NAVARRE BEACH — Desiree Cunningham lobbed a dead fish through the air. It came down with a thud in the sand about 75 feet away.
The 24-year-old tossed her mullet farther than any of the other women who threw on Sunday.
“It helps that I play softball,” said the first-time competitor.
She was one of more than 80 people who participated in the sixth annual Navarre Krewe of Jesters Mullet Toss at Juana’s Pagodas along Santa Rosa Sound.
The event is one of the top fundraisers for the group. Proceeds go to a college scholarship for Navarre High School students and to put on the group’s annual Mardi Gras parade, which draws thou-sands to the thin strip of land that is Navarre Beach.
A softball throw was one tactic for the Mullet Toss. Others grabbed the slippery fish by the tail and tried to toss it, although that’s not the most successful technique, said Mark Chapman, one of the group’s past presidents who always emcee’s the toss.
The best competitors usually break the fish in half, roll it in the sand to make it easier to grip and then throw it like a football.
“The jocks tend to do that,” he said.
This year’s winner threw his fish 140 feet.
After the mullet toss, over 500 rubber ducks were plopped into the sound for the Duck Derby. Two men hopped in the water and herded the ducks toward shore.
The top three winners took home cash prizes.
More than a hundred people were gathered in the sun, playing volleyball or chatting with their friends at their usual weekend spot.
“This is our town, we love this place,” Chapman said. “We just want to do what we can to keep it going.”
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Lauren Sage Reinlie at 850-315-4443 or lreinlie@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @LaurenRnwfdn.
