Sussman at sea

Hey folks, Ari Sussman here.

I wanted to thank you for participating in the “Sussman at Sea” campaign. As you may have seen, we have reached our goal of raising $10,000 in pledges and securing the matching $10,000
grant!!!

Whether you contributed $3 or $500, thank you for joining this amazingly successful fundraiser. It’s been an heartening experience to participate in such a spirited fundraiser for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America. It’s always impressive when so many people can come together for a common cause and really make a difference.

Your pledge will be charged to your account within the next week and a check will be sent from our campaign to the CCFA within the next 10
days. Please contact me if you have any questions…

Also, our campaign has received a flurry of very kind and thoughtful emails and letters from folks around the country and the world.
Here’s a great one:

Dear Friends,

First of all, Andy & I would like to thank everyone that has been
involved the “Sussman at Sea” Crohn’s and colitis drive.

Whether you were donating in memory of our son, Yossi, or to honor
Ari or the other organizers, or simply to help find a cure for Crohn’s
disease, please let us extend our personal heartfelt appreciation and
thank-you. It is a mighty achievement to raise $20,000 for such a good
cause. We should all feel proud.

With much affection.

Andy & Steve Schiff

Again, thank you everyone for making this campaign such a success. We should do it again sometime…

Best,
Ari

Hello Everybody!

I am proud to announce that your intrepid former non-sailor has returned to Terra Firma a True Salt. The last leg of our journey, from the Azores to the UK, was a cakewalk. It included a nice run through the English Channel, past Lands End and Falmouth (where we narrowly missed the Sea Shanty Festival), through the treacherous Needles off the Isle of Wight and finally into the harbor at Hamble where the crew kissed land, hoisted one last, and parted ways.

What an amazing thing to see we have raised over $8,500! Well done everyone. Now it’s time to finish what we started— raising the final $1,500 to secure the $10,000 matching donation. Here’s the challenge:

If everyone that has donated can give only $10 more — or, better yet, recruit someone else to donate that small amount — we will arrive at our goal. (Cut and paste note at the bottom and email it to your friends).

We could be done in no time…

To everyone that has already contributed, either money or kind words, thank you…

Thanks to friends new and old and all you friends of friends, bloggers and journalists who helped spread the word, strangers that stumbled upon the site, all you folks I met in Charleston and Bermuda and the Azores and the UK that have contributed in various ways, the CCFA, and (as ever) my family.

Special recognition to Joe and cohorts at ThePoint.Com, the Lefkofsky Foundation, and Eitan. And, lastly, to the crews of Phat Alice and Harmonia: Lance, Tracy, Matt, Ben, Markus, Charley, and the intrepid Ayala.

What’s next, you ask? Start saving those wine corks — we’re going rafting…

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Dear xxx

Just wanted to let you know that I have donated to this awesome cause.

A guy I know sailed across the Atlantic to raise funds for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA), an organization that improves the quality of life for millions of people. So far our campaign has raised over $8,500. If it can raise only $1,500 more, the CCFA will receive a matching donation of $10,000 — bringing the sum total to $20,000.

I was hoping you could make a small donation of $10-15 at this website http://www.thepoint.com/campaigns/sussman-at-sea

Also, please forward this email to anyone you think might be interested in helping out.

Thanks.

First and foremost, thank you everyone! Iºm blown away— and Iºm sure you are too— by the support and generosity everyone has shown in the past few weeks. Itºs remarkable and everyone deserves a big pat on the back! Great Job.

As you may know, we are nearly halfway to our goal of securing our matching $10,000 donation, so keep forwarding this campaign to your buddies.

And now an update:

The trip from South Carolina to Bermuda was quite an introduction to sailing. As you may or may not know, my previous boating experience has been very limited… a few canoes and the odd paddle boat.

Phat Alice, our 40 ft sailboat, shipped out from the Cooper River into the Atlantic around 2am and I spent the next eight or so hours taking in my own bilious reflection in the water off the port stern. Eventually (days… and days…), i gained my sea-legs and have only intermittently returned to the port stern.

In the seven days it took to reach Bermuda we hit no less then seven storms, the first of which ripped our mainsail from the mast and broke both of our auto-helms. Still, through the cold and wet and slow-going (800 mile trip at around 5 mph), with a tattered genoa sail and long shifts at the helm we made it to Bermuda in time to hoist dark and stormies (rum and ginger beer) at the Dingy Club before closing time.

Bermuda is beautiful and the people are wonderful, however, itºs nearly as touristy (and overpriced) as Disney Land. We had planned to stay only long enough to replace victuals and repair Phat Alice, but fate had other ideas, and… long story short… Phat Aliceºs engine exploded (no one was hurt) and she is now out to pasture in the St. Georges marina. (More on this some other time, if youºre interested).

Fortunately, I met a sailboat delivery team, skipper Ben and first mate Markus, at a St. Georges pub a few days earlier and having heard about this campaign, offered a berth on their UK-bound Bavaria 38 (aka: the ikea of sailboats). All was well until about halfway between Bermuda and the UK (1,400 miles from anything), when we hit a spot of weather— 50 mile winds on the nose, 30 ft waves, et al— and lost the steering gear, much of the electronics, and a water tank. We threw down a sea anchor, jury rigged the steering and decided to see how the Azores look this time of year.

We were chaperoned by a playful pod of dolphins for the eight days it took to reach Horta, on the island of Faial.

We arrived in Horta (again) in time for last call at Peterºs Cafe Sport— one of the best bars Iºve ever had the privilege of patronizing. If you have the inclination to visit the Azores, which I would strongly suggest, visit Peter…

This morning we went to the market and loaded up on fresh veggies and cheese. Ben and Markus are fixing the boat, after which, weºll pick up the last of our groceries and (hopefully) ship out with the sun. Next stop: the UK (we hope). ETA: 12 days (we hope)

Again, big pat on the back to all. Iºll give an update when I hit land.

Best,
Ari

Ahoy friends, family, and fabulous supporters! I want to give a heartfelt thank you on behalf of the organizers of this campaign. We’ve raised an incredible amount of money in such a short amount of time; at this pace we’ll reach our goal (and receive $10K in matching funds) by mid-July!

Of course, this requires us to keep up our efforts to reach our goal of $10,000. I know most of us have dug as deeply as possible to contribute, and we’re truly grateful. What you can STILL do to support the campaign is to continue spreading the word. Please keep forwarding this campaign to your contacts- you never know who might be inspired by Ari’s goal. If the 47 current members each find two similarly generous friends, we’ll easily reach our tipping point!

A brief update from Ari via fundraising HQ:
The first leg of his trip was fairly eventful. The Phat Alice safely sailed from Charleston S.C. to Bermuda, where the engine promptly died. After taking in island life for a few days, Ari and his new buddy Ayala decided to “hitch a ride on a different, faster, better, safer boat headed straight to london, bypassing the azores (hit it next time).” By my amateur nautical calculations, that should put them approximately in the middle of Nowhere, Atlantic at the present date. I know he’s thinking of us wherever he is, and we’re all keeping him in our prayers.

Thank you again, keep on truckin, and forward widely
Eitan