SOTW/OSO Key West Bash Raises $42,500 For Samuel’s House

Through a spirited live auction of items from high-performance marine products to complete event experiences, the Speedonthewater.com/Offshoreonly.com Key West Bash during the Race World Offshore championships and Florida Powerboat Club poker run week in early November raised $42,500 for Samuel’s House. The outstanding generosity of the winning bidders and the industry itself was on breathtaking display—as usual—throughout the Thursday night happening.

The 2019 Speedonthewater.com/Offshoreonly.com Key West Bash attracted thousands of attendees and raised tens of thousands of dollars for a local charity (click image to enlarge). Photo courtesy/copyright Devin Wozencraft/Wozencraft Insurance Agency.

A local nonprofit organization, Samuel’s House provides “a safe haven in a sober setting for women and intact families who have no home.”

Between the Sandbar Sports Grill, which hosted the event for the fourth consecutive year, and Greene Street out front, which was closed for the event for the first time thanks to Race World Offshore head Larry Bleil, the celebration attracted an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 people during the evening. To decorate the short street, MTI displayed its new 390X sport catamaran, which was unveiled just two days earlier at Haulover Marine Center in Miami.

In addition to money raised for the important charity that night through the auction as well as a raffle, several individuals made donations to the charity after the fact—simply because they wanted to contribute. Since the first combined Speedonthewater.com/Offshoreonly.com party in 2016, the event has more than doubled funds raised each year.

If there is a more generous segment of the powerboating world, we’re certainly not aware of it. In supporting a local Key West charity, you make a tangible difference in a city we all enjoy.

Well-known industry figures and powerboat owners showed up in droves for the 2019 SOTW/OSO Key West event. 

Organizers Greg Harris, Yvonne Aleman and the entire speedonthewater.com crew thank all of you for your incredibly humbling generosity. May the holidays find you at peace and surrounded by people you love.

Related story: 2019 Key West Worlds and Poker Run Coverage