My participation in this year’s 80-mile paddle for the 2024 Crossing for Cystic Fibrosis in June was - in simple terms - a rare opportunity that could not be denied. My paddler’s obsession with this unique event began several years ago when I met CEO and founder Travis Suit and his then 11-year-old daughter, Piper, a beautiful, young, vibrant woman who is also a cystic fibrosis warrior, at the Surf Expo in Orlando, Florida. I stopped by the booth, met Travis and sat back to listen as he unfolded the incredible tale of creating one of the world’s most challenging stand up paddle endurance events in order to raise awareness and funds for the CF community across the United States.
He had me at, “This is my daughter, Piper.”
After an initial CF Crossing attempt in 2023 where I and two relay team members, Josette Lata and Claire Condie, completed the entire crossing (but not without multiple challenges and unexpected road blocks), I decided I wanted to try it again. When I discussed my original experience with waterman, big wave surfer, transatlantic paddler and friend/mentor Chris Bertish in order to troubleshoot what could be done better next time to make the passage easier, Chris was quick to help: he offered to participate in the 2024 crossing with me! Well, sign me up - this would be the opportunity of a lifetime for anyone!
Chris and I created a 3-person relay team called ALL IN! to manage the 80-mile crossing. Our main goal was to focus on raising money for the two non-profits we represented, Piper’s Angels Foundation and the Chris Bertish Foundation. What I learned during the course of this second attempt is tantamount to all future successes in life. While dodging the adversities and missteps in this year’s Crossing, I discovered the hard core truth of how deepening your ‘WHY’ for doing something exponentially increases your chances for success and resilience to move forward in the face of great adversity. This message was a direct result of surviving this adventure with Bertish, who has no other gear than full forward motion once a goal has been set. Here is our story.
Overcoming Hardship: Boards Snapped, Delays and Captain Departure
After gathering together in Lake Worth, Florida with all of our boards, gear and safety equipment, our team’s scheduled departure for Bimini was delayed due to severe thunderstorms in the South Florida region. The original plan was to leave for Bimini on Thursday; however, our transport boat put off departure for a full day, causing a cascading domino effect. Storms or not, the Airbnb waiting for us in Bimini would not refund our first night’s stay so our team stayed behind, putting us on a tight schedule for a Friday departure and arrival the same night, when Chris was scheduled to speak at the participants’ family dinner. The launch for the 80-mile Crossing was now scheduled to be at midnight on Saturday, leaving us only Friday to get to Bimini, get acclimated, put our gear in order, present at the family dinner, attend the Rose Ceremony and be ready to paddle across an ocean on Saturday. Things were already getting tight.
Upon arrival in Bimini, Chris and I learned, incredibly, that our team’s two boards (a SIC 14’ Atlantis and a SIC 14’ Bullet) had somehow been snapped in half on the boat ride from Florida. For logistical reasons, our team had been split up into three separate boats for the ride over. The third boat, a 60’ safety vessel for the crossing, cargoed our boards over on Friday evening. At first I thought the news of the broken boards was a joke, but then I saw them for myself. Two perfectly brand new, 14’ stand up paddle boards made of carbon and fiberglass had been snapped completely in half. There is a story there, but we will leave it for another day.
So our first point of action was for Bertish and me to find another board for the team to ride. However, we were in Bimini, not exactly a place where one might find a high-end race or downwind board for an open ocean crossing. We were also under pressure as the paddle was scheduled to launch that night (Saturday) at midnight. Incredibly, thanks to the unwavering support and focus of the team at Piper’s Angels Foundation, a board was generously donated to us by one of the other participating teams.
Our next hurdle was presented when the Saturday night launch was also postponed due to another line of wicked thunderstorms stretching all the way from the Florida coast to where we were waiting to paddle from Bimini. The entire tribe of 200 paddlers waited until 1:00AM before the safety team, led by Josh Ferris, said we just couldn’t risk launching that night. Another unexpected delay.
That’s when it began to get really interesting. Our original captain, an elegant gentleman who was the head of a company called SeaKeeper, was unable to prolong his stay in Bimini and support our paddle due to the delay. This was also happening to multiple other paddlers who wanted to stay to make the crossing. We said goodbye to our captain and his crew and found ourselves wondering just how we were going to get back to Florida. Next, our generous board lenders also decided to depart for the mainland due to their own work commitments. Although they encouraged us to take the board for the paddle, Chris and I decided it would be easier to manage without a board for the rest of our trip. So we said goodbye to the board as well.
Our original plans had included staying in Bimini until midnight on Saturday. Now we were waiting another full day and evening for a potential launch on Sunday at midnight. The ALL IN! team was able to sleep in the condo we’d rented for Saturday night, but come Sunday morning, the owner needed us out for the next guests who were arriving. So there we were: No boat. No boards. No place to stay.
ALL IN! When the Going Gets Tough, Lean IN
Our team name ‘ALL IN!’ was named after Chris Bertish’s book titled ALL IN! about his solo transatlantic SUP crossing. In the story of his adventure, Bertish details his commitment to that transatlantic SUP crossing as a platform to help support children in South Africa. He mentions several times in the book that when the going got rough (as it did, ALL the time!), he would picture those children in his head and keep moving forward. Bertish brought that mindset to bear in Bimini as well, and since he was the maverick waterman who defied the impossible at every turn, he insisted we move forward. I took a leap of faith and agreed.
On Sunday night, the paddlers who had stayed behind after the original exodus (just 60 from the original 200 participants), gathered at Bimini Cove to hear the update regarding a midnight launch. At 11PM, it was pouring with that tropical downfall rain that happens only in locations like Bimini. There had also been a lot of lightning throughout the day and it didn’t look like it was going to stop raining any time soon, but still the mood was upbeat and positive.
At the safety meeting, Chris and I were connected with our new captain, an amazing human by the name of Capt. Jim Brown out of West Palm Beach, Florida. Jim had a 16’ boat, a couple of boards and one positive attitude. His team of paddlers had already left Bimini but Jim had decided to stay on to see if he could help someone else. We were also connected to our new teammate, another epic human by the name of Chris Rost. Chris was dropped on our boat as his team had to leave earlier in the day, but he was determined to complete the Crossing. Chris turned out to be a perfect fit and teammate for Team ALL IN! He has this little bit of wild in his eye when the seas get smarmy. Bertish and I embraced him from the outset.
On Sunday night, after much consternation, Safety Director Josh Ferris made another very tough call to delay the launch AGAIN! The conditions were just too volatile to put 60+ paddlers on the water in the middle of the night. The contingency plan was made to launch at 9AM the following morning, after being dropped in the ocean at specific coordinates by our boat captain for an abbreviated course (32 miles) back to Lake Worth, Florida. As Josh explained, thunder storms were popping up all over the place but he hoped we could get the 32 mile paddle done before it blew up again in the evening.
Captain Jim Brown, Chris Bertish, Chris Rost and I packed the boat that night for a 6AM launch on Monday to the coordinates at sea. Bertish and I found a couple of friendly couches in Travis Suit’s condo for the evening and - again - we tried to sleep after having been ready to paddle 80+ miles at midnight that day.
Monday dawned hot and unbelievably clear. Our team met at the boat, quickly organized the gear, and headed out.. On the ride, I got to know our teammate Chris Rost better and found out he was a Navy man who had completed his enlistment, had just finished college, and was about to step into the next phase of his life. I couldn’t have been more stoked to have this human on board with us as we talked about everything from life, to career choices, meditation, music and much, much more. When we finally reached our launch coordinates, I felt I’d made a forever friend in young Chris. He is an epic human being.
Paddling Through the Storm
At long last, after three days of mishaps, sideways movement, postponements and stormy weather, we launched our relay team to complete this shortened course.Shortly after we launched, in weather that was flat, hot, and unrelenting, a fast-moving squall kicked things up dramatically. The wind picked up until it was blowing hard at around 18-22 knots from the south pushing us directly towards the Florida coast. Our shortened course had dropped us 30+ miles up the coastline, and we had a long way to go with that heavy side shore wind and serious side chop. Tucking in next to the boat proved difficult as one wrong move could push me away from the boat and leave me navigating the relentless side chop on my own. We could hear other teams on the VHF radio pulling out of the race as the conditions continued to deteriorate rapidly.
Fortunately, Chris Bertish was up to paddle next. This is where our team got to witness something truly extraordinary. This man, this waterman whom I’ve known since his transatlantic SUP Crossing in 2016, turned into the legendary paddler we’d all heard about. He leaned into the challenge. He walked himself all the way to the tail of the board in order to keep the nose up and slightly clear of the water. That way he could paddle and continue to direct the nose of the board on the heading where we wanted to go. Chris Rost and I watched him wrangle the sideways surf like a cowboy taming a wild bronco. It was amazing to witness and we learned from every stroke he took. When it was Rost’s turn to paddle, he imitated what he had just seen and was able to continue our progress forward. It was impressive! In the end, we all paddled: side wind, up wind and finally, with the Lake Worth Pier in sight, downwind towards the finish line.
Captain Jim took three boards off the T-top of the rolling boat so that Chris Bertish, Chris Rost and I could surf into the finish together. We ran up the beach as a triumphant team and together we rang the victory bell to signify that we had completed this incredible crossing.
Ha Né! I am HERE! These words were the motivation which founder Travis Suit had given us paddlers during the Rose Ceremony to ready our minds for the challenge of the Crossing. Two syllables, one powerful breath: Ha Né! I AM HERE. I am here in this moment, body and soul, ready to do battle to protect the lives of others. Ha Né! As that bell rang out and the people on the beach cheered for us, I found myself completely present and quiet inside after so much struggle and strife. The singular emotion I felt was gratitude. How lucky am I to experience these moments? How lucky am I to be able to GIVE BACK through a sport that I love and an effort that is real? I am here. And I am here, in part, because of all of YOU.
Crossing for Cystic Fibrosis is More Than Just a Paddle
In the end, what I’ve discovered is that the Crossing for Cystic Fibrosis isn’t about the paddle. The essence of this event is really about the community of people who are the thriving heartbeat of it all. This foundation for this community consists of Travis Suit, building, as he says, “the most logistically challenging event in the world” in order to do something that is both tangible and impactful for his daughter Piper and the CF community. And what it really is is a representation of his own great heart; to Piper, her presence, her resilience, her joy, who had a chance to relay with her father for the first time this year and the two crossed the finish line together. To Josh Ferris whose steady commitment, volunteerism for this massive undertaking and desire to be of service makes him the nucleus which we all want to revolve around (and hopefully grow up to emulate); to Casey McCullough and Tatiana Tims, two extraordinary humans at the heart of Piper’s Angels Foundation who keep the Crossing community connected, give help, lend support, cheer us on, manage bugs/snafus/mix ups/confusion and more all while managing their jobs with style and keeping the programs at Pipers Angels moving forward. If you ever thought that a small team can’t move mountains, just watch them in action. Thank you for everything.
And finally, I can’t wrap this up without saying a huge thank you to my teammate Chris Bertish. Chris’ inspiration has been profound from the time I first followed him via his live tracker, day-by-day for 93 days, to report on his progress as he paddled across the Atlantic ocean, solo and unsupported, on a paddle craft he built himself. His impact on my own thinking has been profound as he continually raises the bar on what was once considered ‘impossible’ by ordinary standards. Chris Bertish is no ordinary human. So thank you Chris for putting up with the shifting sands, drops in barometric pressure, high winds, tumultuous seas, and me. I know I couldn’t have done this without you. Aloha.
One Final Note:
In the end, this Crossing is about the people within it. From the extraordinary team who puts it together to the courageous people who step up to paddle in order to help others. The stories surrounding the Crossing for Cystic Fibrosis are all poignant, all deeply inspiring and every single one of them is a testament to the resilience of the person, the paddler or the CF warrior out there on the water. I am super proud of my team, Team ALL IN! who - in the end - was the highest raising non-profit team for the 2024 Crossing which altogether raised over $800,000 dollars for the CF community. As paddlers, we GET to do this 80-mile paddle after the work we put in towards fundraising, for training, for navigating the logistics around the paddle itself and the uncontrollable, massive, ever-changing ocean. The paddle is the reward, not the journey. So if you find yourself on the docks in Bimini, waiting to launch for the 2025 Crossing for Cystic Fibrosis, know that you’ve already won, and won big. The Crossing is more than just a paddle, it’s a community. Can’t wait to give it another go. Ha Né!