The summer may be almost over, but it was a perfect day on Saturdayfor kids and their parents to be out on the water at Fort Mcallister Marina, where more than a hundred boys and girls set out to compete in the fourth annual Kids Crabbing Tournament.
“It’s getting to the point where the kids are more competitive than the adults,” said John Seckinger, who helped organize the event, which was hosted by Offshore Outlaws and presented by the Bocook Real Estate Team.
Seckinger was also on hand to help the kids bring in their catch and weigh them at the end of the day.
“The kids like to race the hermit crabs,” he said. “And of course, we got a Big Kahuna water slide and all the kids get a little trophy at the end.”
By 3:30 p.m., most of the parents and kids had returned from the water with their catch and were busy selecting the biggest crabs in their bunch.
Cindy Udinsky and her son, Holden, were particularly exhausted after a long day of crabbing, but the two pulled apart a bevy of pinching crabs before heading to the weigh-in.
“We left around 9:30 this morning,” said Udinsky. “Some spots were really mucky but we got through it and got a bunch of crabs. Holden loved it, but we didn’t get a chance to grab lunch so we’re tired and hungry.”
The Udinskys didn’t have to wait long before satisfying their hunger. All the crabs were used for a lowcountry boil after the weigh-in and some of the kids were able to crack and eat their own crabs for the very first time.
“A lot of kids don’t know how to eat crabs yet,” said Butch Broome, owner of Fish Tales restaurant. “But the parents will teach the ones that don’t know how during the boil.”
Seckinger was excited to note that attendance at this year’s tournament had dramatically increased since it began four years ago.
“We had 114 kids today. Last year we had 83, the (one before) we had 81, and it all started with around 40 kids the first year,” he said.
For Seckinger, the best part of the evening was crowning a winner and giving away $500 to charity.
John West took home the title this year and selected the Memorial Children’s Hospital as his charity of choice.
The Kid’s Crabbing Tournament was able to generate $800 for charity this year. To see more events at the Fort McAllister Marina, check out their website at fortmcallistermarina.net.