5th Annual Buckeye Lake Pub Paddle

5109 North Bank Road,Buckeye Lake 43008

07 August, 2021

Description

5th Annual Buckeye Lake Pub Paddle The Buckeye Lake Pub Paddle is an annual “bar crawl on boats” charitable event. Not only do we get a fun day out on the water and support our local Buckeye Lake Businesses, but it is also for a great cause as proceeds go to Millersport Elementary. Check In / Kick off is at 9:30AM at the Buckeye Lake Yacht Club (bar will be open with drink specials). We will launch at 11:00AM from the Yacht Club’s North Ramp. The route includes visits to Buckeye Lake Winery, Flip Flops, Waterfront , and Papa Boo’s. We plan to spend 30-45 minutes at each location before we paddle on to the next. The final stop is at Papa Boo’s - stay as long as you like and be sure to have a plan to get you and your boat to your transportation home. Registration is $25 up to the day of the event. We will accept cash and checks for same day registration AND any additional donations! (Same day registration price is $30) Please also bring clothing donations of socks, underwear, leggings/sweatpants (sizes for K-6 boys and girls to the event. You will receive a “2021 Buckeye Lake Pub Paddle” t-shirt and rubber imprint bracelet. Please make sure to visit and “Like” us on our Buckeye Lake Pub Paddle Facebook page (@BLpaddlers) and to see updates as we get closer to the day! We also would love you to post your pictures from the day to our Facebook page after the event. *Please make note: you will be participating in the event at your own risk and are expected to obey all local, state, and federal rules and regulations, including standard boating laws. * No refunds accepted after the purchase of tickets on line. I joke that I wish I could say this event was inspired by my heart of service and that just happened to end up as a fun party day on the lake, but that would be a fib. The idea for the Pub Paddle – essentially a bar crawl on kayaks – came to me while out on my boat.   We live at Buckeye Lake and one of my summer indulgences is to get out very early on Saturday and Sunday mornings alone for some quiet time. I’d had a mimosa with breakfast, got out on the lake and just started wondering why I hadn’t been invited to a bar crawl at Buckeye Lake... and then how cool it would be to do a bar crawl on boats while supporting our local Buckeye Lake businesses through the ugliness of the dam construction AND having a little fun!    As I started building the plan in my head on the water that day, I decided the only thing that could make it better is if we did it for a good cause. When I got back to our dock I immediately shared the idea with my husband Jimmy who gave the “hell yes – let’s do it.”   Jimmy and I live on the lake in Millersport and have two children. When we started early on exploring daycare options for our first daughter, we realized pretty quickly that all kids do NOT get a fair & equal start in life and that was something we talked about often, and still do as it breaks our hearts. Because we know our daughters will someday attend Millersport schools, and that we are part of this community helping to support and raise our young people, Millersport Elementary seemed like the only logical option for our Pub Paddle “charity of choice.” There will always be kids who need a little help and our local schools can use the support from those of us in the community to give it.   We pulled our event together the first year, 2017, Labor Day weekend, in about 3 weeks. We had 41 people email me to sign-up. Well, the morning of the event there were “white-caps” on the lake, with misty rain and a high of 58 degrees for the day - - we STILL had 21 people (boats) show up!! We were out on the water in winter hats and gloves, still having a blast at every stop, and were able to donate $500 and several boxes of clothing to the school.   Our second year we not only had a beautiful day, but we also grew our Paddler crew and community impact.  We had 60 boats on the water, donated $1200 to Millersport Elementary and a giant box of kids’ clothes. Our 3rd annual Buckeye Lake Pub Paddle was an AMAZING day!  We had 200 boats on the water (200!!???) and more than doubled our donation to Millersport Elementary handing over a $4000 check (and more clothes!!).  Though 2020 has thrown some craziness our way, we had beautiful weather and awesome people 250 people strong! Let's get out on the water again, celebrating our 5th year, to support our local lake businesses and elementary school!   Hope to see you there!    ~ Christie Torchia