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Biddle's crew shines in Hospice Cup By NANCY NOYES, For The Capital -- Published September 16, 2004 Copyright ©2004 The Capital, Annapolis, Md. Jack Biddle might not have earned his class' top spot in last Saturday's Hospice Cup XXIII, but he and his Rum Puppy crew turned in a solid performance in difficult conditions to take the Hospice Cup Trophy. The trophy recognizes the best performance over the past three years. Biddle's team gave up first and second in the 11-boat J/105 class to Stewart and Eric Greene and their Dove crew and Art Libby's Results team, respectively, but when scored on a high-point basis with last year's second-place finish of 20 and a win in 2002's 24-boat class, Rum Puppy emerged over several teams in other classes to take the big trophy. Sailing with Biddle on Saturday were Cap Pin, Leigh Patterson, Will Crump, Paul Murphy, and Mike Mergenthaler. "It was a tough race," Biddle said. "It was very shifty and kind of died at the end. We had some problems with some smaller boats it was hard to get around." Sailing the three-legged, 4.76-mile course, Biddle said, "There were three of us that got the big right shift - Dove, Results, and us. I'm sure we all thought we had it won at various points during the last leg. It was a real battle for the last half hour." Biddle said he had run the numbers before the race to see if he could determine what he would have to do to win the Hospice Cup. "We figured mathematically that with 12 or 13 boats in our class, if we were first or second, we could win it," he said. "And then there were just 11 boats, and we were third. We didn't know we'd won it until the party." Biddle had his eye on defending Hospice Cup champions Don and Michele Zinn and their Captain Tripps team, and on Othmar von Blumencron and the Dame Blanche team, both of whom arguably the biggest threats among the top five or six contenders for the top honor. Winning the Hospice Cup qualifies Biddle to sail in next April's National Hospice Regatta Championship. This regatta, which has been contested in Annapolis for the past three years in J/105s lent by members of the local fleet for the occasion, has not yet been won by a local team, but the next one may well be different. "I've been sailing as a donating skipper for the last three years," Biddle said, "so it will be nice to see what we can do in our home waters on a J/105." Biddle explained that most Chesapeake Bay J/105s have had shoal-draft keels, which has made them ineligible to travel to national competitions elsewhere, and to host national events here on the Bay. This is changing, however; many of the boats already have been pulled and are having deep keels installed, and many more will be doing so very soon. "I actually put off having my keel replaced so I could do Hospice Cup," Biddle said. "Hospice took care of both my parents, and made it possible for them to pass away at home, so it means a lot to me," he explained. But because CBYRA High Point scoring for the class for 2004 will be done for the shoal-drafters only before switching next year, Biddle needed to retain his old keel for the occasion. Although it will take a week or more for final figures to be available, this year's Hospice Cup has definitely raised over $550,000 to directly benefit six area hospices in Maryland, Northern Virginia, and Washington: Capital Hospice, Community Hospices, Hospice of the Chesapeake, Montgomery Hospice, Hospice of Queen Anne's, and St. Agnes Hospice.
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