UNDERWAY30january/february 2017cruisingworld.com810 Oregon Avenue, Ste. F - Linthicum, MD 21090 - Ph. 410-636-5991 - Fax 410-636-5995WORLD-CLASS NAUTICAL EQUIPMENT
SAILORS HELP BATTLE
LEUKEMIAE
very little bit helps: A dollar here, a
dollar there, and before you know
it, someone’s printing a big check that’s
presented to you as you stand in front of
a roomful of your peers, all eager to give
you an “atta boy” along with an apprecia-
tive pat on the back.
Such was the case for West Marine,
which during the month of September
sold small paper sailboats to customers in
some 260 stores across the country. The
proceeds from the boats, which cost from$1 to $3, were collected on behalf of the
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
By the end of the month, roughly 19,000
transactions later, West Marine was able to
cut the society a check for $42,916.
“Our customers really stepped up,” said
West Marine vice president Jim Abel, stand-
ing in America’s Cup-winning tactician
Gary Jobson’s dining room during a recep-
tion for Leukemia Cup Regatta attendees in
Annapolis, Maryland, just before the start
of the U.S. Sailboat Show. One customer,
he said, was so eager to participate that he
demanded to pay $300 for his boat.For the record, Jobson has long been the
face of the Leukemia Cup regattas that are
held around the country. To date, the pop-
ular races have brought in more than $58
million for research. If you, your yacht club
or your company would like to participate
in the Leukemia Cup Regatta and acceler-
ate cancer cures, visit leukemiacup.org.
“West Marine will continue to support
your eff orts until a cure is found,” Abel
told the guests.
Atta boy, Jim. — Mark PillsburyONE SWEET RIDE
T
hanks to the dedicated profession-
als at Zodiac MilPro, who supply
state-of-the-art professional RIBs and
infl atables to the military and other gov-
ernment agencies, this year the Boat
of the Year judges (see page 70) once
again arrived at their sailing trials on
Chesapeake Bay in style, no matter the
conditions. Zodiac MilPro’s extensive
line of watercraft includes workboats,
patrol craft, surf rescue boats, emergency-
response boats and yacht tenders. The
company also provides a wide range of
accessories and training services. The
model we were presented with this year
was the MilPro 733 Lite, a 24-footer pow-
ered by twin Mercury 150s that could
really get up and go. For more on Zodiac
MilPro and its worldwide network of deal-
ers and agents, visit zodiacmilpro.com.
— Herb McCormickA big fundraising eff ort earns you a big
check, which West Marine’s Jim Abel
(center) presents to Cruising World
publisher Sally Helme and Leukemia
Cup chairman Gary Jobson.BILLY BLACK; COURTESY OF LEUKEMIA CUP (TOP)CRW0217_underway.indd 30 11/22/16 1:40 PM