Honey Fitz
The 93-foot Honey Fitz is one of the most storied yachts in American history, having served as the presidential yacht for Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, and Lyndon B. Johnson. Now, the restored 1931 Defoe is preparing to engage in service of a different kind — bringing attention to charitable efforts in 13 cities along the Eastern Seaboard.
Honey Fitz has an itinerary this summer that will include Palm Beach and Jacksonville, Florida; Savannah, Georgia; Charleston, South Carolina; Beaufort, North Carolina; Washington, D.C.; Annapolis, Maryland; New York City; Greenwich, Connecticut; Newport, Rhode Island; and Boston, Hyannis and Nantucket, Massachusetts.
In each of those cities, the owner of Honey Fitz has agreed to donate use of the yacht, crew, dockage, and fuel to various charities to raise donations and awareness for their causes.
“Our emphasis is on, but not limited to, veterans’ and children’s charities,” says Francis Pavlov, who handles charter sales for the Honey Fitz. “All they have to pay for is their own catering and their event expenses, whatever they want them to be.”
The first partnerships announced are in Charleston, with Heroes Haven and the Carolina Children’s Charity. Heroes Have helps homeless veterans with housing and job training, while the Children’s Charity assists youngsters who suffer from birth defects or childhood diseases.
Other partnerships now being finalized, Pavolv says, include:
• An event in Palm Beach with the Ernie Els Foundation to build a school for autistic children;
• Multiple events with Autism Speaks in Palm Beach, Manhattan, and Nantucket;
• A fund-raiser to help the Palm Beach Maritime Museum create handicapped accessibility to the JFK fallout shelter on Peanut Island;
• An event with the Ronald McDonald House in Savannah;
• A breast-cancer event with Susan G. Komen for the Cure;
• General fund-raising for the Jacksonville Maritime Museum in Florida, the North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort, and the New Bedford Whaling Museum in Newport;
• An event for the North Carolina Boys and Girls Club in Beaufort;
• Several fund-raisers with the American Cancer Society in various cities;
• Fund-raisers for the American Red Cross in Hurricane Sandy-ravaged parts of New York City and Greenwich;
• A fund-raiser for the JFK Foundation in Boston;
• Events with the Special Olympics in Boston and Hyannis;
• A fund-raiser for Autism Speaks in Nantucket;
• A specific fund-raiser with Holidays for Heroes in Nantucket to assist a wounded veteran who needs help sending his children to college.
To learn more, visit www.myhoneyfitz.com.
