Pequea Boat Races 3

Keel 'Em All, consisting of Don Heany, Sean Harmann, Joey McMonagle, Joe Duff, Matt Samms (pictured) and Tony Giordano, won the 2022 Pequea Boat Races at Sickman's Mill Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022.

The rain and mud didn't stop people from supporting boat riders as they raced their way down the Pequea Creek Sunday afternoon. 

This year, 14 teams participated in the boat races held at Sickman's Mill, at 671 Sand Hill Road in Pequea. The races doubled as a benefit for Music For Everyone, a music-based nonprofit that provides and repairs instruments for students in Lancaster County and organizes other community-minded music efforts. 

There were more than 500 audience members of all ages watching the race, and plenty of dogs, too. Some attendees set up tents near the starting position to watch the races without worrying about the rain.

The 14 teams in attendance were Dam Nation, the team that won the final race in last year's competition, who returned to defend their title. Neither Form Nor Function II, Conestoga Clowns (formerly the Conestoga Clown Posse), Jimmy's Juicers (formerly The Locals) and Team MFE returned for the second year's event.

Newcomers to the boat races included SS Double Down 420, Swerski's Pirates, Keel 'em All, Tellus 3 High Sea, Big Dog Security with "Jimmy Jet," Pequea Elite, Duck Duck Finch, The Crick Rats and 4 Friends, Beers, and a Boat.

Each team had to build a boat from scratch with donated materials from Snavely Lumber and Howell's Glass. Some of them were painted, some were plain; some were more like rafts while others resembled kayaks.

The six teams that made it through to the championship round were Big Dog Security, Jimmy's Juicers, Keel 'em All, Dam Nation, Conestoga Clowns and Duck, Duck, Finch.

Pequea Boat Races 1

Dam Nation's boat, with Chris Ness (left) and Evan Towt (right), raced at the 2022 Pequea Boat Races at Sickman's Mill Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022.

Dam Nation, 2021 champions, were confident they'd take home the gold once again. Last year, their boat was a one-person kayak, whereas this year, they expanded their boat to more of a canoe shape.

"It's very much form, function, not necessarily pretty, painted and decorated, but it's meant for speed," says Mike Newman, of Dam Nation. "It's meant to win."

A hole in the boat prevented Dam Nation from winning the championship for the second year in a row.

Metallica-themed boat Keel 'em All (the name itself a play on Metallica's 1983 debut album "Kill 'Em All") won the final round, with Big Dog Security winning second place and Jimmy's Juicers winning third.

Afterward, the boat's crew members joined John Gerdy, founder and executive director of Music For Everyone, at the microphone near the catering tent, where the team was awarded with a big Pequea Boat Races trophy.

Pequea Boat Races 2

Keel 'em All won the 2022 Pequea Boat Races at Sickman's Mill Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022.

The Pequea Boat Races raised more than $8,500 for Music For Everyone. This surpassed last year's earnings, which were around $5,000, according to Brendan Stengle, assistant executive director of Music For Everyone. 

For more information about Music For Everyone, visit musicforeveryone.org.

9 homemade boats raced down Pequea Creek for charity Sunday; here's who won [photos, videos]

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