Offshore Sailing School’s founder/owners Steve and Doris Colgate welcomed 50 sailors and guests for a weekend of competitive sailing, January 8-10, 2015 at The Pink Shell Beach Resort & Marina on Ft. Myers Beach, Fla. At the end of the “friendly competition” on January 9 Steve announced that, “$10,000 was raised for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, increasing the total cash donation from Offshore Sailing School to LLS to $135,000 over the past five years, in addition to sailing course tuitions donated to Leukemia Cup Regattas across the country.” This Party with a Purpose, in memory of St. Charles YC (Ft. Myers) past commodore Chuck Wright who battled acute myeloma leukemia, was presented by Merrill Lynch Wealth Management with contributions from participants, friends and supporters of Offshore Sailing School and LLS.
Four of the most accomplished skippers in the world donated their time and talent for the Regatta weekend
- Gary Jobson – award-winning journalist, TV commentator, author of 18 sailing books, multi-time America’s Cup competitor, Chairman of the Leukemia Cup Regatta program, and lymphoma survivor
- Dawn Riley – the first woman to manage an entire America’s Cup syndicate, first American to sail in three America’s Cups and two Whitbread Round the World races, and founder of AC contender campaign for America True, now running Oakcliff Sailing Center
- Ed Baird – America’s Cup winner Team New Zealand and Alinghi, three-time Match Racing World Champion, ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year, Ed Baird
- Mark Reynolds – four-time consecutive Olympian, two World Championships and three-time Olympic Gold medalist.
Regatta crews hailed from New York, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Florida, and Alberta, Canada. The Regatta races were exceptionally close on the Gulf of Mexico off Ft. Myers Beach and the results were:
- 1st place – Ed Baird, Tim Cordle, Roman Kierzek, Joe Gilles
- 2nd place – Mark Reynolds, Nick Lubar, Joe Wieland, Mike Piazza
- 3rd place – Dawn Riley, David Edwards, Stephen Colen, Robin Mills
- 4th place – Gary Jobson, Tim Wade with sons, Tripp and Mike Wade
Steve Colgate thanked regatta presenting sponsor Merrill Lynch Wealth Management for their support in helping raise funds to find cures for blood cancers, and in-kind sponsors: The Pink Shell Beach Resort & Marina, Cruising World and *Sailing World *magazines. Members of the St. Charles Yacht Club in Ft. Myers, Fla. also supported the event by hosting spectator boats and purchasing tickets to attend the Regatta Awards Dinner. Raffle tickets for limited-edition Colgate 26 sailboat models also contributed to the event’s success.
Celebrity skipper Ed Baird
Headquartered in Fort Myers, Fla. with five sailing vacation campuses in Florida and the Caribbean, and two commuter locations on New York Harbor, Offshore Sailing School has taught more than 130,000 adults and their families to sail or improve their sailing skills since Olympian and America’s s Cup sailor Steve Colgate, founded the School in 1964.
For additional information on Offshore Sailing School, call 800-221-4326 or visit www.offshoresailing.com.
