OCEAN CITY- A little over year since the tragic accident that claimed the life of a former long-time Ocean City local and popular Baltimore restaurateur, a group of Baltimore bartenders are carrying on his generous legacy next week by recreating his now famous kayak paddle from Charm City to Ocean City.
Patrick M. “Scunny” McCusker died last August after colliding with an Ocean City bus while riding his bicycle along Coastal Highway in the area of 132nd Street. His passing sent shock waves through the communities on both sides of the Chesapeake, from his former longtime home in Ocean City to his childhood home in Baltimore, where he was an accomplished restaurateur first with his popular Nacho Mama’s in Canton and later his Mama’s on the Half Shell just a few doors down from the original location.
More important, perhaps, than his accomplishments as a successful businessman were his vast charitable contributions and generous spirit, most notably to his favorite charity, the Believe in Tomorrow program in general and its Children’s House by the Sea location in Ocean City specifically. A few years back, McCusker paddled a kayak from Baltimore’s Inner Harbor to Ocean City, arriving at the annual Believe in Tomorrow benefit at Seacrets. He raised an estimated $100,000 for Believe in Tomorrow in the process and now, a little over one year after his untimely death in Ocean City last August, some of his colleagues and friends are preparing to pick up the mantle.
Six Baltimore bartenders, including Nacho Mama’s bartender and former Ocean City local “Delaware” Dave Powell, along with Joe Wandishin, Beth Roche, Jeff Mason, Jason Mislan and Steve Twilley are now preparing to recreate McCusker’s feat next week. Called the “Scunny Memorial Paddle,” the effort is billed a “six bartenders, 175 miles, one great guy, one great cause.”
The crew will leave Baltimore on Monday, September 9 and are hoping to reach Macky’s in Ocean City about five days later. The goal is to match McCusker’s fundraising efforts during his own kayak paddle from the Inner Harbor to Ocean City a few years back and could become an annual event. To learn more about the effort, or to make a donation, visit www.believeintomorrow.org.scunnypaddle. The team will be feted with a send-off party at the Bond Street Social in Baltimore on Sunday with proceeds from that event also going to the charity.