Leukemia Cup Preview

Not just a simple regatta, the coming weekend’s Leukemia Cup, hosted by San Francisco Yacht Club, offers a panoply of events. New this year is the Corporate Challenge for the Thomas Perkins Perpetual Trophy, to be sailed in J/22s on Saturday. John Kilroy and his son Liam will both be skippering teams. The elder Kilroy, you may recall, just won the Melges 20 Worlds, and 12-year-old Liam came in third.

Joe Lacob, owner of the 2015 NBA Champion Golden State Warriors, will be the special guest speaker at Saturday night’s VIP reception, auction and dinner. Tickets cost a mere $1,000 per seat, but the 99% can earn a ticket by raising $2,500 in donations.

Among the boats registered for Sunday’s regatta is the Tiburon-based J/120 Peregrine, fresh off a repeat win at the Rolex Big Boat Series. "The son of one of our crew members, Staff Commodore Tad Lacey of SFYC, was a leukemia victim and he’s a survivor," said owner David Halliwill, who’ll come in from New York to sail his boat.

Spinnaker, Non-Spinnaker, and Classic Yacht divisions are available on Sunday. Racing in Classics, Alan Olson will skipper the schooner Seaward. According to the Call of the Sea, the non-profit that operates Seaward, the first 20 donors at $250 or more on Seaward’s fundraising page will receive passage onboard the schooner during the race.

Modern Sailing Academy of Sausalito is offering the opportunity to learn to sail while raising funds. Contact Mollie at (415) 332-8250 for more info. Powerboaters can join the On-The-Water Parade while watching the race, and host Honorary Skippers and their families along with sponsor guests.

For event details, see www.leukemiacup.org/gba. For regatta documents, go to www.sfyc.org.