate their 2010 winners.
Finally, we would like to thank Robert MacLachlan (Niagara-on-the-Lake Sailing Club) along with Paul Hays (YYC) and his race committee for another great year of racing! If you would like additional information about this event please contact Paul Hays at paul.hays@paulhays.net or visit the YYC website at www.yyc.org for further details. A portion of the race fees will be donated to Niagara Hospice. Thanks to everyone who participated in this years' event! We hope to see you compete again in 2011!
PRESS RELEASE (JUNE 2009)
Hospice Regattas Compete for National Championship
Rochester, NY – Twenty-one teams of sailors from all over the country completed the 10th annual Hospice Regattas National Championship, held for the first time this year in Rochester, New York.
The 2009 Champions are John Enwright and his team representing the Charity Cup Regatta that benefits Hospice of Jefferson County, New York.
Second and third places were won by Brook Richardson representing the local Rochester hospice regatta, and Gary Tisdale representing the annual hospice regatta in Niagara County, New York. While Lake Ontario teams placed well in this first championship of three hosted by Rochester Yacht Club, they were closely challenged by the competition, especially the teams from San Diego, California, and Raritan Bay, New Jersey.
Competitors qualified for the championship through the many local hospice regattas nationwide that raise money and awareness for hospice care in their communities. The benefiting hospices provide support and medical services for patients and families facing end-of-life challenges. Last year, more than 50 hospices received over $1.6 million to cover services not covered by insurance, and to care for patients and families without insurance. Key to the hospice concept is that it is available to anyone, regardless of the ability to pay.
“The championship is our way of recognizing and celebrating the accomplishments of the hospice regattas all year,” said Jean Kluttz, president of the National Hospice Regatta Alliance, an association for the network of events which number 26 this year. “We were pleased to accept the generous offer of Rochester Yacht Club and local volunteers to organize the Championship for 2009, and delighted with the result both on the water and on shore.”
This year’s championship benefited from outstanding event and race management by Rochester Yacht Club, which collaborates with Lifetime Care on a successful local hospice regatta each August. The championship was sailed as a round-robin of 18 races in three days, in 12 new Sonar sailboats outfitted with new sails, thanks to the generosity of Shumway Marine donating the boats and local citizens and companies sponsoring production of brand-new sails for them. “The new boats and sails ensured an equal fleet for teams from the many different hospice regattas,” Kluttz added.
“The host committee was pleased to welcome these winning teams to Rochester and to have conditions that were just right for good racing for a great cause,” said Hank Stuart, who co-chaired the event with Mary Stuart, John Doyle and Lauren Doyle.
For more information about hospice regattas and the Hospice Regattas National Championship, visit www.hospiceregattas.org.
About the National Hospice Regatta Alliance :
The NHRA is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) association of hospice regattas that independently raise money and awareness for hospices in their communities. Its all-volunteer board represents a rapidly expanding network of regattas that publicize Hospice care -- from the East to the West Coast, from the Great Lakes to Florida. The mission of the NHRA is to promote hospice care through sailing regattas, and to help hospice regattas grow and learn from each other. Since the first hospice regatta in 1982, more than 20,000 sailors, sponsors and volunteers have raised more than $12 million to provide hospice care to terminal patients and their families without regard to ability to pay.
About the Hospice Regattas National Championship :
Held annually since 2000, the Hospice Regattas National Championship was the first sailing championship for charity in the U.S. To promote local regatta efforts supporting hospice programs in their communities, the championship offers three days of sailboat racing for one winning skipper and crew from every local regatta having completed two regattas. Most of the previous Championships have been conducted in Annapolis, where the original Hospice Cup event began in 1982. The 2001 Championship was held in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and will now be held in Rochester, New York, through 2011. The NHRA board hopes varying the Championship location will allow more people to learn about the local regattas and about hospice.
About the Rochester Yacht Club :
Incorporated in 1877, the Rochester Yacht Club celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2002 and is still going strong. The club’s first regatta was held in 1877 with eight sail boats competing, and it hosted 104 boats at the J/22 World Championship in August 2008. RYC also hosts Rochester’s local Hospice Regatta in odd-numbered years; the Rochester event will be held at RYC on August 21-23 this year. The club’s purpose is to provide and encourage interests and instruction in areas of yachts and yachting, seamanship, racing and traditions of yachting. By car, RYC is seven miles from the heart of Rochester, Monroe County, New York, and it is located on the south shore of Lake Ontario and accessible from the Genesee River.
