At 6:30 on Saturday morning, 30 boats from the Maddie’s Anglers Club, carrying veterans from the Wounded Warrior Project and their families, set out from Boston Yacht Club for a six-hour fishing expedition. These veterans, from around New England and New York, some of whom sustained life altering injuries and PTSD, were treated to a morning of fishing for striped bass on the Salem Sound by some grateful local fishermen and boaters. The annual event is hosted by the Maddie’s Anglers Club.
“To be able to show our appreciation for the brave men and women who have served our country was really great,” said Andy Garnitz with Maddie’s Anglers club, who helped organize the outing. “It’s always the highlight of the summer.”
The Maddie’s Anglers Club, which was founded 30 years ago, is a group of Marblehead fishing and boating enthusiasts who spend time hosting friendly fishing competitions in the summer, and guest speakers at Maddie’s Sail Loft during the winters.
“It started as just a small group of guys looking for something to do during the winter, and going down to Maddie’s once a month,” reflected club member Rick Cuzner about the origins of the Anglers Club. “It was probably 10 members, now it has grown to around 100 members. It’s a really fun little group.”
The club hosted the wounded Warriors for the first time in 2013, when they took veterans out for a day of fishing off Marblehead’s coast. It was an immediate success, and has been an annual summer tradition for the club ever since.
“It was just an amazing event for everybody, not just the wounded warriors, but everyone who was involved,” said Cuzner. “I’m still friends with people that we took out the first time, and we’ve tried to keep it going. It’s one of the most looked forward to events that we host every year.”
Anglers president Will Danforth added, “It’s easily our favorite event of the summer. It is not focused on the politics of war, only a way for us to show our appreciation to the brave men and women who sign up to serve our country. Some of our members have been taking out the same group of Warriors for years.”
The Wounded Warriors Project, which was launched in 2003, offers programs and services to U.S. military veterans who have combat-related injuries or mental illness.
This year, 34 Wounded Warriors and 65 guests hit the harbor. Twenty-seven captains from Maddie’s Anglers volunteered to ferry the warriors and their guests to their fishing spots on the Salem Sound, where they spent the next few hours reeling in striped bass off the coast of Beverly and Gloucester before returning to Marblehead around 1 pm.
The largest striped bass was 41″, caught and safely released on Fin & Tonic with Captain Jock Danforth. Other species caught were bluefish and haddock.
“I just think it’s so fun to get these people out there. They have given a lot for us, so it’s nice to give back and take them out on the water,” said Cuzner.
This is one of the club’s biggest events of the summer, and they worked hard for months to make it happen. They coordinated with officers at the Wounded Warriors Project to find local `warriors to take fishing, worked to find volunteers from the club to take the warriors onto the water, and with the Boston Yacht Club, who donated their waterfront for the day,
“To be able to have a day on the water where these men and women can enjoy a day in a beautiful town that we get to call home is awesome,” said Danforth. “It was a great day. People even saw whales and sharks. Our backyard is pretty special.”
To learn more about Maddie’s Anglers Club, email maddiesanglers@gmail.com or follow them on Instagram @maddiesanglersclub.
