Powerboat Race Party is Robbed

UPDATE: There is a follow-up article that includes information on a $5,000 reward.

An offshore powerboat muscle party featuring a raffle for a free breast enhancement was robbed early Sunday when someone broke into a truck where the proceeds were kept.

Hall of Fame power boat racer David Branch puts on the annual party, dubbed "The Greatest Off Shore Party on Earth," during the Suncoast Super Boat Grand Prix racing event weekend.

This year's party, "A Carnival of Crue," was a tribute to Motley Crue and limited to adults 21 and older.

Branch takes pride in throwing wild adults only parties.

He posted in his blog about his "Muscle Camps:"

If you dare to pass the “enter at your own risk sign” you now have abandoned all sense of morality but MAN are you happy.

On Saturday night Branch and his crew were hosting his Carnival of Crue at the , 8005 15th St E. The proceeds collected from the event were placed inside a vehicle for safe keeping.

The money was placed in trash cans and those cans were put inside a locked truck. An unknown person — who had apparently abandoned all sense of morality — broke the truck's window and stole an undisclosed amount of money. Some of the money was recovered at the scene, but the thief got most of it, according to Dave Bristow, a spokesman for the Manatee County Sheriff's Office.

The Manatee County Sheriff's Office was called out shortly after midnight but no suspect could be located.

Bristow said the cash was collected in trash cans with a slit in the lid to allow patrons to deposit the money. He said he doesn't know why the money was collected.

In an email, Branch said the money was collected as donations for a charity. He did not specify the charity, but did say it was neither a cover charge, nor the prize money for the breast augmentation.

He described it as "a very unfortunate situation."