By Alice Patten
Like someone who retires from a good job, it is with mixed feelings that OWSA (Oregon Women’s Sailing Association) announces there will be no Sail for a Cure or Set Sail for a Cause this year. OWSA was only five years old and growing when we planned the first Sail for the Cure. With established roots, she was blooming into a valued part of the sailing community as more women became competent sailors. We wanted to raise our sails a little higher and make our reach a little broader with an on-the-water event to bring sailors together: cruisers, racers, different clubs, even those without a club.
But we wanted more than just a fun event. Sailing is a life-enhancer and we were eager to share that, use it to help people who were facing a challenge and needed a boost, people who might not think of sailing as something that would give them a lift. We thought of women with breast cancer, and Sail for the Cure was born.
The event took on a life of its own and grew almost every year. Over the 13 years, 367 different boats and 4,249 separate individuals have participated, many of them returning every year. We found sponsors and vendors who could help keep the costs down, and we thought of more and more add-ons to bring in more money. Together we have raised $277,000 in 13 years, and by placing people on boats with skippers who saved room for strangers, we have introduced many to sailing who otherwise would not have thought they had access to it.
This event has become such a focus that it has taken more and more of OWSA’s human resources to put it on. We are sad to leave something we loved and to stop doing something we felt was important. It was lots of fun as well as lots of work, and we made strong friendships. Like the retiree, though, we’re relieved to have more time for sailing. We’re sad not to be fighting cancer as a group this year, but happy to see that increased awareness and research has brought earlier detection of breast cancer and increased survival rates.
It’s gratifying to note that ours is not the only charity event in the sailing community: Free Bowl of Soup collects food and money for Oregon Food Bank, Life Sail supported March of Dimes, Adventure Sail (another OWSA event) offers a daysail to girls at risk, and RCYC (Rose City Yacht Club) hosts a Leukemia Regatta.
Never say never, but if OWSA Sets Sail for a Cause again, we will probably reduce the scope, like a retiree becoming a consultant or part-timer. If another club wants to take it on, we are happy to provide contacts and information. We know a lot of you have been touched by cancer and have loved our event so please feel free to contact commodore@owsa.net if you have any questions or comments. We are grateful for your participation and support, and we will see you on the water.
Reprinted with permission of the author, as published in Freshwater News (NW Sailing News) July 2013, page 13
