Starting today and extending through November, speedonthewater.com will donate 50 percent of all apparel sales profits to Samuel’s House in Key West, Fla. The nonprofit organization, which provides housing for women and intact families in a “safe and sober setting,” has been the beneficiary of fundraising through the annual Speed On The Water/Offshoreonly.com Key West Bash during the annual offshore powerboat races and the Florida Powerboat Club’s Key West Poker Run in early November for the past five years.

Although the Speed On The Water/Offshoreonly.com Key West Bash isn’t happening this year, its fundraising benefits for Samuel’s House will continue.

Last year, the event raised $42,500 for the charity through a live auction. Integral to the effort, as they have been for the past five years, were Yvonne Aleman and Greg Harris of South Florida.

“With the Race World Offshore Key West Championships cancelled, which we cover extensively every year, we couldn’t justify the time and expense of coming all the way to Florida to just cover the poker run,” said Jason Johnson, the co-publisher and executive editor of speedonthewater.com. “So we decided to take a year off from hosting the party at the Sandbar Sports Bar and Grill and comeback strong in 2021.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER YOUR SPEEDONTHEWATER.COM APPAREL AND SUPPORT SAMUEL’S HOUSE

“The bummer for the poker runners in town is no Speed On The Water Key West Bash this year, which is unfortunate but not the end of the world,” he added. “But the bummer for Samuel’s House is they won’t receive the financial benefit from that party, and we can’t accept that.”

In addition to the donation to Samuel’s House through apparel-sale profits, speedonthewater.com will launch a GoFundMe campaign for the charity for the entire month of November. Wozencraft Insurance Agency, the primary sponsor of the Key West happening for the past three years, will open the campaign with a $500 donation—and a challenge for matching donations from prior auction item bidders, as well as other high-performance marine industry businesses.

Said Wozencraft, who is running his 30-foot Skater Powerboats catamaran in the Key West Poker Run, “We may gather a few friends and head for the Sandbar anyway on Thursday night (November 12) in Key West. We want to ‘keep the place warm’ for the Speed On The Water party next year.”

Started in 2013, the Speed On The Water/Offshoreonly.com Key West Bash has become a signature event, one that attracts go-fast boat owners and marine industry figures alike, during the annual offshore racers and poker run in November.

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