Hello members of the PCCSC
I realized in the hours after issuing the NOR for the upcoming regatta in San Diego that many of you may not understand the situation that warrants naming the event after Jeff. Jeff Simon, class of 2007 at UC San Diego was a dedicated team member and co-captain with me on the UCSD Sailing Team in 2006-2007. He devoted his life to excelling in sailing, school and whatever he so willingly poured his heart into. I hope that I can shed some light on the loss we have all suffered in 2007. Some might remember my mention of Jeff's being sick at the Hawaii Co-Ed PCC's last spring, ultimately the reason for his absence at the event he worked so hard for us to get to. Jeff was diagnosed with testicular cancer in March, 2007 shortly after the Cal Team Race. He began treatment and took the spring quarter off of school expecting to make a full recovery in time to sail his last remaining season of eligibility this year at some point. However, it became clear in late July that Jeff's condition had worsened, and his painful battle ended in the early hours of Monday the 30th of July, 2007. Jeff spent his last conscious days on earth surrounded by his closest family and friends at their beach home in Ventura. A week later hundreds of people came together at the beach house one last time to say our goodbyes to such an outstanding man. Friends and family of Jeff gathered around the microphone to share silly, hilarious, colorful and tearful stories about everything that Jeff had accomplished in his life. It is safe to say that Jeff wasted not a minute of his time--when one steps back to looks at his achievements in school, sailing, and the countless visas in his passport, it is comforting to see how much of the world he manage to see before tragically leaving. Because of the enormous positive impact Jeff has had on our lives, we have decided to remember him in as many ways as possible. Naming our newest boat after him seemed appropriate, but we wanted to share Jeff's memory with everyone who knew him, including all of you who are a part of the college sailing scene that Jeff loved so dearly. Jeff loved hosting regattas in Mission Bay, and, unfortunately, this will be the first time we've run this regatta without him. With this in mind, I hope you all will join us in celebrating Jeff's memory by sailing in the first annual Jeff Simon Memorial South 1/2 Regatta in Mission Bay at the end of this month. My deepest condolences go out to everyone who has had the privilege of meeting Jeff's acquaintance in his short life. If you desire more information on his life or tragic illness, feel free to contact me or visit his web page at http://www.freewebs.com/jeffsimon/index.htm Jeff will remain in all of us as we push forward on to the rest of our lives as sailors. Many of us keep in mind the image of Jeff with his ear to ear grin holding a tiller extension in one hand and mainsheet in the other. He won't be missed because he'll never truly leave us. So long... -- Ben-J Amen UCSD Sailing Team Captain [EMAIL PROTECTED] 707.217.1951 1251 Grand Ave. #3 Pacific Beach, CA 92109 __________________________________________________ pciyra mailing list [email protected] http://www.collegesailing.org/mailman/?listname=pciyra
