In addition to the chance to spend April in sunny St. Petersburg, Florida, Havre de Grace Yacht Club sailors were also able to compete in three days of sailboat racing to support Hospice. Competing at the national level as one of 18 teams from the United States and Canada, Havre de Grace should take pride that our own team finished in fifth place.
Local dentist and avid J-24 racer Chuck Sheets skippered the winning boat at last June’s Senator Bob Hooper House Hospice Regatta. That win qualified him and his crew to participate at the National Hospice Regatta. Rick Prothero, a Havre de Grace physical therapist and regular crew aboard Sheets’ boat joined Sheets at the event, along with crew members David Boonstoppel and Dave Lauser. Captain Sheets said that the crew gave him a hard time because the team didn’t have matching team shirts like other racers. Even without a coordinated, professional look, the team from Havre de Grace stayed quite competitive in the light to moderate wind conditions. Chuck said that “our crew work was flawless, we had great downwind speed, and we only hit one boat!”
The team was a bit intimidated competing at this level, as “we didn’t know what to expect. But by the end of the first day, we saw that no boat was more than 50 yards ahead of us,” Prothero said. The team had never sailed the type of boats used in the Regatta, an Ideal 18 and Sonar 22. The boats were “a far cry from the J-24 we race weekly. And of course, sailing on Tampa Bay is very different than the typical Thursday night races off Tidewater Marina”.
The team was very pleased to support Hospice, and they look forward to the local qualifying Regatta. The 15th Annual Senator Bob Hooper House Hospice Regatta is scheduled for Saturday, June 7, at the Lighthouse. That Regatta raises funds to keep services at the Senator Bob Hooper Hospice House affordable for Harford County residents. The Hospice House is an assisted living community that specializes in end-of-life care, and many people needing this level of care also need help paying for it. Regatta funds provide this help.
The sailboat race, provided by the Havre de Grace Yacht Club, is preceded by a Memorial Parade of Sails when each competing sailboat flies burgee flags named in memory of prior Hospice patients. During and after the race, guests will enjoy a party with music, dancing, silent and live auctions, along with the priceless opportunity to support local hospice care. And the winning boat will be eligible to compete in the 2015 National Hospice Regatta. Tickets for the Hospice Regatta, June 7, are available at: uchfoundation.org
