Jobson
Hosts Leukemia Cup Finale
LONG
BEACH---Forty-five sailors from across the U.S.
with a common bond beyond sailboat racing marked
the end of another successful Volvo Leukemia Cup
season in the "Fantasy Sail with Gary Jobson"
Oct. 25.
 |
Brian
Carter of Frisco, Tex. drives through the
fog to first place in the "Fantasy
sail With Gary Jobson" Volvo Leukemia
Cup series finale at Long Beach. Photo by
Rich Roberts
|
Jobson,
TV commentator and author, has long been the national
chairman of the series of 45 regattas benefiting
the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Ironically,
he was diagnosed with lymphoma earlier this year.
Jobson
did not sail but hosted a reception at the Hyatt
Regency Hotel afterward. He had undergone a chemotherapy
treatment in Maryland a day earlier and was scheduled
to start a month-long stem cell transplant procedure
two days later. Earlier this month he was inducted
into the Rolex America's Cup Hall of Fame, along
with Alan Bond, who led Australia's winning campaign
at Newport, R.I. in 1983.
Individuals
who had raised $7,500 or more for the charity
through participation in their local regattas
received an expense-paid trip to Long Beach. Five
skippers were selected off their submitted résumés
and the teams sailed Catalina 37s from the Long
Beach Sailing Foundation.
Winds
were only 6-8 knots in fog that limited visibility
to 100 yards or less, but Brian Carter of Frisco,
Tex. found his way around the short windward-leeward
course for a 3-1-1-2 afternoon.
Like
most of his rivals, he had never seen a Catalina
37, never raced with a wheel instead of a tiller
and met his crew at a dinner the previous night.
"We
were also light on local knowledge," Carter
said, "but we just let everybody do what
they wanted to do. I put the boat where I wanted
to and they did everything else."
Also
like his rivals, Carter's family had been personally
touched by leukemia or lymphoma. His wife Pam,
who also was on the boat, has a cousin who lost
a 4-year-old daughter.
 |
David
Strathman, 17, a leukemia survivor from
Fort Collins, Colo., takes a turn on the
helm alongside his father Stan. Photo by
Rich Roberts
|
Another
competitor was David Strathman, 17, of Fort Collins,
Colo., who said his condition has been in remission
for 4 1/2 years and hasn't stopped him from sailing
a J/22.
"There's
really no choice," Strathman said. "I
just take it one day at a time."
Strathman's
skipper was Tom Vickers of Michigan. They finished
third.
Dale
Frye of San Diego sailed with Carter. Frye is
known locally for racing his Dencho 33, James
Earl, named for his father who died of leukemia.
Also on board were Barry Levy, commodore of Newport
Beach's Bahia Corinthian YC; Bob Knowles, Baltimore;
Brian Leach, Rhode Island, and Bonnie Schloss,
Silver Springs, Md.
The
Leukemia Cup series has raised $7.5 million over
the past six years. National sponsors have been
West Marine, Mt. Gay Rum, Sailing world magazine,
The Moorings, North sails, John McCray and Ken
Gardiner.
Results:
1. Brian Carter, Frisco, Tex. (3-1-1-2), 8 points;
2. Bob Norton, Edgecomb, Maine (1-2-5-1), 9; 3.
Tom Vickers, Grosse Point Farms, Mich. (2-3-4-3),
12; 4. Bob Maher, Metairie, La. (4-5-2-4), 15;
5. R.J. Lewy, Dana Point (5-4-3-5), 17.
