RE: Sad news from Florida

["JuneRoseJ.R. Futcher" <jrfdelaware@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I was present at that Texas,  Easter Laser Regatta and remember the
Florida junior sailors.

I appreciate Fred sharing the news and posting Olivia's regatta report.
Her comments about the hospitality of Austin Yacht Club and her
experience reflect the true spirit of the laser class sailor.

Thankyou, Fred for honoring a young sailor for  never giving up.

JuneRose Futcher

District 11 Secretary

 

>From: Keeldude@AOL.COM >To: laser@laser.org >Subject: Sad news from
Florida >Date: Tue, 19 Oct 2004 14:19:24 EDT > >Mine is one of the lives
touched by a great girl. >Some of you may remember that Olivia Ceralo
wrote a wonderful piece about the >Easter Laser regatta a couple years
ago. She had traveled with a bunch of >kids from Florida and described
the trip and the fun she had. >That weekend, her hip was bothering her.
It seemed out of the ordinary for >such a young kid to have a bothersome
hip so her parents took her to the doctor. >The cancer was already well
spread and the prognosis was certainly not >positive. > >Unlike the
typical sick kid who we tend to care about for a while and then >forget,
Olivia is such a true friend to so many others that her supporters
>visited her constantly, held benefits and generally stayed with her for
every >precious moment they could share. >On Saturday October 16th, our
dear friend Olivia passed away after fighting a >very courageous battle
against her cancer. She was and will continue to be an >inspiration to
everyone who knew her during her short 16 years on this earth. >I would
encourage you to visit her website at
>http://www2.caringbridge.org/fl/olivia/index.htm and sign her guestbook
at >http://www2.caringbridge.org/fl/olivia/guestbook.html. > > >Olivia's
texas trip letter: > >Hello:  I asked Olivia to write a report on the
Texas regatta and here it >is!!  Great job Olivia....Mrs. Railey > > >
>-----Original Message----- >From: Olivia Ceraolo
[mailto:oliviaj@tampabay.rr.com] >Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2003 10:20 PM
>To: Ann Railey >Subject: Texas Talk! > > >Easter Regatta in TEXAS! > >
>        When I left for Tampa Airport Friday night for the Easter Laser
>Regatta, all I could think about was what the security guy at the metal
detector was >going to say if he looked in my bag. I had all my new
rigging and other >sailing necessities in there...dolly pins, rope, duct
tape, you know...things that >would be ideal to bring on an airplane.
Sure enough when we went through >security, they stared at the computer
screen and the guy said loudly,"Who's bag is >this? I'm going to have to
take a look..." I just thought to myself, Oh >God...I told him that I
sailed and I had rigging in there that probably looked >suspicious and he
just nodded. I held my breath. After rummaging around in my bag >for a
minute he pulled out my boom vang that looked like a little gun, of
>course! > >        Finally I got out of there and hopped on the plane
with the rest of >the team. After bouncing a few times down the runway we
landed in Austin, and >earlier than expected too. Mr. Manning arrived at
the airport on time with a >large white van, perfect for holding a band
of sailors like us and all our >sailing equipment and clothes. We wiggled
our way through Austin, up over some very >large hills which I first
thought were mountains. That is until Emma laughed >in my face and told
me otherwise. Being a Florida girl and all, they were >mountains! >
>        After a good night's sleep at our kind host's homes (Girls: The
Hawk >Family, Boys: The Foster Family), which were a walking distance
away from the >venue... we started unloading the boats and gear at 7:30.
We registered after >rigging and had to name our boat, and we also
received our hilarious Easter >Regatta sailing instructions. It was a
little overcast and the temperature was >hanging around in the 80's and
the wind was blowing around 10 or so, with some >really big puffs, 15+.
There were lots of gnats in the morning around the >trailers, but we
learned to ignore them, simply by holding our breath. The wind >picked up
as the day went on and we completed two races before sailing back in >for
lunch, and then three more when we went back out! Everything went real
>smoothly and everyone at the regatta was relaxed and very helpful.
Dinner that >night was yummy. The team met up later at the boys' house to
watch a movie and >just relax a little bit before hitting the hay. >
>        Easter morning was easy-going and rigging up our boats went
fast. We >ate a hardy breakfast, some of us at the club, some at our
home, and some of us >ate at both! The wind was really howling and it
caused the temperature to >drop to a shaking 62 degrees, which as we all
know was colder for some then it >was for others.  Then we had the people
from up north that didn't seem to mind >the temperature change. Well, we
pulled 3 more races off that day, so we were >able to have a drop. By the
time we came back in it had warmed up almost 20 >degrees. Big
thunderstorms were expected the whole day, but thankfully it was >clear
skies, sunny, and very windy, 15-20 knots with HUGE puffs! The puffs
would >flip everyone over at the same time because it caught you by
surprise. Every >leg was a roller coaster ride! It took lots of energy
and strength but it was >worth it when you finished. I got last on the
last race of the day, and I still >came off the water happy because it
was so much fun! I think the team got >lots of practice on our mark
rounding techniques too, for the races consisted of >many shorter legs as
opposed to longer and fewer legs. For me it made it go >faster, even
though sometimes I lost track of what part of the race I was on...I >was
too busy trying to keep my boat flat. > >        Later that day, they
gave out some really cool prizes for the top >sailors as well as some
other awards. They had fun trophies like huge Easter >bunnies, big solid
chocolate bunnies, peeps, and other goodies. The head hauncho of >the
Easter regatta was Fred: a tall, long-haired, funny guy and an awesome
>sailor...and he actually participated in the regatta too, which was
really cool. >He really lightened up the place and kept everyone going.
Everyone enjoyed >listening to him speak, and everyone was constantly
laughing and having a good >time! : ) > >        Mr. Gay kindly took us
back to the airport. We stopped on our way at >an Italian restaurant to
eat  lunch/dinner.  They had big sheets of paper on >top of the table
cloths and they gave us crayons to draw on it. This amazingly >can keep
you occupied for a long time...we figured that out for sure. Emma soon
>found out about some of the guys' lack of table manners and quickly
engaged >them in how to cut your food properly. None of them seemed to
get it, and Emma >couldn't figure out why. So she announced that next
practice she was going to >sit us around a table and teach us good table
manners...instead of sailing! > >        After eating and having some
pretty funny conversations....Mr. Gay >proposed we had to get the famous,
Texas Mud Pies for dessert. So, we ordered >three of them and split them
with each other. They were huge, and delicious I >might add...chocolate,
whip cream, topped with almonds and chocolate syrup...they >tasted like a
cross between a brownie and Reese's peanut butter cups, with a >hint of
coffee flavor too. YUM!!! > >        Mr. Gay was also kind enough to
drive us by some landmarks like a huge >river dam and a cliff that
overlooked the lake...it was like 500 feet up! >Tell me that's not a
mountain! ; ) It was absolutely gorgeous and unusually >green. I was
expecting dry, hot weather with barren land, but instead I was greeted
>with green, Virginia-like scenery and really nice weather. What was also
a >nice change was the FRESHWATER. I actually could come off the water
without any >salt caked to my face and in my hair! I just loved the whole
trip, everything >about it went well. > >        So on the plane ride
back, everyone was sugared up and happy (i.e. the >Mud Pies) Everyone
that went: Mitch, Michelle, Philip, Elyssa, Eric, Jon, >Bryan, Dr.
Kuebel, Emma, and myself all seemed to have had a great time and all >the
kids sailed well! It is definitely worth going back to Lake Travis for
this >regatta again! Awesome sailing, great weather, fun community, good
food, just >lots of fun...it was a BLAST!! >
>                                Thanks to everyone who helped make this
trip >happen! >
>                                                               -Olivia
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