Friendly Competition Benefits Mather Hospital’s Palliative Medicine Program andThe Lustgarten Foundation’s Pancreatic Research
View Memorial Parade of Boats at Harborfront Park Prior to Regatta Port Jefferson, NY
Actor and local resident Ralph Macchio will again act as a community ambassador for the eighth annual Village Cup Regatta on Saturday, September 9, 2017. Presented by the Port Jefferson Yacht Club, the friendly competition between John T. Mather Memorial Hospital and the Village of Port Jefferson raises funds for Mather’s Palliative Medicine Program and The Lustgarten Foundation, which funds pancreatic cancer research. The event has raised more than $377,000 for the two organizations.
Macchio’s role as ambassador for the Regatta for the fifth year is to help publicize the important work of the two programs it funds. Macchio’s wife, Phyllis, is a nurse practitioner in Mather’s Palliative Medicine Program.
The Regatta consists of Yacht Club-skippered sailboats divided into two teams representing Mather Hospital and the Village of Port Jefferson. Employees from the Hospital and Village help crew the boats, which race in one of three classes based on boat size. The festivities begin in Harborfront Park at 10 am. Regatta t-shirts designed by a local artist and signed by Macchio will be available for purchase along with the event’s commemorative t-shirts, hats and nautical bags. The Memorial
Parade of Boats begins at 11 am at the Port Jefferson Village dock. All sailboats participating in the Regatta will pass by the park dressed in banners and nautical flags.
Following the Regatta, a celebratory Skipper’s Reception and presentation of the Village Cup will take place in a restored 1917 shipyard building that now serves as the Port Jefferson Village Center. The Cup is currently held by Port Jefferson, which has earned the cup a total of four times. Mather Hospital has won the cup twice, and weather forced the cancellation of the 2012 race. The event is catered compliments of Schafer’s Port Jefferson restaurant and the Port Jefferson Brewing Company.
Mather President Kenneth Roberts (left) accepted a check for $35,000 for the Palliative Medicine Program from the Port Jefferson Yacht Club’s Gary Passavia. The Lustgarten Foundation received the same amount.
Businesses, organizations and individuals can support the Regatta and the programs it funds by making a donation or purchasing tickets to attend the Skipper’s Reception or view the Regatta on a spectator boat. For more information and to purchase tickets please visit http://portjeffersonyachtclub.com/community/village-cup/ or www.facebook.com/villagecupregatta.
Sponsorships also are available. The Yacht Club initiated the Regatta primarily to call attention to and to support efforts to combat pancreatic cancer, which has claimed the lives of two of its members in recent years. The event also promotes a closer relationship between the Club and the Village in the wonderful maritime setting they share.
