NATIONAL HOSPICE REGATTA CHAMPIONSHIP - March 23-25, 2001 Fort Lauderdale, Florida

A FEW GOOD SAILORS Fort Lauderdale, March 25 - Of the hundreds of good sailors who enjoyed racing in their regional hospice regattas last year, 13 teams raced this weekend in the second National Hospice Regatta Championship, the only national sailing championship for charity.

These sailors represent the best of their fleets in the regional hospice regattas of 2000. Each regional team arrived Friday for a day of practice and two days of racing loaned J/105s on the Atlantic Ocean off Fort Lauderdale.

Each day, racing was delayed from the scheduled 11:00 start until a good Southeasterly breeze filled in for two great afternoons for everyone out on the water. Guests on spectator boats were treated to some very close racing. But the contest for top honors was clearly between the San Francisco team on "Masquerade," and the South Carolina team on "Phantom."

Leading one-two going into Sunday's racing, both Danny Shea for San Francisco and Michael Lague for South Carolina hoped to hold and improve their postions. But they had to work hard to maintain their leads.

Race 4, Hank Stuart's Rochester, NY, team on "Airborne" and Dave Alexander's Hampton Roads, VA, team on "Slam Dunk" surged forward to take first and second, with South Carolina third. Then Steve Phillips's Rhode Island team took the gun in race 5, on "Odyssey," with Scott Kulp and the Havre de Grace, MD, team close behind on "Tern V."

Lauderdale Yacht Club managed this event so flawlessly that many were giving them credit for the excellent sailing conditions. However, what they did was to know the right calls to make at the right time. Overall organization, including shore events each evening, was handled by HospiceCare of Southeast Florida and a huge corps of volunteers. Both hosts now can take a deep breath and finish preparing to run their own hospice regatta in May.

Major sponsors include J Boats and BoatUS, supplemented by other corporations and individuals. With their support, the championship focuses a national spotlight on the regional regattas and the essential supportive and medical services that hospices provide to adults and children who are faced with living a more limited time or are dealing with the death of a loved one.

One team from each of this year's seventeen hospice regattas will qualify for the 2002 hospice regatta championship.

Results for Saturday and Sunday, March 24-25, 2001