WILTON — Wilson lake was peppered with ice fishers Saturday enjoying the ninth annual Hollandstrong Ice Fishing Derby and raising some $21,000 for the Hollandstrong Community Foundation.

The derby, held every winter since 2015, was created in honor of Michael Holland, a sailor who was aboard the SS El Faro which sank near Crooked Island, Bahamas, during Hurricane Joaquin in 2015.

Holland’s mother, Deb Roberts, kickstarted the derby to help fund various projects in the surrounding communities.

Roberts said this year’s efforts are going toward rebuilding the tennis courts at Regional School Unit 73’s Spruce Mountain High School in Jay. She said the foundation has been working with the school district on a grant from the National Park Service’s Land and Water Conservation Fund. The grant is a 50/50 matching grant up to $210,000.

Despite the chilly, but mostly clear day, ice conditions were at the top of Roberts’ mind over the past several days. She and other derby organizers had been keeping their eyes on the ice and thermometers hoping Saturday would be safe for fishing.

The lake, over a mile long, made attendance estimates near impossible, but luckily frequent derbygoers said it was very well attended.

“People seem to be honoring (precautions) today and having a great time, and people seem to be taking safety seriously, which is the most important,” Roberts said. “We’ve been extremely busy all morning since 4:30 a.m. when we arrived. It’s amazing.”

Maine Maritime Academy alumni Drew Potter, Mitchell Holman, Cole Pettegrow, Jon Graveline, Jonathan Chad and a few others came out to the derby for the eighth year in a row to honor Holland, an MMA alum.

None of the MMA graduates knew Holland personally, but they were at the school when the news came through Oct. 1, 2015, that the SS El Faro had sunk. Every year, the group has set up a recreation vehicle the night before the derby and left the morning after.

“All the scholarships that Deb’s started, we were like, ‘yeah, absolutely we’ll come up, every year we’ll come up and do what we can do,'” said Potter. “We’ve been here supporting it every year.”

“You’ll see this setup here every single year,” said Graveline. “We’ve got it going.”

The derby broke for a toast to Holland at 1 p.m. and announced winners to 88 raffle items. Weigh-in for the derby followed around 3 p.m.

Roberts reported Al Eliot took first place in the youth competition with a 20-inch togue. Ronald Cushman took second for a 13.75-inch brook trout and Mason Laplante, third, with a 22.5-inch pickerel. The youth honorable mention for shortest fish went to Eleanor Paddock with a 7-inch yellow perch.

Taking first place in the adult competition for his 27.75-inch togue was Terry Barnes and Randy Cushman took second for his 13-inch brook trout.

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