The 3rd Annual Mudhead Benefit Cup for Hospice SECT lived up to its fast growing Mega Party reputation last Saturday. 57 racing boats, over 550 partiers and an estimated $45,000 raised highlighted a day of racing and a night of dancing. The racing on Fishers Island Sound drew boats from 21 to 42 feet, in 10 classes and included three racing circles under sunny skies and southwesterly breezes.
Under the Sperry Tent at Mystic Shipyard, the Rock n’ Soul Revue filled the night with great tunes, 20 Mystic area restaurants and 25 gallons of rum combined to fill the bellies of sailors and non sailors alike. 30 skippers went home with racing trophies, a dozen more with raffle prizes and Crystal Slipper’s Mike Cavanaugh stole a 60 foot slip at Seaport Marine in the live auction.
The event was a memorable one and Hospice SECT was the big winner. The shiny Mudhead Benefit Cup made it’s first appearance, and while the title of Top Fundraiser has been the exclusive success of Team Patriot for two years, for 2010 a new name will join them. The Bergendahl family is this year’s top fundraisers. Money is still being collected, matching funds are coming from local corporations and anyone can still donate on line at firstgiving.com. Pick a boat and give!
Mudhead support was on display and as “Mega” as the event gets, it still comes down to the individuals who participated. The boat owners who raced, the crews who partied and bought a t-shirt or a boat for a buck or wrote a check or bought raffle tickets. It came down to the owners of local restaurants who agreed to provide food and drink. The local businessmen who donated raffle items. It turned on the volunteers who gave dozens, and for some, hundreds of hours the last 10 months, to push the event to it’s successful conclusion.
In the end, Bill Canning (Wild Horses) and Harlan Fredericksen (Splashdance) will have their names engraved on the Hospice Cup as the fasted boats in the racing and cruising divisions. They will join others who have enjoyed the racing and the giving for the last 21 years. But 2010 will go down as the best so far.
