Sailing World and Sperry Top-Sider have announced that the Johns Hopkins Children's Center, based in Baltimore, Md., will be the recipient of the Sailing for Miracles program during the Annapolis stop of the Sperry Top-Sider National Offshore One Design (N.O.O.D.) Regatta, scheduled for April 27-29 at host Annapolis Yacht Club.  Participants will have the opportunity to support Sailing for Miracles, an organization created to raise awareness within the sport of sailing and to encourage giving back to the local community, through donations and fund-raising efforts at the event.  

"After our successful partnership with Sailing for Miracles at the Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regatta in St. Petersburg, Fla., we looked for another equally special community partner," said Karen Pitts, Vice President of Marketing at Sperry Top-Sider. "Once we discovered that the greater Annapolis/Baltimore/D.C. area is served by Johns Hopkins Children's Center, it was an easy decision to partner with this very special pediatric hospital."

All NOOD sailors who make a donation of $50 or more will be given an exclusively designed Sailing for Miracles burgee, donated by Sperry Top-Sider and Sailing World.  

"Pediatric medicine is ever-changing and it is only possible to make strides in medicine with the generosity and support from caring people in the community such as the participants in the Sperry Top-Sider National Offshore One Design Regattas," said Kristen Nock, Associate Director of Development at Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

The Annapolis stop has always attracted a strong fleet of sailors. "In 2006, 279 teams – or over 3,000 sailors – competed in the Sperry Top-Sider NOOD Regatta in Annapolis," said George Brengle, executive director of the NOOD Regattas and director of marketing for Sailing World.  "We're already on-track to register as many teams this year, and we encourage everyone who participates to give back to the community through Sailing for Miracles."