Skipper George Girton said he sails in the spirit of Mii Amo, the name of his 30-foot Frers sailboat.

"Roughly translated, it means the destination is not as important as the journey," the Chesterton resident said.

But Girton, who competed Saturday with more than 30 others in the Visiting Nurse Association Hospice Regatta in Michigan City, confessed he was really looking forward to the party at the culmination of the race.

"I can't wait for 4 o'clock," he joked.

The regatta, now in its fourth year, is one of 27 hospice boat races across the country. It was the first hospice regatta on Lake Michigan, said Maria Galka, VNA director of development.

"It's been growing every year," Galka said. "This year, we're expecting a record crowd."

The regatta was the brainchild of VNA Foundation board member Bill Higbie, of Kouts, a power boater himself, she said.

"I read about the National (Hospice) Regatta in a magazine," Higbie said. "With our proximity to the lake, I thought it was something we could do."

Last year, the VNA regatta raised $12,000 for hospice care and is now one of the organization's three major annual fundraisers.

Rosemary Weeks and her husband, Bill Willer, raced their 25-foot Catalina yacht, Champagne Morning, for the first time Saturday.

"It's a good cause, and it's perfect because we enjoy sailing," said Weeks, administrator at Whispering Pines Health Care Center and a member of the hospice's advisory committee.

Girton, who races with his daughter, Jennie, "almost every weekend," has sailed in the regatta since it began in 2005.

"It's always fun to be out on the water," he said.