PADDLE BOARDERS GET HOME
Teams finish event, help raise awareness about cystic fibrosis.
Four women in blue jerseys emerged from their 300-pound dory surfboat onto the shore at the Lake Worth Pier Saturday afternoon as bottles of champagne were popping and cow bells were ringing in celebration of a job well done.
Brittany Austin of Miami, Alex O’Connor of Fort Lauderdale, and Sherry Griffith and her twin sister Shelly of Boca Raton might not have been the first to finish the Crossing for the Cure challenge, but it was the longest race the “Crewcial Sirens” team has completed.
“We are representing the strong female athletes,” said Austin, 31, who was on the most recent season of television’s “The Amazing Race.” “We decided to get together for a great cause and create an awesome relay team.”
In a little more than 12 hours, the women rowed 75 miles from the Bahamas to Florida to help raise money and awareness for cystic fibrosis, a fatal genetic disease that affects the lungs. The Crossing for a Cure challenge was created by Travis Suit after his daughter, Piper, was diagnosed at age 4.
“Today is going wonderfully,” said volunteer and media director Tom Fucigna Jr. “It’s all about safety and bringing people across the ocean together.”
There was a send-off event at the Flagler Pier in West Palm Beach on Friday, where the 100 participants loaded up their surfboats and headed to Bimini. Then on Saturday, just after midnight, the paddlers pushed off the shore to head back to Florida.
“Adventure is our passion and we loved (the challenge), even the suffering,” said Austin, whose hands were blistered and bandaged from the trek. “It was great just being out there under the stars in the middle of nowhere.”
The women are all national champions of lifeguard surfboat racing. They said the hardest parts of this event were the length of the race and little sleep.
“You’re kind of out of it when you get here,” Austin said at the end of the race. “But we loved every second of it. We loved coming out here and showing that we can do it just as well as the boys.”
A large group of people were watching the event as music was blasting and an announcer was hyping up the crowd.
“Oh my gosh. We have had so much fun watching the paddles come in,” said Nancy Clark, of Marco Island. “We came over to root for our friend, Josh, who is paddling, but we are fired-up for little Piper.”
Another onlooker, Cyndi McDonald of Tequesta, described the participants as “awe-inspiring.”
First-time competitors Kelly Hilton-Green, 47, and Ramsey Small, 45, of Stuart, said the race was incredible.
“It was dark because there was no moon, so that was pretty interesting,” said Small. “It took us a little bit to get acclimated, but it blew my expectations away.”
Hilton-Green seemed a little surprised that they crossed the ocean as fast as they did.
“We are very happy with our time,” said Hilton-Green, who trained for the race with Small for four months. “We aimed for 13 or 14 hours and we came in at 12 hours and 20 minutes.”
Small said there was no sharks, or dolphins or turtles. Just flying fish.
Hilton-Green was hit by three fish along the way. One fish landed on his board at 2 a.m. and he said he lost his balance as he tossed it back into the ocean.
“Ramsey and I both paddle Flying-Fish Paddle Boards and I was like, ‘it’s meant to be. It’s a sign,’ ” Hilton-Green said.
After a tiring journey, Hilton-Green said that things fell into perspective.
“It makes you realize 75 miles is nothing compared to what these kids or young adults with CF go through,” he said.