(WSVN) - This Father’s Day weekend, four sisters are hoping to honor the legacy of their late father by setting sail on a new venture. Karen Hensel has tonight’s 7 Spotlight.
For these sisters, listening to a voicemail from their dad is a cherished memory.
Asaad Masoud (in voicemail): “Hey, sweetheart. I hope all is well. I miss you. I’m praying for you.”
Asaad Masoud died in 2021, but to understand his South Florida legacy, we need to look back.
He was a lifelong boater and a legend in Coconut Grove.
Anisa Masoud, daughter: “He was known as ‘The Captain’ around Coconut Grove.”
Isis Masoud, daughter: “He was a little bit of a local celebrity. You couldn’t leave your house without somebody being like, ‘Oh, The Captain!'”
But to his daughters…
Isis Masoud: “This was my dad’s jacket.”
…he was simply Dad.
Isis Masoud: “My dad was one of the most generous people that I know.”
One of Asaad’s loves was his boat, “The RA,” docked for decades at Dinner Key Marina.
Isis Masoud: “RA was the Egyptian sun god, was known as a life giver.”
A meaning the captain took personally by setting sail on a mission to change lives.
Isis Masoud: “He invited people out sailing all the time, and even if they couldn’t afford to go sailing, he would invite them anyway. And this was his gift, you know, giving people access to the bay.”
Through the years “The RA” survived two lightning strikes and being sunk during Hurricane Andrew.
But in 2020, the captain faced his own battle, with cancer.
Isis Masoud: “We were taking care of my father in his last chapter, and it was very difficult for all of us.”
With their father sick, the daughters were financially forced to make a difficult decision to sell “The RA.”
Omnia Masoud: “I told him, ‘Daddy, we’re gonna go say goodbye to the boat.’ And he said, ‘She was the love of my life, yeah. Don’t tell Mommy.'”
The daughters hoped by selling, they were giving the boat a new life with a new captain.
But in a twist of fate, two years after their dad died, last November, “The RA” came back into their lives.
Isis Masoud (in cellphone video): “Oh, my gosh. Oh!”
This is the moment the sisters first saw the boat abandoned.
Now, they are on a rescue mission.
Karen Hensel: “So, what do you make of the fact that that boat, that was the love of your father’s life, that boat all of a sudden washes back up on shore?”
Isis Masoud: “So, I think that my dad wants us to tell his story, and he’s using the boat as a vehicle to do that.”
In his memory, the sisters started a nonprofit, called The RA Foundation, that will eventually take disadvantaged kids in South Florida out sailing on Biscayne Bay.
Omnia Masoud: “We really felt like we, in some way, we want to share her with the community the way that Dad did.”
And that community, who loved “The Captain” so much, has donated enough money to right and raise “The RA.”
Isis Masoud: “We need to get her lifted up within the next high tide, right? So, we have some high tide at the end of the month, so we’re definitely up against the clock in terms of getting her sailing again and finding her a home.”
Finding that home will be the final hurdle.
Isis Masoud: “The main challenge we have right now is, we don’t have a place to take her.”
Anisa Masoud: “I just feel like we need a little bit more help to get to the finish line. And we’ll just really help have his legacy live forever.”
Asaad Masoud (in voicemail): “I’m praying for you. God be with you, sweetheart. I love you. Bye.”
A father’s life, love and legacy, now carried on by four daughters on a mission to once again set sail.
Karen Hensel, 7News.
If you or someone you know live on the water and could house the boat or know of dock space opening up, Asaad’s daughters have set up a GoFundMe page where you can connect with the family.
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