Perhaps no sailing team in the world is inspiring more young racers than the Mystic River Mudratz. Full of Anarchists and driven by some very clever industry-insider parents, the New England-based youth sailing initiative continues to give anyone who sees them hope for the future. But now, their hope for competing at the Melges 24 Worlds may be in jeopardy, and if there was ever a cause that deserved your help, this is it. Here’s a note from one of those co-founding parents:
“You will never forget the day you break your first rig” were the words of encouragement from world-renowned pro sailor and Race Officer Anderson Reggio. Unfortunately for our team of youth sailors… it happened on the very last day of practice! After a full season that started back in May, the kids were finally getting the art of blow-through-jibes while ‘sending it’ off of waves in 18-22 knots last Saturday. We had a foiling UFO and Waszp in town for demos that morning, and the kids were inspired to just go faster and faster… the day could not have been going any better, until…BANG!
With the Melges 24 Worlds under 30 days away, our boat probably cannot be fixed in that time. These kids have scratched and clawed their way to respectability with over 20 days of racing and 40 days of practices. As guest coach Charlie Enright shared with them one night this past July “The hardest thing about big events – is getting to the starting line”.
We have fundraised relentlessly to cover travel costs and even lined up a final tune-up in Miami with former Rolex Sailor of the Year Stephanie Roble. These kids have worked so hard and are dying to become bright future members of our adult sailing community. Does anyone have a Melges 24 they would consider chartering to us?
The Mudratz are celebrating our three year anniversary while all this is going on. If you are interested to see what this team is about check out the video here. If you don’t have a spare Melges 24 lying around, PLEASE CONSIDER SUPPORTING OUR TEAM TO HELP US GET BACK ON THE LINE!
