Don’t Miss the Sarcoma Cup

It’s not to late too sign up for this weekend’s second annual Sarcoma Cup presented by Beat Sarcoma and hosted by Richmond YC. Sarcoma survivor and Pacific Cup veteran Nathalie Criou started the event last year as a way to raise money for research on treating the extremely rare group of cancers of the connective tissues. They’re resistant to most common treatments, are only detectable with a biopsy and usually require surgery for therapy. The more than 50 types of sarcomas represent only 1% of adult cancer cases, but 15-20% of children’s cases. Due to the relative rarity of the diseases, their study receives very little funding — less than 1% of all cancer research funds — which means that an event like this weekend’s, along with your participation, can have a huge impact. A full 100% of the money raised during the regatta will go toward funding sarcoma research.

Last year the event raised over $18,000 in its first edition. This year, Criou hopes to at least double that. If the growing list of entries is any indication, it might be attracting enough critical mass to get there. Hosted by Richmond YC, the regatta will feature one-design, cruising and PHRF divisions sailing in the club’s tried-and-true format of a day of buoy racing followed by a pursuit race on the second day. J/105s have the option of doing two days of buoy racing. The winner of the regatta will receive a free haul-out — as if you needed any more motivation to go sailboat racing for a really good cause. There’s a full-on raffle with prizes like a Garmin GPS, Sony car stereo, Logitech webcam and first-class subscription to Latitude 38. There’ll be a free wine bar to accompany the live rock n’ roll band and free massage after Saturday’s racing. After that, you can make some bids in a silent auction replete with goodies.