Fishing for a cancer cure
By Tim Loh
tloh@bcnnew.com
Posted: 09/23/2009 01:06:08 AM EDT
Attention anglers: A new fishing tournament is wading into the area. The first-ever Saugatuck Cup will take place on Saturday, Oct. 3. The one-day, catch-and-release charity event will send participants in search of bass, bluefish and false albacore in the Long Island Sound.
Founder Matt Spengler of Fairfield will donate proceeds to the Children's Tumor Foundation and the Department of Pediatrics at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. He's been looking for ways to repay the organizations that helped his 4-year-old son James overcome a rare form of cancer.
James Spengler suffers from Neurofibromatosis (NF), a genetic disorder that causes tumors to grow on nerves throughout the body. As a 2-year-old, he developed a malignant Triton tumor, which is so rare that few doctors in the northeast had ever encountered one. After an extensive search, the Spenglers selected Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York for treatment. James underwent 10 months of chemotherapy that weakened his bones and led to a broken leg. But it also conquered the cancer. For father and son, it was transformational.
"Watching him and numerous children like him go through a fight for their life profoundly affected me," Spengler said. "You see your son sick and it's just really, really heart-wrenching. And they propped us up. They made us feel like we were going to be OK in such an incredibly hard time in our life. And this is what they do. They save people's children."
As an avid fishing enthusiast, Spengler had long followed the Red Bone Fishing Events that became wildly popular in the Florida Keys in the late '80s and have spread around the country. He decided last winter that he could stage a similar tournament here and raise funds and awareness for NF. So he contacted Eric Johnson, owner of the angling and boat shop, Westport Outfitters, and longtime friend.
"I jumped at the chance, not only to help out a friend, and offer our facility as a staging background, but to support a great cause," Johnson said. "We are really excited about it and look forward to making it a yearly occurrence."
The tournament is open to 30 boats. As of last Thursday, 10 boats had signed up. There is a $200 entry fee per participant.
The event kicks off the night before with a rules briefing, dispensing of goodie-bags and a silent auction. Up for grabs: trips to the Florida Keys, Cuttyhunk Island, Mass., and Sugarbush Mountain, Vt., as well as the chance to fish the tournament alongside local fishing legend Lou Tabory, author of several books on in-shore fly-fishing (as part of a package deal that comes with an $800 fly-rod).
The next morning boats can hit the waves from any spot along the local coast. Competitors will take pictures of their catches and earn points based on each fish's difficulty. Then everyone will reconvene at Westport Outfitters on Riverside Avenue for a barbeque, photographs and award ceremony.
"We'll have an actual cup," said Spengler. "The two winners will have their names inscribed, and the cup will be put on display at Westport Outfitters, Stanley Cup style, and we'll keep adding names through the years."
"Ideally it'll become like that annual golf tournament we all play in," added Johnson. "It's just something you do and it's there on the calendar every year, and the next year it'll be there again. We're cautiously optimistic that everything will go well."
James Spengler will be in attendance, too. He was able to join his father on the fishing boat for the first time this summer.
"We got him out there with this little, teeny rod," Spengler said. "He's learning how to cast now. It's great."
For more information, visit www.SaugatuckCup.com
By Tim Loh
tloh@bcnnew.com
Posted: 09/23/2009 01:06:08 AM EDT
Attention anglers: A new fishing tournament is wading into the area. The first-ever Saugatuck Cup will take place on Saturday, Oct. 3. The one-day, catch-and-release charity event will send participants in search of bass, bluefish and false albacore in the Long Island Sound.
Founder Matt Spengler of Fairfield will donate proceeds to the Children's Tumor Foundation and the Department of Pediatrics at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. He's been looking for ways to repay the organizations that helped his 4-year-old son James overcome a rare form of cancer.
James Spengler suffers from Neurofibromatosis (NF), a genetic disorder that causes tumors to grow on nerves throughout the body. As a 2-year-old, he developed a malignant Triton tumor, which is so rare that few doctors in the northeast had ever encountered one. After an extensive search, the Spenglers selected Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York for treatment. James underwent 10 months of chemotherapy that weakened his bones and led to a broken leg. But it also conquered the cancer. For father and son, it was transformational.
"Watching him and numerous children like him go through a fight for their life profoundly affected me," Spengler said. "You see your son sick and it's just really, really heart-wrenching. And they propped us up. They made us feel like we were going to be OK in such an incredibly hard time in our life. And this is what they do. They save people's children."
As an avid fishing enthusiast, Spengler had long followed the Red Bone Fishing Events that became wildly popular in the Florida Keys in the late '80s and have spread around the country. He decided last winter that he could stage a similar tournament here and raise funds and awareness for NF. So he contacted Eric Johnson, owner of the angling and boat shop, Westport Outfitters, and longtime friend.
"I jumped at the chance, not only to help out a friend, and offer our facility as a staging background, but to support a great cause," Johnson said. "We are really excited about it and look forward to making it a yearly occurrence."
The tournament is open to 30 boats. As of last Thursday, 10 boats had signed up. There is a $200 entry fee per participant.
The event kicks off the night before with a rules briefing, dispensing of goodie-bags and a silent auction. Up for grabs: trips to the Florida Keys, Cuttyhunk Island, Mass., and Sugarbush Mountain, Vt., as well as the chance to fish the tournament alongside local fishing legend Lou Tabory, author of several books on in-shore fly-fishing (as part of a package deal that comes with an $800 fly-rod).
The next morning boats can hit the waves from any spot along the local coast. Competitors will take pictures of their catches and earn points based on each fish's difficulty. Then everyone will reconvene at Westport Outfitters on Riverside Avenue for a barbeque, photographs and award ceremony.
"We'll have an actual cup," said Spengler. "The two winners will have their names inscribed, and the cup will be put on display at Westport Outfitters, Stanley Cup style, and we'll keep adding names through the years."
"Ideally it'll become like that annual golf tournament we all play in," added Johnson. "It's just something you do and it's there on the calendar every year, and the next year it'll be there again. We're cautiously optimistic that everything will go well."
James Spengler will be in attendance, too. He was able to join his father on the fishing boat for the first time this summer.
"We got him out there with this little, teeny rod," Spengler said. "He's learning how to cast now. It's great."
For more information, visit www.SaugatuckCup.com