SAILORS RACE, RAISE FUNDS FOR LEUKEMIA CURE
by Kathy Bohanan Enzerink
Sailors around the country have teamed up with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) since 1993 to raise funds and awareness to cure this family of cancers.
Raising Sails, Raising Funds, the 2012 Leukemia Regatta at Oriental, is June 9 and 10 at River Dunes. A boating community nestled among luxury homes and cottages, Grace Harbor is just north of Oriental, North Carolina with easy access from the Neuse River at ICW mile marker 173.
Forty-five sailboats entered the 2011 Regatta, according to J.C. Cappelmann, Director of Operations at River Dunes.
“We placed 17th by raising $90,000 dollars,” said Cappelmann. “We’re shooting to be in the top ten this year with more boats racing and double the corporate sponsorships.”
There is friendly but stiff competition among skippers and other fundraising teams nationwide to bring in large donations for chances to win coveted prizes including a Fantasy Sail weekend with Regatta Founder, “world class sailor” and America’s Cup Winner Gary Jobson, a lymphoma survivor.
Don’t sail? Don’t race? No problem. Anyone interested in regattas and a passion about raising funds to cure cancer can participate, including sailboat enthusiasts, skippers, sailors and spectators who like to cheer from the shore. Monetary donations can be made to support individual captains and crew or direct to LLS, volunteering during the event and by partaking in the Shore-side Celebration Saturday night.
Proceeds from The Leukemia Cup Regattas, held at yacht clubs across the country between January and October each year, help advance The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s mission, to “Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s lymphoma and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families.” This mission is accomplished by funding extensive research for treatments, cures, government advocacy, patient assistance programs, community outreach and education programs.
“This is a fun event for a very worthwhile cause,” said Cappelmann. “I’m proud of the support we receive from the Oriental boating community and River Dunes’ contribution to curing cancer.”
TEXAS OUTLAW CHALLENGE DRAWS PERFORMANCE BOATS TO POKER RUN
By Rob Lucey
KEMAH, Texas – When Texans do things, they do them big, and the Fifth Annual Texas Outlaw Challenge June 21-24 will be one huge poker run.
On Thursday, the event registration 4-10 p.m. will be accompanied by a Stampede Street Party along the Kemah Boardwalk with a “Circle the Wagons” truck and boat display. A Sharp Shooter Party finishes out the night at the Turtle Club on Clear Lake.
Friday registration continues noon-7 p.m., and so does the fun, with a Texas-sized pool party. The boats will also hit the water 1100-noon for Extreme Shoot-Out Runs on a marked course on Galveston Bay. The day is rounded out with a Denim and Diamonds dinner and silent auction.
Saturday kicks off with a Horse Power breakfast and safety meeting before hitting the water with GPS units for the Gunslinger Poker Run. Participants must visit checkpoints, drawing a playing card at each one. The object is to have the best poker hand at the end of the run.
More than 18 classes of boats will include vee hulls, cat hulls and performance cruisers of various sizes. A Big Gun Award will be a given for the fastest boat of the event. Smaller boats will have a course on Clear Lake with larger boats running into Galveston Bay.
Participants must return their tokens and GPS units by 7 p.m. The Texas barbecue dinner and poker run games run 6-8 p.m. with prizes and awards handed out at 9 p.m. followed by a Miss Outlaw Bikini Contest at 10 a.m. and a saloon party crawl into the wee hours.
“Back in the Saddle Sunday” starts with a Red-Eye Round-up brunch followed by a raft-up and another pool party.
Registration is required for all events. Visit texasoutlawchallenge.com for details.
BIODEGRADABLE SHAMPOO: GOOD FOR YOU, GOOD FOR THE WATER
Savon de Mer fresh & saltwater shampoo is a dual-purpose hair and body-gel that is proported to work in fresh, salt, brackish and hard water.
It works in the ocean, in rivers or lakes as it is biodegradable and pH neutral. The green conscious boater can be assured that what goes down the drain won’t harm the marine environment. The soap has been popular in the Caribbean as well as the Pacific and Atlantic Seaboards, and is available in selected marine stores or you can order online savondemer.com.
FISHING INDUSTRY COLLEAGUES & HELL’S BAY PRO TEAM REMEMBER JOSE WEJEBE
As the family and friends of Capt. Jose Wejebe prepared for his Celebration of Life memorial – which took place in mid-April in South Florida – the outpouring from the boating and fishing communities continued for the popular guide, producer and TV host who was admired for his kindness and recognized for his many charitable efforts, especially in the Florida Keys.
Wejebe, 54, of Summerland Key, died early Friday evening, April 6th, after his single-engine plane he was piloting crashed shortly after takeoff in Everglades City, Fla. Weather is believed to have been a factor. He was the respected host of the long-running Spanish Fly fishing show which began in 1995 on ESPN and later on the Outdoor Channel.
Wejebe was also a valued member of the Hell’s Bay Boatworks’ world class pro team, a unique blend of flats captains, authors, producers, TV hosts and leading fly and light tackle fishing educators all who shared Jose’s love for fishing and the environment.
Wejebe was respected for his generosity, donating hundreds of hours to causes not only involving conservation but especially those for children such as Make-A-Wish, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, and the Redbone Celebrity Tournament Series raising funds for cystic fibrosis research.
“It’s where he was first noticed and got his start in television nearly two decades ago,” said Redbone founder Capt. Gary Ellis, “when outdoor program producer Jerry McKinnis was filming a show at the Redbone’s Mariner Outboards SLAM tournament in Key West in 1993.
“Jose was a popular young Keys guide who volunteered his efforts to fish the Redbone events.”
The affable Cuban-born guide, whose family fled Fidel Castro’s Cuba when Jose was a youngster, was presented an opportunity by McKinnis to host his own TV show and began filming in 1994 for the 1995 initial season of Spanish Fly.
“It’s a great loss,” said a saddened Ellis. “Jose gave our industry a very positive image showing fishing at its best, with his charitable involvements and the conservation efforts of catch-and-release in the Florida Keys.”
