An addition: How could I forget that "The Nudge" aka Bill Buck himself is also doing RC? <br><br>~Mike<br><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Aug 18, 2009 at 10:40 PM, Michael Heinsdorf <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:mheinsdorf@gmail.com">mheinsdorf@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">All,<br><br>I'm not sure if everyone knows at the moment, but the Presidents/Leukemia Cup in Washington, DC this year is honoring someone who has been actively involved in the US Albacore Fleet for several years. Bob Bear was recently diagnosed with and is currently undergoing treatment in Baltimore for Leukemia. He's has not let Leukemia stop him from sailing this summer and according to a synopsis of his recent update from Peter Duncan, may actually win the Albacore Summer Series at West River (see update below my signature) despite only sailing two days of the series. Yep, he's that good. <br>
<br>As long as I have known him, Bob has always been very active in the Albacore fleet, sailing in most of the regattas I have attended, and several I haven't. He's also always been active in the Class leadership and most recently is the Vice President of the North American fleet, responsible for organizing our regattas, such as Nationals and North Americans. This year, there is a regatta for him.<br>
<br>Unfortunately, before many of us in the local fleet knew about Bob, we had already signed up to do Race Committee. I'm the PRO, Jim Graham and Nathan Marsh are helping out and Scott Snyder is the Regatta Chair (though he will still be sailing). This would be a fantastic regatta to show our support for Bob and even though many of us are doing RC, I'm still convinced there is a way we show our support. And that's getting as many boats out on the course as we can.<br>
<br>To that end, I'm offering up use of my boat for the regatta to whomever makes at least a $100 donation to the Leukemia and Lymphona Society and if you can do better than that, that's fantastic. There are of course a couple caveats- email me before you just make a giant donation to the Leukemia and Lymphona Society. You'll have to at least have skippered in a regatta before and bring your own sails though we can work around that if that's an issue. There's a good party afterwards and if you aren't from the area, we can put you up somewhere. And if you don't mind trailering your boat down to the Potomac, why not do it? If you haven't sailed in one or two or three or four years, what better plans do you have for that weekend than dusting off your boat and put it to use? I'm know Bob would really appreciate seeing everyone out on the race course. And if you have an Albacore at the marina, there's really no excuse not to be sailing. See here for more details and to sign up: <a href="http://potomacriversailing.org/PresidentsLeukemiaCups/2009/" target="_blank">http://potomacriversailing.org/PresidentsLeukemiaCups/2009/<br>
</a><br>So the big question is, who's in? Let us know! And don't forget to read about Bob below.<br><br>~Mike<br><br><div><font size="3"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><i>Bob Bear
continues his treatment for leukemia which he was diagnosed with at the
end of May. His initial rounds of chemo have been successful, and
while temporarily out of the hospital, he and his Indefatigable
teammate, Kelsey Avrill racked up enough bullets in two weekends of the
West River Albacore Summer Series that they may win it in spite of
Bob's return for further treatment. </i></span></font></div><div><font size="3"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><i><br></i></span></font></div><div><font size="3"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><i>As of a recent report, Bob is in the final stages of being matched with donors for a bone marrow transplant. He was optimistic that he would have
a match by the middle of August and would undergo the marrow transplant
before the end of the month. This is a risky procedure, but the only
one that can lead to a cure, so Bob is courageously moving forward with
the team at Johns Hopkins who does over 400 marrow transplants a year.</i></span></font></div><div><font size="3"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><i><br></i></span></font></div><div><font size="3"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><i>Following
the transplant, Bob will have to remain in the hospital for a lengthy
period to recover and rebuild his immune system before he can be out
and about. While recovery will keep him from sailing the rest of the
season, he hopes to make some of the year end festivities and be back
in 8095 next season.</i></span></font></div><div><br></div><br>
</blockquote></div><br>