Apothecary Shed

We’ve been sailing the Leukemia Cup for 8 years in a row now as Team Tartan and raising lots of money to fight blood cancer. We’re super pleased and proud to report that because of you, our 106 donors, the 2016 Leukemia Cup is yours!

Together we raised $59,729 this year. Just wow.

Team Tartan Takes the Cup

Extra special thanks is due to Phil Venables who donated an incredible $40,000 this year. Phil has been our major supporter for four years running and has a collection of red hats to prove it. Thanks Phil! You can sail with us anytime!

The Leukemia Cup Trophy

Many of our steady supporters were kind enough not only to donate again, but to raise their 2016 ante. Andy and Heather Steingrubl are a prime example. They doubled their donation this year to a whopping $2000. Everyone should emulate that behavior next year.

Kilts! We Sail in Kilts!

Together as Team Tartan we’ve all raised $186,053.60 since 2012. Here’s how that stacks up as a bar chart.

We certainly love to break fundraising records, but we also like to win in the water as well. This year we took 3rd place in our class (non-spin)! So we’re back in the big league standings which is not bad for a bunch of sailors in kilts.

Here’s what Commodore Chris had to say about the 2016 race itself.

Team Tartan on the Water

We sailed this year with one new crew member. Amy Barley took Eli’s place as Eli is off at college now. There were four of us on board, Chris captaining, Esther, Amy, and Gary grinding and acting as rail meat. And there was Stretch, our one-year-old rescue puppy mascot, who either scampered along the deck, tail wagging and jogging from sailor to sailor in search of dog treats or curled up in the jib sheet taking a nap between races.

Stretch the Team Tartan Mascot

With only moderate 5 knot winds and temperatures in the 90s, Team Tartan lumbered out to the start line for the 2016 Regatta in the weathered 25 foot Catalina Rebecca. It was hot, and a far cry from last year’s soggy race.

Race 1: Not Fast

The first race was as tight as the winds were moderate. On the two mile “course D” we took around 40 minutes to pull in third across the finish line. We were only seconds behind our on-the-water nemesis Captain Bill. The general rule of thumb is if you beat Bill you can actually win the regatta. So we were feeling pretty good about race 1, but we knew we had to do better.

Race 2: Real Winds

As the winds picked up well past 7 knots for race 2, the members of Team Tartan found their groove. Winds hit a day long maximum of 12 knots during the race, and creaky old Rebecca found enough uumpf to pull ahead of the fleet. Team members were straining hard on each tack keeping as much weight on the windward side to keep the boat’s keel under her. The tactic worked, and we won the bullet in race 2! Yep, we even bested Bill. Now things were going our way.

Team Tartan 2016

Sadly as the gun for race three sounded, the winds died down and so did our boat’s speed. Unbeknownst to us, as we traveled through the shallows, our keel and rudder snagged long green masses of hydrilla grass from bottom (something we only discovered after we limped across the line in 5th place). Race 3 was devastating to our overall ranking.

Pro Tip: Attack Grass Slows You Down

Attack grass and lame winds aside, as race scores were tallied in full, we won third place in the fleet! Go kilt sailors.

Commodore Chris Sails Team Tartan to 3rd Pace

Team Tartan 2016

We celebrated with dark and stormies as we were reunited with Faith, Anna, Chris G, Gary Sr and Laura (the land bound part of Team Tartan) after sailing. During the race, Faith checked in visitors to the spectator boat, and Team Tartan members and supporters Gary Sr., Laura, Anna, Carly, Maggie, and kiddos all loaded up on a packed spectator boat to see the races.

There Be Pirates!

Your Faithful Crew and a Bunch of Burgees

BTW, donations are still being accepted for the 2016 Leukemia Cup. Want to put Team Tartan over $60K? We’re all for it! Donate here.