2018—UNDER THE BRIDGE TOUR
Author: Patrick Linfors
June 9-15, 2018
$98,000 raised for the ACS (Broke $1 Million raised)
Thursday, June 7th
Wrapped up a work training in Orlando and picked up Hebrew, his boat, and his gear. Hebrew is at his mother-in-law’s house after driving from Dallas to Altamonte over 2-days. 18-foot kayak on top of a Prius. Funny stuff. So, the traveling for the 19th-annual mission actually began on June 5th.
Traffic is a bear and we arrive at El Toro’s house right at 7:00 p.m. for the Launch Party. It’s hot. It’s been raining off and on, but the clouds part for the party.
El Toro and his family host a joyful Launch Party. Asian cuisine, music, drink. Columbus, US Century Bank, ACS, SebastianStrong. Smiles, hugs, and laughs. Friends, family – and friends who are family. And don’t forget the #SuperDrunkRumCake – and the cold Corona inside a Corona boat!
Hebrew offers up a passionate toast to Lou for hosting and salutes OB, the Viceroy, for cracking the million-dollar mark.
Just about 10-days prior, the team received a $5,000 donation from Columbus that put the Castaways over the top. It meant that since the first trip in 2000, the team had raised more than $1,000,000. An epic achievement – thanks to the vision of OB. Even more magical? The gift was received on the 19th-anniversary of the passing of Joyce O’Brien, OB’s mom, who was the inspiration for the Castaways.
The crowd winds down relatively early. This seasoned group knows the work that lies ahead.
Friday, June 8th
Hebrew and I take El Toro’s truck to travel down to our friends at Florida Bay Outfitters with the mission of picking up one tandem.
On the way to pick up OB, we detour, so Hebrew can see his childhood home off Colonial Drive in South Miami-Dade.
OB, Hebrew, and I make it to FBO. The boat they have ready for us is a plastic tandem. The one remaining fiberglass tandem is missing some parts. The Castaways realize they are “kayak dinosaurs.” The business is focused now on stand-up paddleboarding – and our old boats are being Frankenstein-ed for parts. We worked with our friends at FBO – and Frank Woll – the man, the myth, and the legend – parachutes in to help make it happen. They refitted some parts on the fiberglass, so we could take the old yellow Libra we’d paddled many times before.
The trio returns the truck safely and the entire team gathers for dinner at Lou’s and a final team meeting. The mission, logistics, meals, marketing and safety are all covered.
For the first time in team history, there is a unique shirt scheduled for every day of the trip. It’s the first time the team has been uniformed for each leg of the tour. Official jersey from US Century Bank, Florida Salt Freak, TunaSkin, Columbus, the official alternate jersey from US Century Bank, and SebastianStrong. The alternate jersey is also worn on Day 7.
Also for the first time, with 17-paddlers, the team divides up into 4-smaller groups. Each group helps ensure each team member is packed and ready to go each day and lands safely.
Saturday, June 9th – Day 1
Paddlers start arriving a few minutes before 6:00 a.m. For the first time in memory, the gate to Castaways beach is already open. Good first sign.
It appears north of 100-people gather to see us off.
The Castaways are wearing the official team jersey provided by US Century Bank. This year’s Under the Bridge logo is emblazoned on the front.
City of Miami police boats arrive – thanks to Lou’s nephew – to escort us off the beach and out to Bear Cut
Channel 10 does some interviews – OB, Bob, and Chiquita
Steve Frigo delivers with tent, speaker, and microphone. US Century Bank and SebastianStrong flags are flying
The opening ceremony is held. It’s announced for the first time publicly that the Castaways are just the 8th-team in history to raise north of a million for the ACS – and the first in Florida. Lou salutes US Century Bank. Pino salutes Columbus. Road Crew and Sponsors are recognized. Oscar briefs the crowd on the work of SebStrong. OB regales the throng about his apparent favorite moment of all time – the red popsicles from the soon-to-be named Vaca Cut Fairy, Steve Frigo. John Lynskey offers an epic opening prayer.
The opening stroke is offered by Patty Lawrence. OB introduces her. Hebrew escorts her out into the water. (Less than a month after the kayak trip, on July 7th,
Patty Lawrence, a tremendous example of grace under fire, passed away)
Under partly cloudy skies, the Under the Bridge Tour shoves off the beach on time at 7:30 a.m.
At the turn on the ocean-side of Key Biscayne, the paddlers spread far apart. The paddlers at the front disagree on the traditional landing spot of the first break. They miss the normal spot and travel further down.
The road crew and our beer sponsor – Tank Brewing – struggle to find us.
Mercy provides the team sandwiches to carry out for lunch
Daniel bows out from the tandem. Lou beaches the Corona boat and climbs in the tandem with Oz. Suzy bows out but plans to join us on Day 3. Brian and Jay from the bank bow out. Roger bows out.
Decent crossing to Soldier Key.
After lunch, there are a few light showers we paddle through – cooling off the afternoon. A nice open paddle follows – with a slight breeze in the right direction – all the way to Sands Cut.
A long break ensues. Normalness reigns. Obnoxious music. Bikini-clad women dancing on boats. Dogs swimming. Stand-up paddleboards bouncing between boats. A cacophony of Miami craziness.
Then onto Elliott Key. 22.5-miles paddled. Just under 9-hours on the water.
Tech note – those stats came from a new app – Paddle Logger – that allowed us to track distance, time on the water, and various speeds. See photo.
Bugs aren’t nearly as bad as in the past. Boat crew – Myretus brothers, Dr. Burris, Lou’s cousin and his sons, and Diamond Diana with the CCNN boys – greets us with dinner and drinks. Nurse sharks and lobster are spotted near the corner we camp in, as well as, a passing manatee.
A beautiful sunset blots out Mt. Trashmore – and it’s still weird that the Turkey Point stacks are gone.
Sunday, June 10 – Day 2
Middle of the night – 2:30 a.m. – a lightning storm looms on the horizon, the breeze picks up, and soon after a driving rain opens up for about 15-minutes. In discussions on the water later today, the team realizes most everyone woke up during the storm.
Everyone is up before 6:00 a.m. Gear is broken down. The goal is to be on the water at 6:30 a.m. By 6:20 a.m., the team is in 3-groups: some guys pull far away from shore to get away from the rock, some guys get their boats into the water and stay with them in the shallows, while the final group is still jamming gear into holds on-shore.
The team is wearing a special shirt made by Florida Salt Freak. The company is owned by a Columbus grad who is battling cancer. He is a friend of Rick Pelegrin’s. FSF sold the shirts and raised more than $1,000 for the Castaways. We are honored to wear the shirts.
Just after 6:30 a.m., the team pulls away, gathers up for morning prayer, and then paddles out to an anchored boat. Lou’s cousin and Diana meet the team at the stern and toss out Ziploc bags filled with breakfast – apple slices, cheese, and a banana. Perfect.
We pass on to them one bag of packed out garbage. Thankfully, the boat crew had taken the bulk out the night before.
By 7:00 a.m., the first opening push is underway. A group of about 6-paddlers is grouped up near the front. Some of the old guys are getting to know some of the new guys. But when Rick Pelegrin, the Chief, paddles up to the group and locks eyes with Paul Kumer, the rookie not-yet-baptized with a name, the two communicate without saying a word and drop it into a 5th-gear. They immediately pull away, their enormous arms compelling the water under their kayaks. It’s like adding The Rock to join Vin Diesel in the Fast and Furious movies.
At the first break, the tide is up a bit. Water is about waist-deep. But everyone gets out of their boats to stretch and snack. It’s a cloudy morning and something big is brewing on the ocean-side. It appears to be coming our way. The team makes the call to get back in the boats and paddle on out to Card Sound Point.
On the crossing, the storm dissipates, but the cloudy haze makes for a comfortable crossing. It isn’t until near the end of the 9-mile stretch that the sun comes out and the heat cranks up a bit.
Card Sound Point – the site of the very first night of camping in Castaways history – night 1 in 2000 – has turned into an awesome break spot over the years. The discussion about Top-5 Break Spots on the trip rages on – and this one is argued to be in it.
The team gathers in the shallows, stretches, snacks, drinks, and tells stories.
About an hour later, the team prepares to saddle up. On goes the sunblock, gear gets repacked and music starts blaring. In the early years, when one paddler had a working radio, it was a victory and a welcome distraction. With improved technology, it appears 10-kayaks have good working speakers. At some moments during the week, it sounds like we are our own floating Sands Cut.
We cut the corner at Card Sound Bridge and paddle down to Alabama Jack’s. The place is jumping and the crowd cheers each passing paddler. The road crew and many family members are there to greet us. Our boats, which used to fit nicely on the old unused boat ramp are now everywhere. We fill up the wooden boat dock, parallel parking, and tie off to boat cleats on the dock.
Victor from Tank Brewing is there and provides a round. Pictures are taken around the Tank banner.
The team has gotten savvy enough to order ahead to save time, but we end up staying for a good amount of time. Some food orders were wrong and needed to be redone. The team loads up on ice, water, and Gatorade. The road crew takes now unneeded camping gear off our hands. Several paddlers will recommend skipping Alabama Jack’s in the future. But the reality is – the food is good, the beer is cold, we get to see family and friends, and the break is needed. It’s one of those spots to be in the category of that Jimmy Buffett line – “the pleasure is worth all the pain.”
Once the team gets back in the kayaks, Barnes Sound looms. The body of water itself is not the issue. It’s really the time of day we hit it. We start crossing around 2:00 p.m. and it takes 2-3-hours. That’s when the afternoon breeze is up and it’s typically in our face our quartering our bows. It’s a slog after a good meal.
Within 5-minutes of getting into the Sound, phones start ringing – Pino’s, Lou’s, and mine. I answer and it’s Marisa. Pino apparently has the keys to his family’s car and his wife and children are now stuck at Alabama Jack’s. At the outset, this appears to be an issue that will set the team back even further, but in true Pino style, he pulls victory from the jaws of defeat. With one or two phone calls, while paddling, Pino gets a friend who’d visited us by boat at Jack’s, a fellow Columbus teacher, to swing out to us on the water and deliver back the keys. The teacher yelled at Pino on the water, “you are one lucky sonofabitch!”
The team spreads out dramatically on the sound. Probably 2-3-miles from the front paddler to the back. Thankfully, the Myretus brothers show up in their boat and keep an eye on us. Water is tossed. Some guys are asked to consider getting in the boat – but in the end – every paddler makes it safely across the sound under their own power. The challenging stretches like this – the pain that’s endured – this connects directly to OB’s original vision. That pain and struggle is all about “honoring those who’ve fought the fight.”
The team chats and laughs through Jewfish Creek, past the craziness at Gilbert’s, and out into Blackwater Sound.
It’s the longest day of the trip. Just short of 29-miles. On the water for 11-hours.
The team arrives at the Key Largo Marriott in waves. The road crew is there to cheer and hug. Lots of smiles, high fives, and backslaps.
After getting the boats out of the water, the team walks the 10-yards over to the coastal pavilion on the Marriott shore for drinks and snacks. In an uncomfortable moment, the hotel mistakenly tries to charge the paddlers to enjoy a cold – and donated beer – from our sponsors at Tank. The women of the Road Crew go on the attack and all misunderstandings are ironed out.
Room keys are doled out. Peggy and Joe Plumadore have prepared an amazing home-cooked meal for the team to enjoy. About 30-people gather in a suite for food and fellowship.
The party winds down early. The kayakers are thrilled to have proper showers, AC, and beds. Lights out!
Monday, June 11 – Day 3
Most of the team gathers at Gus’ Grille for breakfast at 7:00 a.m.
The team is wearing a special donated shirt from TUNASKIN, a relationship of OB’s.
The team leaves on time and arrives at FBO at 8:00 a.m.
Day paddlers join us – Pablo Canton from US Century Bank and a Columbus grad and Jason – Rick’s brother-in-law. He’s a restaurant owner in Miami and for the second year in a row has hosted a fundraising event for the team prior to the trip. Ariete in 2017 and Baby Jane in 2018.
Chiquita also is back. She paddled the opening leg on Day-1 and will now be with us through the Keys.
At FBO, Hemingway asks for help from the staff – as he’s been battling a leak in his kayak. Frank shows up to offer support. They determine the leak is seeping in from the seam. Out comes the duct tape. It’s not pretty, but Adam’s waterline is now a shiny, thick gray. The rest of the week – the leak would not be an issue.
Under hazy skies, the team paddles across Blackwater Sound and heads into Dusenberry Creek. No bugs, but the clouds are darkening.
Once into Little Buttonwood Sound, the clouds over Largo are black. It creates the luster of a sunrise on the channel we are entering.
Once we reach Buttonwood Sound, we reassess. Dark clouds are still over the main key. We make the call to paddle out to our next stop – what we call the Salty Piece of Land. It’s a long, skinny ridge of land leading to a tiny mangrove island. It’s in the Florida Bay and on the gulf-side of southern Key Largo. It’s where we lunch.
We don’t make it all the way. A slow rain comes over us and we see some lightning cracks. We paddle in towards Key Largo and take shelter under some private home docks. After about 20-minutes, the darkness passes and push on to lunch.
Lunch is enjoyed, but brief, as another shower encourages us to put on rain gear, get back in the kayaks and keep paddling. Any time we lost hiding under the docks is more than made up for here.
Pablo Canton, wearing a poncho and a pink rain hat, from behind, appears to be an elderly English woman crossing the street. The poncho billows from the wind.
The rain is scattered, spotty, and showery. Nothing driving. Not stormy. Not bad.
On this long-open stretch, we typically see rolling dolphin – and this year doesn’t disappoint. At least 3-separate pods are spotted. Pino follows one and goes live on Facebook. His camera catches amazing footage of a full water breach. It goes on to be the most-watched Castaways video in history.
The team arrives at Toilet Seat Row. The Castaways toilet seat and the time capsule are still there.
Cold Tank beers are shared, stories ensue and the circle of trust is built.
Four rookies are formally welcomed into the Castaways family – Paul Kumer is dubbed “The Machine,” Kari Linfors is tapped as “Red Bull,” Jaime Lemus is labeled “Julie” and Oscar Ortiz earns “Tank.”
As a new annual tradition unfolds, a family approaches the small neighborhood channel in an open fisherman. No joke, this group of rowdy, laughing, and screaming kayakers in all-white shirts apparently scared them off because the boat stopped at the mouth of the channel and right on cue turned that boat around and went back the way they came. We laughed so hard, no one could speak for a minute or two. It was a Castaways moment of brilliance that won’t translate here. Like the Jimmy Buffett live album from the late ’70s, “You Had to Be There.”
As the team heads out of Toilet Seat Row, Hemingway spots a massive wooden pirate sticking up from the sand. He was left behind to apparently be the row’s sentinel. We take pictures.
The paddle out to Snake Creek is wonderful. The winds pick up behind us and some of us catch waves, surfing all the way to our next leg.
We hit Snake Creek and take the corner. At the Snake Creek Bridge, Victor is underneath on the rocks waving us in.
On most of the 19-summers, the Castaways have stayed at Holiday Isle, now the Postcard Inn. But Hurricane Irma severely damaged the property last fall and is not open for business. Thankfully, we find Pelican Cove, right across the same cove from Postcard Inn.
They have a nice beach to land the kayaks. Road Crew is there with amazing fish dip. Victor is there with a cooler full of Tank. Pelican Cove staff help lift the kayaks. The team gets back in the water to chill. Kari is begged to come to join the team in the water and she bows to the peer pressure. A paddleboard is pushed out into the circle, complete with chips and dip and the team goes to town.
Pete’s son Oscar is called into the circle of trust and given a Castaways name – “The Governor.”
22-miles and 9-hours on the water. Top speed – 6.26 miles an hour – thanks to surfing waves.
The team gets cleaned up and shuttles over to the Whale Harbor Inn for an amazing buffet meal. The meal is sponsored by the restaurant, thanks to the work of the Happy Hour Road Crew.
The team breaks up into three for the rooms, but OB struggles to find his room and then worries about the snorers he’s paired up with. He ends up staying with me, Hemingway and Rainman. What used to be young guys and old guys are now all old guys and the foursome crashes out.
Tuesday, June 12 – Day 4
The team gathers for a picture, wearing the Columbus shirt – but not everyone has it – and it’s got cotton in it – so the team agrees to not wear it on the water.
Opening prayer held in the cove around the small mock lighthouse.
The open paddle is a great one. Great conversations are held, meaning the weather was perfect. Light breeze in the right direction. Partly cloudy. Hot, but not too hot.
The hurricane damage is now obvious. From now through Day-5, we can see significant damage. The middle keys.
The team arrives around 10:00 a.m. at one of our favorite spots on the planet – Robbie’s of Islamorada. Despite the storm, they are open and rocking and rolling.
We enjoy an epic brunch at Hungry Tarpon – and several of us indulge in a Trailer Trash – a large, ridiculous Bloody Mary, complete with a slice of bacon, a beef jerky stick, a jumbo shrimp, a lime, a lemon, 3-stuffed olives, and a celery stick. Paired with a lobster frittata, it will change your life.
We leave our friends and head back to the ocean side. We have a fine paddle out to Anne’s Beach. We take a break further from the beach than normal, but this small beach is closed from Irma.
We then go to battle against the current – under the bridge – as we cross over to the gulf side. The current at the bridge just south of Anne’s Beach can be treacherous. On this day, it’s ripping. Several paddlers fight to get through the bridge and have to make multiple attempts. I make it through, just barely, my stern just missing crashing into Flagler’s old piling. And then in the recovery past the bridge, I accidentally bang my kayak’s nose into an electric pole piling. Didn’t stick the landing.
We push on to the corner of Fiesta Key, mile marker 70. In the early years, we stopped here for the night, but now it’s a brief stop before the long push to Pete’s Paradise, a sandbar about 2-miles off the Long Key Viaduct.
The tide is low at Fiesta Key and we paddle due west into the gulf to get into deeper water. Then it’s southwest past Long Key and onto the viaduct. It’s a little bumpy. Conversations ensure. Music is played. It’s sunny and warm.
A few of us find Pete’s Paradise. It’s a shallow ridge with a pool of sand. The current is ripping east towards the viaduct. We make anchor and take the break designed to stick a stake into the heart of the four o’clock blues. We stare down into the belly of the beast that is the viaduct and laugh in the face of impending pain. Adam breaks out a mask and finds a few baby lobsters and conch. Richard Curry comes out of nowhere on his boat and pulls Suzy out with her kayak. She’s done for the day. Pino eats an avocado. The pool is deeper than normal and one team circle does not form. The team is in several separate groups.
Once it’s time to get back in the boats, the team knows it’s a long stretch – passing three bridges – before we reach our cove at Grassy Key. We will be in the boats for several hours before reaching our friends at the Gulfview Waterfront Resort.
As we approach the end of the Long Key Viaduct, I’m paddling with Omar. We are in a slight chop – two feet or so – but moving well. The Pony Boy and I are having a great conversation, when suddenly, mid-sentence, he stops talking. I look over my right shoulder and I see the bright white of his hull facing the sun. He’s capsized. As a well-trained Castaway, he’s grabbed onto his paddle and kayak. I make the wide turn to get to him. OB has the angle and reaches him first. OB steadies him but doesn’t have the right angle to perform a t-rescue. I paddle in and grab the kayak, perpendicular to my kayak. I lift and pull his deck onto my seat. I’m able to dump most of the water out from his cockpit. I flip the boat back over and turn it parallel to me. Omar comes over and attempts a re-entry. While I steady the kayak, he attempts to wriggle in but ends up splashing back in the water. I’m getting turned the wrong way. By this time Pino is on-site and he angles in. Pino steadies Omar’s boat, gripping the deck lines. Omar makes another attempt and makes it back into his kayak without issue. Pete, our safety officer, and trainer had paddled in and was watching. He said he nearly cried tears of joy watching OB, Pino and I helping Omar back into his kayak. The caterpillars have turned into safety butterflies!
The rest of the paddle is steady going. Conversations and miles sank the sun towards the western horizon.
We arrive to the Road Crew and the loving embrace of the entire Horvat family at the Gulfview. We’ve been with them for more than a decade. They are incredible cancer fighters and we are grateful for their support of the mission.
28-miles and 11-hours. The second longest day.
The team unloads the boats and ends up where we belong – in the Gulfview pool. Joints and muscles ache. Some guys are fighting shoulder and wrist issues. But with the help of friends and family – and rum – we are laughing and recovering.
Peggy and Joe provide another amazing meal we enjoy in the Gulfview’s backyard.
The sun finally goes down in amazing pinks and oranges.
Wednesday, June 13 – Day 5
Destroyed by the storm, Leigh Ann’s Coffee House in Key Colony Beach is gone. But Leigh Ann has started a personal catering business. Suzy Curry secures a great breakfast for the team that we enjoy at the Gulfview. Juice, bagels, and fruit. Perfect.
The team, having figured it out this year and forming well by this point, leave on time.
The team is wearing the bright, lime green alternate jersey from US Century Bank.
On the water, the team prays and salutes the Gulfview.
The opening paddle is solid. Partly cloudy. Not too hot again. Conversations abound. We turn the corner at the estate and head towards Vaca Cut. As we approach the fastest current in the Keys, the clouds build but don’t darken.
When we turn the corner and head into Vaca Cut, we are hugging the side. The current is, once again, tearing out to the Gulf and going in the wrong direction for us. As we crawl up the side, we hear him – the Vaca Cut Fairy is back. Steve Frigo bellows through a microphone on the side of US1 on the bridge above us. A speaker blaring his voice, “HERE COME THE CASTAWAYS!” As he does a play-by-play of the paddlers coming through, his nephew lowers a bucket from the street above down to the water. It has cut pieces of a water noodle duct-taped to the bucket sides, so it doesn’t go under the water. I catch the bucket before it reaches the water and pulls out the delivery. It’s three large items, wrapped in aluminum foil. I grab, yell thank you, and keep paddling. The team crawls through Vaca Cut, salutes Frigo, and paddles out to the ocean side. I search for a shallow, but the tide is up. I finally give up and jump into more than waist-deep water. I dole out the goodies. One package is semi-frozen popsicles. The second is hand-made cookies. And the third has a message – it’s for OB. OB opens and finds a pile of popsicles – red-only. Frigo delivered, based on the story OB had shared at launch a few days before. It is not lost on the Castaways that this act of insanity is from an incredible heart of generosity. Steve Frigo and his family are amazing people. True partners in the fight. The popsicles and cookies are delicious and hit the spot.
Most of the guys stay in their kayaks. I climb back into mine and we push on to Sombrero Beach for lunch. The park is recovering from Irma, but some of the houses near the beach are destroyed. Suzy’s friends from the Stuffed Pig are there and they provide us with a delicious, healthy lunch.
Then it’s back in the boats for one of the largest stretches of the trip – the crossing of the Seven Mile Bridge. Safety tips are reviewed. Lead boats are identified. The strongest paddlers are asked to stay back to keep an eye on the slower paddlers, should something go wrong. Hemingway and I take the lead out to Molasses Key. As always, the channel stretches of the crossing are significantly bumpy. As a result, I choose to keep the music speaker protected. Instead, I sing my way across the bridge. What a fun ride!
Suzy’s husband Richard follows for safety. No issues and everyone makes it across safely. We arrive in waves at Molasses Key. The sun is shining. This is #1 on the Top-5 of breaks for some and we enjoy it to the fullest. The storm damage, again, is obvious. Most of the green mangroves are now brown and leafless.
After an epic break, music is cranked and we blaze through the final paddle to Bahia Honda. Because of storm damage there, we are asked to land in a different spot. The park is still closed to the public, but we are allowed to leave our boats on the beach, which saves us from having to lift the kayaks up into the parking lot.
Due to a “technical” difficulty, the paddle logger doesn’t catch the final leg of the day from Molasses Key to Bahia Honda. So, it’s really 25+ miles and more than 10-hours on the water.
The road crew meets us and snaps an awesome team picture on the Bahia Honda shore. They shuttle us back to the Faro Blanco in Marathon. It’s always weird driving back across the Seven Mile Bridge, just having paddled past it. A few of us take a breather in the pool before getting cleaned up for dinner. An incredible meal is enjoyed at the Lighthouse Grill.
Thursday, June 14 – Day 6
Breakfast at the Faro Blanco opens at 6:30 a.m. and the team takes full advantage. Takes a bit for the coffee to shake out the cobwebs. Night 5 is a great night’s sleep and it takes a while to get moving on Day 6.
The team leaves the hotel on time at 7:00 a.m. We meet the park manager at the gate at 7:30 a.m. and are on the water by 8:00 a.m.
The Castaways are wearing a special shirt made for SebStrong.
The morning opens with a paddle past the iconic Bahia Honda bridge. We are closer to the bridge than normal. The little island we typically paddle out to is barely in view because of the hurricane.
Partly to mostly cloudy skies again cut down on the heat.
The team gets out of the boats in the shallows a few hours in for snacks and hydration. The water on this morning stretch never disappoints. You can see the bottom-most of the time. Sharks, rays, tarpon, starfish, turtles are all common sites.
Storm damage wiped out our friends at Little Palm Island. Knowing that LPI wasn’t an option this year for a visit, Hebrew reached out to our Boy Scout friends at Munson Island. We were welcome to land on their shore and eat lunch. Suzy secured a lunch again from Leigh Ann’s catering.
The gypsies in the palace are still gypsies though. We had to coach some paddlers to cut down on the cursing around Boy Scout youth! A solid break, the team is exposed to some of the adventure Scouts get to enjoy.
The kayaks are anchored in thick seagrass.
The team paddles wide of LPI and sees the damage from a distance. Then it’s a long pretty paddle out to a break in the shallows off of Lois Key. At this break, Pino connects with Cameo on facetime and the old-timers all say hi.
After this break, it’s a direct paddle towards the heart of the Pineapple Coast and Tarpon Creek.
The current isn’t too bad in Tarpon Creek and we paddle on into another Top-5 break at our old broken bridge. The kayaks are jammed in. OB climbs to the top of the mountain and an epic photo is taken. A boat comes in hot and just when the team is about to give the boaters grief, we see it’s CC – the daughter of the family that owns and operates the Sugarloaf Lodge – our destination and longtime sponsor for night 6. She also happens to be the bartender at the hotel’s tiki bar, the home of the world’s greatest rum runner.
She asks if we need anything. We yell ice – and they throw us a bag! We learned that she was on the boat with her dad.
We have a wonderful break. I pushed the fool button. Leaped into the current with my PFD on and road the center of the creek around the corner, but missed the landing and got pushed further down. I was forced to swim to the wrong side of the creek. I slowly crawled my way back up. The team was goading me to jump out and try to swim, but I knew the current was too strong. I slinked along the side until I reached an angle that I knew would push me back to my kayak and the right side of the creek. As much as they wanted to see more failure, I disappointed them.
As we loaded up the kayaks to make the final push for Day 6, Hebrew capsized in the driving current. Getting stuck in the pilings of the break spot, we struggled to right his boat. In his first re-entry attempt, he nearly decked Pino with his paddle and went in again. We got the kayak into the calmer side of the site and got him into his boat. On the way, we went.
Great conversation again helped us to the end. We arrived at the Sugarloaf Lodge in waves. Boats were placed on the dock and kept in the water and tied off.
Just over 20-miles and 9-hours on the water.
Pino and I go visit with hotel owner Caren Ward, our friend and supporter. She’s working with the front desk, training a new employee. We have a great time catching up.
The Road Crew is there in force. Snacks and drinks await us onshore and then we move to the pool, where Mercy provides another amazing home-cooked meal.
Caren comes by hawking new R-Tic cups with Sugarloaf Lodge logos. Apparently, Yeti was started by a couple that has since divorced. The jilted ex-wife apparently started R-Tic and is selling the same product for half the price. The Castaways loved the story and bought a bunch of cups.
A big group sticks it out at the Tiki Bar until around 11:00 p.m.
Friday, June 15 – Day 7
The team loads the kayaks at 7:00 a.m. and enjoys some coffee and pastalitos and croquettes.
OB offers an epic morning prayer on the land.
The team is wearing the green alternate jersey.
It’s the 19th-year in a row, the Castaways were launching the final day of an epic adventure and chapter in the fight against cancer.
The team launches and makes great time on the gulf-side of the lower keys.
The team takes a break in the shallows about 3-hours in. It’s partly cloudy and the sun is out.
The paddlers push on and hit the corner of the Cow Key Channel. Pretty shallow water reveals all kinds of sea life.
We cross under the Cow Key Channel bridge – it’s the 10th and final bridge the team paddles under on the Under the Bridge Tour.
The Castaways find “Castaways Beach,” which isn’t a beach at all. It’s a shallow on the side of the Cow Key Channel – but out on the ocean side.
Carrie and Doug Helliesen meet us via boat, bringing water, mangoes and chips. They both hop into the water bringing hugs and well wishes.
The team anchors, eats lunch out of our bags, and prepares to make the final push.
But calls had begun around that first break – there were traffic issues on the mainland. We discovered that there was a bad accident near Jewfish Creek and traffic was being diverted down Card Sound Road. Most of the families – and our ACS folks – were NOT going to be at Smathers Beach in time for our planned 2:00 p.m. landing. We made the call to delay to 3:00 p.m. But that meant another hour of waiting right where we were. More drinks were poured and snacks were eaten. Lou taught us all how to fall asleep while sitting in the ocean.
We piled into our kayaks at the appropriate time and paddled in. Lou’s hand and wrist had struggled all week. He was in such pain, he tied his hand to the paddle with a bandana to force himself to keep paddling. We discovered it stemmed from a weight-lifting injury in his younger days.
Thankfully, the hour delay was the right call. Most everyone was able to make it to the beach before 3:00 p.m. We came ashore to about 60-cheering family and friends.
Champagne is popped and gets poured onto OB. 19-years. Over 3,000 miles and more than $1,000,000 for the ACS. A fitting dousing, indeed!
Lots of hugs and kisses and multiple team pictures were taken. Always a joy to come ashore to loved ones.
Kayaks were stripped, gear loaded up, kayaks strapped to roofs, and hotels checked into across the street at the Sheraton Suites.
Most of the team gathered that evening at the Green Parrot, where Oscar hosted a reception. Everyone was tired, but spirits were high.
Another amazing mission… under the bridge.
Saturday, June 16
Every paddler scatters with family and friends. KW is hot and the roosters are out.
Anthony and his wife Robin and I head to one of our favorite spots – Blue Heaven – for brunch. Bloody Mary’s, lobster eggs benedict, and banana bread. Heavenly, indeed.
The CCNN boys hold interviews with some of the Castaways. They’ve been filming on and off all week. We appear to be the subject of a new, upcoming documentary.
The team gathered back up at 5:30 p.m. at the DoubleTree for our closing party and dinner. The ACS hosted and does a great job, sharing results on the mission and saluting the team. Each Castaway – paddler, road crew, and boat crew – is introduced and thanked. It’s all on FB live, thanks to Pino.
Dollars are announced. The Under the Bridge Tour raised about $98,000 for the American Cancer Society and SebStrong was able to raise another $65,000. The fight against cancer wages on…
Following the party, we all travel back to Smathers Beach where we landed for our closing ceremony. Each paddler shares the names of the people they paddled for this year. Each person present has a flower and tosses it into the ocean to honor those who have battled cancer. It’s somber and beautiful and a great way to focus on what this is all really about.
Hugs and tears are shared. The tour name is announced for the 20th-annual – the No Surrender Tour – and it’s rumored that this may be OB’s last full mission...
Sunday, June 17 – Father’s Day
As always, the team scatters in different directions and travels home in different ways.
I get up early and meet OB, Candy, and Kim, at 6:30 a.m. at Baby’s Coffee. We are the first customers of the day. We share breakfast and some laughs. For me, a fitting way to end this mission. Back with the guy who started it all. Watching him navigate poorly through the decisions of what bagel to order and what to put in his coffee. This crazy man is an inspiration and has created something that matters so much to so many – and truly makes a difference in the world.
Can’t wait until we do it again. #20 – the #NoSurrenderTour – coming summer 2019.