Gone Fishing!
My day at sea for a great cause!
I am a huge believer and supporter of Mary's Place by the Sea in Ocean Grove. It's a nonprofit that provides extra special care for women during and after cancer treatment by giving them a weekend away from their troubles in a house near the ocean.
This past weekend, there was a really cool fundraiser for Mary's Place by the Sea -- a women's fishing tournament called the Pink Ribbon Fluke Tournament. And I got to get out on a boat and try my luck with a rod I didn't get a catch but I had fun watching some of the other women reeling in their catches!
Captain Brian Rice of Jersey Devil Sport Fishing donated his boat and his time to the tournament and taught us how to fish, along with Justin on his crew, and we had the best time in Sandy Hook Bay!
I got to fish with Michele Gannon, Founder of Mary's Place, along with Maria McKeon and one of my girlfriends, too, so it was a completely different type of Girl's Day Out!
Over 60 anglers gathered with the Staten Island Tuna Club at the Tackle US and The Reel Seat in Brielle for the weigh-in with the 1st place winner Amanda Tumminia having a whopping 10.10 pound fluke captained by her uncle Phil Tumminia aboard THE GAME.
Rob Crocitto and Ramez Hawileh created The Piink Ribbon Fluke Tournament for Mary's Place by the Sea because Rob says "I believe in their mission. I have seen first-hand how the facility offers women with cancer a chance to escape their day-to-day struggles with managing their treatments and their lives. I think about a family friend of mine, Tricia, who is being treated for Stage 4 breast cancer and I have seen how taxing the entire treatment process can be on her and her family. I also think of my oldest son Robert (now 22) who, at the age of 4, was diagnosed with leukemia. Cancer is a terrible thing and any chance a place like Mary's Place can improve the life of a patient, it is a good thing."
We really did have a fantastic day at sea and we hope next year's tournament is even bigger! As of Saturday morning, over $10,000 had been raised!