Hands Across The Sea Sweepstakes Winners

Hands Across The Sea Sweepstakes Winners

By: Sweepstakes

Back in September of this year the ASA partnered with Horizon Yacht Charters and Elite Island Resorts to support the mission of Hands Across the Sea, a non-profit organization dedicated to raising child literacy levels in the Eastern Caribbean. The sweepstakes raised over $25,000 that will help Hands provide much-needed books and literacy resources to children from pre-school to high school in the Eastern Caribbean. A big thank-you to everyone who made a donation! Continue reading to find out who won…

Grand Prize
One Week Horizon Yacht Charters BVI Bareboat Charter

Angela and Bill Steitzer from Bellevue, Nebraska

Congratulations to Bill and Angie Steitzer of Nebraska, our grand prize winners.  Bill and Angie are leisure and competitive sailors; primarily sailing their Capri 22 which they trailer and sail on lakes around the Midwest. Keen sailors, they just returned from racing a Jeanneau 47 at the NOOD regatta in the BVI and Bill has been teaching sailing since 2006. A mission-oriented couple, they are pleased to support the ASA’s efforts to raise money for child literacy in the Eastern Caribbean and Hands Across the Sea.

Horizon Yacht Charters

Horizon Yacht Charters delivers immaculate yachts and first-class service. With four stunning Caribbean charter destinations to choose from, Horizon offers the very best sailing vacation each region has to offer: monohull or multihull, bareboat or crewed. Horizon can assist you with flight information, hotel accommodation, yacht provisioning, watersport rentals, and other services. Horizon can also help you with ASA-certified sailing instruction, learning to dive, going parasailing, or getting married on a deserted beach! Horizon wants you to have the sailing vacation of a lifetime, and their many years of experience means meticulous attention to detail and a superior level of personalized customer service.

Second Prize
Elite Island Resort Stay

Lisa Palcher from Poughkeepsie, New York

ASA member Lisa Palcher lives near and sails on the Hudson River. She grew up sailing a Sunfish and loves being on the water. She expanded her skillset with ASA sailing courses and has chartered twice in the BVI. She has also helped her friends deliver boats from Canada down the Hudson, into the ICW and along the East Coast to the Bahamas. She believes in education and is happy to support the ASA’s and Hands Across the Sea’s child literacy efforts in the Caribbean.

The Verandah Resort & SpaSt. James’s Club, Morgan Bay

The Verandah Resort & Spa, on beautiful Antigua, and the St. James’s Club, Morgan Bay, on stunning St. Lucia, are famed for their fine dining and fun, family-oriented watersports and activities. Elite Island Resorts offers world-class vacations in Antigua, St. Lucia, Barbados, the Grenadines, and Panama.

Third Prize
Elite Island Resort Stay

Greg & Sara Culling from Portland, Oregon

Meet third prize winners Greg and Sara Culling. Sara grew up sailing Hobie 18s with her dad in Texas. A Southern California boy, Greg sailed lasers. They met in Baltimore in 2009 and jumped into sailing bigger boats at the San Diego Sailing Academy where they took ASA courses 101 to 104. “Sailing is an amazing sport,” says Greg and they hope to go bluewater cruising someday. In the meantime, their charter adventures have taken them to the BVI (where they honeymooned) Croatia, and the Whitsundays of Australia. They now sail the waters of beautiful Puget Sound. This was their third time giving to Hands Across the Sea and entering the sweepstakes and we are grateful for their loyal support!

The Verandah Resort & SpaSt. James’s Club, Morgan Bay

The Verandah Resort & Spa, on beautiful Antigua, and the St. James’s Club, Morgan Bay, on stunning St. Lucia, are famed for their fine dining and fun, family-oriented watersports and activities. Elite Island Resorts offers world-class vacations in Antigua, St. Lucia, Barbados, the Grenadines, and Panama.

Founded by bluewater sailors Tom and Harriet Linskey in 2007, Hands Across the Sea, a U.S. 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization, has been raising child literacy levels in the Eastern Caribbean by sending new books asked for by teachers and school principals, creating and rejuvenating lending libraries (usually at schools), and fostering sustainability with ongoing monitoring and support.

Visit handsacrossthesea.net for more information, or

Donate Now