Quick Throttle, January - High Seas Rally

By Lisa Dalgaard – Pics by Lisa and CD
HSR Raises $330,000 towards the
HOHS Dialysis Fund.
If you’ve been reading Quick
Throttle for a few years, you’ve
probably read our past coverage of
one of the most unique biker rallies
in the world.
10 years ago, Dean and Debbie
Anderson started this amazing
cruise to raise money for a great
cause, the Hogs on the High Seas
Kidney Dialysis Fund. They were
tired of the same old biker rally so
they created a vision to offer a new
kind of bike rally while making
a difference in the world. It then
became a reality and just when we
think they couldn’t top the year
before, they added a fireworks show
to celebrate their 10 th Anniversary!
The Experience
Is like no other. You’ll recognize
some of your favorite events and
games from bike rallies but this
one’s on a warm caribbean vacation
where you can rent a bike at any of
the ports of call. We checked in
with Kathryn Baker at Eaglerider
Cozumel and they rented all their 22
bikes on the day we were there this
year. They told us the best parts of
the island are seen on a motorcycle.
Area’s you can’t really get to in a car.
www.cozumelmotorcyclerentals.
com
So you may not have your bike but
don’t feel guilty if you don’t miss
it. Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of
the Seas is one of the largest ships
in their fleet housing over 3,000
vacationers on every cruise. This
little city on the ocean has a main
street promenade with shops,
entertainment, a flow rider surf
and body boarding simulator, an
ice skating rink and even a rock
climbing wall. There is no shortage
of fun to be had on this ship so how
can it get any better How about
bringing aboard 1800 Bikers - now
you have a real party friends!
A great vacation should leave you
wanting more. You should wish
everyday was the first day and that
your week could start all over again.
This is the feeling you get on the High
Seas Rally. The ships 2039 crew
members plus the HSR staff headed
up by Debbie and Dean Anderson
and Roger and Beth Ann Aldhizer
and their crews and families go
above and beyond to make this the
best experience possible. Starting
with the check in, you receive
commemorative leather passport
wallets, patches, pins, personalized
door plaques, champagne in your
room and a schedule of the HSR
events in addition to the ships
normal activities. The week is
loaded with non stop fun! Tattoo
contests, Poker Walks, T-shirt
exchange, Treasured Chest and Best
Beard Contests. There is something
for everyone. I’m sure the 800 HSR
“virgins”(first-timers to the rally)
were certainly overwhelmed with
choices. The daily dress up is also
unique. Pirate Night brings out the
buccaneer in us all. 50’s, 60’s, 70’s
night gives you three decades of
costumes. In typical biker fashion,
the formal night (when the rest of
the ship is in tuxedos and gowns)
brings out our best leathers.
This Western Caribbean cruise
stopped at four beautiful ports of call
1) Labadee, Haiti, 2) Falmouth,
Jamaica, 3) Georgetown, Grand
Cayman, 4) Cozumel, Mexico.
Next year will be even better when
they go on their maiden voyage to
the Eastern Caribbean. CoCoCay
Bahamas, St. Thomas, St. Maarten
are the ports of call and they’re
already sold out. Stay tuned to see
how you may still be able to get on
though.
How do they raise all that money
Free Vendor Prize Giveaways
Have you ever been to a motorcycle
trade show at sea This is set up
like any other trade show but these
vendors are carefully selected for
their interesting products and
generous prizes. Every vendor is
required to donate at least $5K
in prizes. Some of those vendors
include Von Braun Exhaust owned
by Charlie Giordano who makes
very cool retro exhausts. www.
VonBraunUSA.com
My other favorite was Sportsman
Eyewear. They make incredible
recordable sunglasses. We also
like Condor Lifts, Kuryakyn,
MotorMarc Art, Nightrider jewelry,
Performance Machine, WindVest,
Nolan Helmets , Medallion
gauges and On the Fringe Leather.
$142,000 is given away in Free
Vendor Prizes.
The odds of winning on this cruise
are really good so everyone plays.
$200,680 in COLD HARD CASH
was given away this year. Winnings
from games like Pirate Biker Bingo,
Poker Walk, a nightly 50/50 and so
many more. The 50/50’s are like no
other. The largest 50/50 winner-
Katherine Lord from Geneva, NY
- this virgin won $11,065.00! The
average was $8K a night.
All together, $405,718.00- In
Total Cash and prizes was won by
the attendees plus $115,000.00 in
cabin credits. There were 46 Cabin
Raffle winners this year!
The best odds of winning a cabin
are with the BIKE SHOW which
was Sponsored by Quick Throttle
Magazine this year. There were 100
entries and one of those people won
a cabin!
I know, you’re wondering how you
have a bike show with no bike - you
bring in photos of your baby and a
description and we pick the winners.
There are several categories and
here were the winners:
Best of Show and Best Vintage #76
Dean Sallenbach from Abbotsford
B.C Canada for his 1937 Harley
ULH. This bike was purchased as
a chopper in 1983 and he began
restoring it in 1995. It took 12 years
to find parts and assembly so he
completed it in 2010.
BEST CUSTOM Winner #12
- Wayne & Patty Adams from
Amarillo, TX for their 2005
Paughco Captain America 1951
Replica
Best FXR/Dyna/VRod #62 –
Frank Clark from Longview, TX for
his 2006 Harley-Davidson VRSCD
Night Rod
Trike Winner #8 – Dirk Merks
from Orlando, FL for his 1995
Boom Trike
Sportster Winner #86 – Larra
Koiner from Waynesboro, VA for
her 2003 H-D 100 th Anniversary
Sportster
Metric Winner # 52 – Dan Huxoll
from Irrigon, OR for his 1971
Honda Denvers Chopper
Other Category Winner #92 –
Cindy Wallace from Brooklawn,
NJ for her HOGS and HOT DOGS
– 2003 Harley-Davidson Heritage
Softail. She actually sells dogs from
this thing!
HONORABLE MENTION # 56 –
This was also the Kids Pick. Judy
Plexico from Philadelphia, PA for
her 2004 Harley Davidson FXDL
The People’s Choice winner was
#31
We can’t forget the last minute entry
of the 1963 FATBOY.
Year/Model – 1963
Ignition – Beans
Engine Mods – Chromed Head
Intake/Air Cleaner – Nose hairs
Exhaust – Baffles have been
removed
Transmission – Starting to slip
Primary Drive – His Wife and Kids
BODY WORK
Controls – Two left feet
Handlebars – Can Lift up to 55
pounds easy
Lights – Non Smoker
ETC – Stretched Fuel Tank
FRAME
1963 FATBOY
Suspension – Weak
Wheels – Retread
Brakes – Almost worn out
Tires - Easily...
And that reminds me - the Belly
Smacker competition is a crowd
favorite for HSR attendees and
the laypeople on board. We get to
watch 10-12 people try to perfect
their graceful belly flop. Brian
(Catfish) Snyder from Stroudsburg
PA took the high honors this year.
There is, of course, a Tattoo
Contest for the best High Seas
Rally tattoo. The winner is usually
the same guy, Dave Henry, who
26 JANUARY 2013 JANUARY 2013 27

now has 80% of his body covered
in HSR tattoos. He won again with
his 26 th tat.
There are many winners though.
If you have a HSR tat, you still get
$50 for each tat - $250 max.
Ladies, you won’t want to miss
the Topless Man contest and
gentlemen, the Treasured Chest
Contest. We like to call HSR the
Disney cruise for adults because
it’s definitely rated AAARRR and
the few kids that do come spend
most of their time in the kids club.
The Treasure Chest Contest allows
ladies to dress in their best pirate
attire and collect money for the
Dialysis Fund. This year’s winner
was Virgi Bondi ( a Marine) from
Roseville CA.
All this is given away at a Nightly
Show that is just for HSR
participants. Comedian Roy Riley
is our host and this guy is a riot!
The word “Dumbass” won’t be the
same for you after this trip.
Geoff Bodine was on board again
this year raising money for the
Kidney Dialysis Foundation. He
auctioned off an autographed
banner by all the NASCAR greats
and threw in pit passes. That alone
made about $10K.
There is also a nice cash prize
for the club that brings the most
members. The Largest Group
this year was the Can-Americans.
They had about 20 member and
won a nice chunk of change.
Like most of the groups winning
$ during this last trip, they gave
a large percentage back to Dean
to help pay for Debbie’s medical
expenses. Thousands of dollars
were given back to the Anderson’s.
The love for them was shown in so
many ways on this trip.
WHY START A KIDNEY
DIALYSIS FOUNDATION
Dean’s family has a tragic history
of hereditary kidney disease. Dean
and Debbie know all too well the
hardship and restrictions of travel
for kidney dialysis patients which
is why they knew this would be a
success. In 2003, Dean and Debbie
paid for a medical company to
provide dialysis treatments for
the following year’s cruise out
of their pocket, confident the
bikers onboard would embrace
this worthwhile charity. Meeting
the patients and socializing with
their new dialysis patient friends
on their vacation of a lifetime,
they can actually see the results
of their donations and where the
money goes. Everyone is also
educated on the impact of kidney
failure and its effects. If not for
HSR, 16 Kidney Dialysis patients
who are sponsored to go on the
cruise annually wouldn’t have the
chance to travel out of the country
and leave their trusted dialysis
centers, doctor and nurses to risk
the uncertainty that they won’t be
able to get sufficient treatment out
of the country. Debbie and Dean
bring on board, doctors, nurses and
all the dialysis equipment needed
to self contain these people for a
week.
Until 2013, not one dime
of the money raised went
to administration fees. Dean and
Debbie did it all for free. Sadly,
Debbie died while onboard the
10th Anniversary rally cruise of
cancer complications, but she was
doing what she loved to do. Debbie
had chosen to celebrate life to the
very end. This dialysis fund was
her baby and we’re so grateful for
her.
ARE YOU A KIDNEY
DIALYSIS PATIENT
How does one qualify for
sponsorship on this amazing
cruise
All you have to do is apply but
there are a few requirements.
1) You’ll have to spend a week
socializing with motorcycle riders
so you better like them.
2) You need a passport
3) You must currently be a Hemo-
Dialysis patient for at least 2 years
but able to travel.
4) You must be recommended by
a current or past rally passengers
or be a present or past motorcycle
rider.
5) If you are not, nor have you ever
been a motorcycle enthusiast: You
must have a friend or relative that
currently is and they must provide
proof.
If you meet the above qualifications,
The HOHS Dialysis Fund will
contact you after reviewing your
application and you may just get to
go on a trip of a lifetime!
Giving is just as rewarding as
receiving for some.
Sure you can win a ton of great
prizes and money on this cruise but
some go just to give.
Maggie and Tim Murray from
Dalby, Queensland Australia were
in a bidding war for a collectable
HSR banner. They paid $10,000 for
another HSR banner but later told
me they were planning on donating
that amount regardless of the prize.
The piece de resistance were the
motorcycle prizes.
Grand Prize Custom Bike Winner
Sharon Immell from Amarillo
TX got to take home a completely
custom Harley Davidson with parts
and accessories donated by all the
vendors on board.
The other grand prize was a Harley-
Davidson Switchback and the
winner was Joe Griffin from Dallas,
NC.
On a personal note, we have so
much respect for the Anderson’s.
Debbie, Dean and Cody lived with
the knowledge of Debbie’s death
and still went on with the week not
wanting to ruin people’s vacations.
Debbie was in full agreement with
this plan as well which says so much
for her selfless character. They
didn’t skip a beat even though they
had a tragedy to deal with. They
truly made 800 virgins never forget
their first time, and the rest of us
veterans remember the exiting 10th
anniversary.
Registration for 2014 is scheduled
to open April 1, 2013. We predict
it will be even bigger than 2012 with
an even quicker sell out than the
2012 rally cruise.
Even though they are sold out for
2013, keep an eye on their website
because things do happen and there
may be cancellations. Check www.
HSR.com the first Monday of each
month at 9am EST for a chance to
experience this trip of a lifetime.
www.highseasrally.com
30 JANUARY 2013 JANUARY 2013 31