SurfingSports Standup Paddle Surf & Standup Paddling BLOG

Jodie Nelson's Paddle With Purpose 40 mile solo crossing of the Catalina Channel was a pretty inspiring effort...

For almost two hours of the 9 hour paddle, Jodie was guided by a very rare 30-foot Minke whale..."It was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life"...Jodie said...



Jodie's sister documented the historic paddle with this GALLERY...

To watch a video of the whale with Nelson, click here.

Woman paddles 40 miles for breast cancer fundraiser

--By LAYLAN CONNELLY
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

DANA POINT – When Jodie Nelson felt exhaustion set in as she dug her paddle into the cold ocean, she would look down at the top of her Stand Up Paddleboard for motivation.

There read the names of loved ones who have passed away or have battled breast cancer – and those people were the reasons why Nelson was attempting what no woman had done before.

In an attempt to raise awareness and money for breast cancer education, Nelson, of San Clemente, paddled nearly 40 miles from Catalina to Dana Point on Saturday, a feat that only three or so men – one being famous waterman Laird Hamilton — have completed.

"I wanted to go out there and do something that was big and overwhelming ... and something I had a good chance of failing at. It's nothing compared to what they go through," she said. "They don't give up."

After watching helplessly as close friend Angela Robinson become ill from breast cancer and chemotherapy treatments, Nelson wanted to somehow show support.

At first, Robinson didn't like the dangerous idea. But she soon realized there was no talking Nelson out of it.

Nelson trained hard, spending long days paddling along the coast. About two weeks ago, her trainer and good friend Steve Adler died from an aneurysm – making the paddle that much more emotional.

She started the paddle at about 6:15 a.m., hours earlier than others doing a relay as part of the Ohana Ocean Catalina Challenge. She was the only person doing a solo paddle.

A few hours in, a 30-foot minke whale came up beside her board – at first startling Nelson and the boat crew.

The whale – dubbed Larry – was close enough that she could have pet it with her paddle. He started making bubbles beneath her, fluking, and showing his tummy to her. The whale stayed with her for about an hour and a half.

"It was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life," she said.

Not once during the paddle did she ask the time, or how far she had gone.

But after 8 hours and 51 minutes of paddling, loved ones cheered as they saw her coming to the finish line at Baby Beach. Her son Taylor, 15, held a sign that read: "I'm Jodie's biggest fan."

When she got close to shore, she lifted her paddle in victory, then threw it up in the air.

"I'm pretty sure, besides the birth of my son, this was the most monumental day of my life," she said.

For Robinson, watching Nelson from the support boat as she struggled for hours from exhaustion gave her a different perspective of what Nelson experiences as she supports her during her battle with cancer.

"The struggle she went through today to encourage me was just enormous," Robinson said.

Donations go toward Keep a Breast Foundation and Boarding for Breast Cancer. Nelson’s goal is to raise $100,000, and as of Sunday afternoon had raised about $8,000. To donate, go to paddlewithpurpose.com

Labels: Boarding For Breast Cancer, Jodie Nelson, Paddle With Purpose, solo woman paddler Catalina Crossing

Stoked For Life (TM)::

How's the new decade treating you so far?

It's all good 'round these parts...still getting great surf...and, Spring flowers popping up all over...

Just based on the number of standup paddle boards and SUP paddles that we have been getting our local clients hooked up with...add, to that the numbers that we have been shipping to all points in North America and beyond...recently, Alaska to Cancun, Mexico...Minnesota to Mississippi...Seattle to Sanibel, FL...and, hola! to Jose in Puerto Rico...I guess it's fair to say that standup paddling is THE sport of the new decade...let's just go back to the turn of the century and millenium...Y2K...and, I think it's safe to say that it's grown faster than any other activity in the surfing sports world, since surfing itself...



We've seen a lot of ebb and flow in the last 10 years that we have been serving the surfing sports world...and, the positive energy that standup paddling has generated has topped it all...we strive everyday to pay it forward...we look forward to being "stoked for life" (TM) over the next 10 years...if you're stoked for life...then, you can spread that stoke to others...

Paddle With Purpose::

Speaking of stoke...one of our LA clients, Patti Song, forwarded to me some info on pro surfer Jodie Nelson's SUP for Breast Cancer fundraiser paddle after meeting her last week...Jodie will attempt to standup paddle 39.8 miles solo from Catalina to Dana Point on March 28, 2010...

"Nelson will hope to conquer the race on a solo mission, in an effort to bring attention and raise funds for breast cancer research and awareness. The journey has only been completed by a handful of men solo, and this will be the first attempt by a woman. With a goal of raising $50,000, to benefit The Keep A Breast Foundation and Boarding For Breast Cancer, Nelson will tackle the feat, coined “Paddle With Purpose” on a Stand Up Paddleboard during Ocean Ohana’s annual Catalina Challenge."

Nelson completed the Catalina Challenge race in 2009 as a relay with another woman. “Last year's race was the most physically and mentally grueling thing I have ever done in my life,” says Nelson. “This year I have been training using Emergen-C Pink which offers an electrolyte boost, which is the perfect companion for an endurance mission like this.”

She continues: “I’m setting out to do something that is, for me, super intimidating, unknown, and something that I have a good chance of failing at. But that doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t do it! This isn’t about me. People battling cancer go through similar feelings that are magnified to a much grander scale. They are battling a life threatening disease that is intimidating and unknown to them.”

Proceeds from Nelson’s “Paddle With Purpose” will go to leading breast cancer organizations The Keep A Breast Foundation and Boarding For Breast Cancer.

To donate, visit: firstgiving.com/paddlewithpurpose and to track her epic journey visit www.paddlewithpurpose.com

Labels: Boarding For Breast Cancer, Jodie Nelson, Keep A Breast Foundation