Hail Fellow Mudheads, 

As you all must know by now this year we are racing for a different charity. Hospice Southeastern Connecticut is a great organization that, with much thought and debate, the Mudhead Board of Directors selected as our charity for this year’s regatta. 

The Hospice people are a great group.  They understand that our primary purpose is racing and are grateful for our desire to help them and their cause.  For years, starting with the Easter Seal Regatta, the Mudheads have done a great job raising money for charity. It’s a Mudhead tradition! 

This year our regatta is going to be held on Saturday, July 19^th.  The charity is different but the racing will be the same.  It’s always been a great day of racing and you should be there this year.  For two years in a row the Mudheads have won the ECSA’s Stu Silvestri Trophy for the best-run race.  The awesome celebration afterwards once won the ECSA’s Richard H. Roberts Award for the best circuit party.  Something else you shouldn’t miss.  

You don’t have to raise money to race and you don’t have to race to raise money.  Hospice has made it so simple that there is no reason not to try.  Simply click on www.hospicesect.org and then click on the “firstgiving” button.  Scroll down to the “get started” button and set up your page.  (When you are done make sure you click on the “save and continue button” at the very bottom).  E-mail your page link to everybody you can and send it twice to those who keep sending you chain letters!  

Imagine if 200 Mudheads (about ½ of us) could get 10 people to donate $20.00 each.  That’s $40,000 but we can do better!  You’re a Mudhead, be part of the tradition. Don’t forget that volunteering is also part of the tradition, if you can help we need you. 

Happy Sailing,
Bill Mortensen
Commodore

Seahorse Burns to Ground

Service planned for tonight

    (Noank, April 1, 2008) - A candlelight vigil has been scheduled for 6 pm this evening to commemorate the Seahorse Restaurant in Noank which burned to the ground overnight.   The popular watering hole of locals and Mudheads, nicknamed the Ocean Pony and Mahogany Reef, was apparently struck by lightening early Tuesday morning and local firefighters were unable to control the blaze.  One eyewitness reported half dozen patrons were in the bar when a freak thunderstorm swept through the area just after midnight.  “There was a clap of thunder and this big sound, like a propane tank had exploded,” said Greg Stoltz, who was walking his dog at the time.  “Everyone came running out, some faster than others, and in minutes the flames had ripped through the ceiling and the roof.”

    Local firemen responded to the call from Mystic, Groton Long Point and Noank.  Tragically, in their haste to get to the fire, the Noank pumper truck collided with a Groton tanker truck and both were damaged, injuring three firemen.  “The damage caused both trucks to malfunction so we couldn’t pump water right away,” admitted Chief Fritz Burlein of Mystic.   Another eye witness reported hundreds of gallons of water spilling into the parking lot.  Some patrons were seen scooping up handfuls of mud and throwing them on the blaze, but their efforts had little effect.

    Seahorse owner, Bob Sader was at the scene and watched as his pride and joy was consumed by flames before his eyes. Friends and relatives gathered around to offer comfort. “We’ll rebuild,” he said, but broke down in tears before he could answer any other questions. Sader was later overheard talking about erecting a tent so he could reopen sooner.

Happy New Year Mudheads,

I can’t believe it’s almost 2008, what happened to Y2K? We all knew that our sailboats wouldn’t crash but what about the chart plotters? Boy, are we getting mature in a hurry!

Anyway, you previous members are getting your renewals in the mail about now and the rest of you reading this ought to know that it really doesn’t hurt to be a Mudhead especially if you like to call yourself a sailboat racer. Go online, download the form and apply, it’s not that big a deal and you get all the privileges and benefits of being a Mudhead. Google that boat or skipper that you really want to beat on Wednesday Night (the best weeknight racing series on Long Island Sound) and I’ll bet you’ll see a lot of them have been successful on a higher level.

The Mudheads are all about racing and having fun so if you want to race and have fun sign up and support the Mudheads. Get your crew to sign up too, it’s a wonderful thing.

Along the way one of the premiere Mudhead events has been our Leukemia Cup Regatta. This regatta, which has raised over $631,000 since 2000, is in a state of flux.  The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is more interested in raising money than racing and we Mudheads want to do both so there was a conflict. They wanted the fund raising effort for participation to be $500 per boat and an additional $50 per person to get into the awards party.  This was not acceptable to the Mudhead Board.  We hoped to resolve this conflict but sadly our relationship with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has come to an end.  The Mudhead Board met and decided that the Society's requirements to continue were not realistic.  The vote was unanimous.  Greg Gilmartin met with Priscilla Fusco and they decided, with mutual admiration for both organizations, that this was the proper path. 

In light of this there are two things the Mudhead Board wants, the first is that we get another great day of racing on July 19^th and the second is that we do it for a worthwhile cause.  We are looking for feedback from you as to what that cause might be. Just click on "contact us" and tell us what you think.

Here’s looking forward to warm weather and sailing.

Sincerely,

Bill Mortensen
Commodore
Mystic River Mudheads