Regatta raises $.25m for cancer

Both “Ace of Hearts” and “Stag Brut Force” completed a one-two on the second day of the recent  two- day Cancer Benefit Regatta at the Trinidad and Tobago Sailing Association Headquarters, Chaguaramas. Now in its fourth year, the regatta raised $266,000, through sailing activities and a silent Art Auction, for the Trinidad and Tobago Cancer Society (TTCS) and the Cancer Society of the South (CSS) in aid of much needed research and facility upgrades. The Art Auction which put the work of Trinidad an Tobago’s prominent artists under the gavel managed to take in  $112,000. Calder Hart, the driving force in the regatta’s sails, expressed great pleasure with these contributions and paid tribute to the efforts of Judy Grimshaw and her team of women who saw the auction realise and even surpass their goals.

Both the TTCS are currently involved in drives to increase awareness about the disease, encourage early detection, the purchase of sophisticated testing equipment to facilitate the proper diagnosis of afflicted individuals and the continuing improvement of patient care facilities. On the water, the experience of the race officers helped them get past the uncharacteristically light wind on April 3 and the 10-12 knot wind the following day. This resulted in them shortening the first race and setting the courses to the east to get the full benefit of breeze for the second and third races to keep the competition keen. Lloyd De Roche and crew enjoyed a dream start winning the Cruising Class aboard “Nirvana” on Saturday on Peake Race Day. “After Hours” with Sydney Knox and crew aboard was second and Joe O’Connor on “Nesta” added some international flavour finishing third.

Described as a “shrewd reader of tide, wind, and current conditions” De Roche continued a good run throughout the season with a performance which earned him the overall winner accolade in the Cruising Class. “Slippery When Wet” fulfilled expectations and took the Racing Class on Peake Race Day followed by Paul Solomon and Reginald Amour on “Enzyme” in second and Dougie Myers and crew aboard “Legacy.” The Race Cruisers were led to the finish by James Arrindell and Crew aboard “Jahaji Bhai”. “Breakaway” skippered by Ian Mahon was second and “Les Remous” with Michael Lewis and Crew aboard were in third position. In race two of the second day “Stag Brut Force” with Glen Castagne and crew aboard came out of their shell as the less experienced crew fit into first position in the Racing Class.

For Castagne there was more pleasure as he beat his sailing mentor Dougie Myers aboard “Legacy” into second and “Bacchanal Woman” with Donald Stollmeyer and crew in third. With the win Castagne completed the double having won the Racing Class in the Hugh Myers Memorial race, the first race on day two, beating “Enzyme” and Marc De Verteuil and crew on “Pressure” into second and third respectively.

“Ace of Hearts’” double in the Cruising Class was realised when the vessel skippered by founding father Calder Hart beat “After Hours” and “Nirvana” in the Hugh Myers Memorial and “Nirvana” and Helen Alves and crew aboard “Rouge into second and third in their respective races. The Racer Cruiser Class was a mix up throughout the second day as “Blurred Vision”, Laurence Aqui and crew aboard won the Hugh Myers Memorial Race with Joe Brown’s “Mayumi” and Rupert Grimshaw and crew on “Merlin” third. The second race saw “Mayumi” in first position, “Merlin” still in third and “Les Remous” filling the gap between the two.