Paddling for a Cause – Rincon Beach Boy, Rincon PR

One of the aspects I really celebrate about living on the East End of Long Island is its people.  We are a community of neighbors; we love the land and seek to take care of it. We’re not afraid to get involved and never hesitate to extend a hand to a member of our community who needs help.  We are loyal, stubborn, deeply passionate about the sea and overwhelmingly tolerant (most of us!) of the influx of noise & activity that happens every summer.  Here’s a story I’d like to share about the gathering of friends.

Recently, I was lucky enough to spend a week’s vacation down in magical Rincon, PR with a group of gal pals who, together, had planned this trip almost a year ago.  We had a marvelous adventure; perhaps, one of the best vacations ever.  At some time during our trip, the girls and I were at an infamous Rincon hang-spot, The Banana Dang, and my friend Ursula took note of a poster on the wall for the 4^th Annual Rincon Beach Boy Stand Up Paddle Race slated for March 31^st, 2012.  Knowing I’m an avid paddle boarder, she said, “You’ve got to go!  You’ve got to be in that race!”  Unfortunately, our vacation did not extend to the 31^st and I told her that financially I just couldn’t swing the event.  Never say no to Ursula.

Unbeknownst to me, later that night, Ursula gathered the other girls together and decided to host a fundraiser in order to raise the funds I would need to enter The Rincon Beach Boy.  I thought the whole thing was a joke, until I realized she had actually gone so far as to post the concept online and people were pledging funds to help me!  Urs had figured that if she could get 31.5 people to donate $20 then my airfare and race fees would be fully accounted for.  By the time we returned from our vacation, over 15 people had pledged.

Now, I’m a service oriented person.  I participate in local fundraisers throughout the year.  I know how people in our community are hurting and how many are in financial distress.  The idea of collecting money to send ME to a stand up paddleboard race was challenging to get my head around.  I felt guilty.  I felt like I should reach into my 403B to fund the event if I wanted to go that badly.  I thought of the people donating the money and I cringed at the idea of accepting it.  In fact, I started to almost not want to go. 

But, then there was Ursula.  She called me up one day with a figure and told me she had collected enough pledges to buy my plane ticket!  She paid for the ticket on her credit card before I had much of a chance to argue.  I would be responsible for paying her back once the funds were collected.  Next, there was my friend Kelly, who offered a FREE fitness training session for one person who supported me in order to up the ante.  My friend Anna cashed in her credit card points to pay for my rental car for the trip.  Things were rapidly spinning out of control.  Offers continued to pour in, much to my discomfiture.

I began to say things like, “I don’t know if I should go…” or “Honey, how can I leave again when I just got home…”  I started to waffle.  So I did the only thing I knew to do, I went to see Ursula.  Now, if you know my friend Ursula Lindgren at all, the thing you most likely remember most, is her smile and her bright nature & generous spirit.  I should have known better.  Ursula greeted me with her infectious enthusiasm and we spoke about ordinary things for a while.  Then, she broached the topic of the SUP race, told me how excited SHE was FOR ME to go, and then said the following:  “Evelyn, we’re in a community that gives when it can.  We’re doing this so we can share your joy.  We’re spreading happiness.  You’ll pay it forward when the time is right. “

I love her.  I agreed to attempt to get over the battle my head was waging against me and just get on the plane and go, for them, for me, for everyone involved.  I was representing the East End, a part of the whole, not just myself in this event.  I would get over my personal concerns and share the joy my extraordinary friends were so willing to offer me.

I arrived in Rincon, solo, because my husband had work obligations, at 3:30AM off the midnight flight from JFK.  It was raining, I was tired and a more than a little nervous. I also had nowhere to go until around 10AM when my room would be available.  Driving to Rincon on the dark, wet roads, I questioned the sanity of what I was doing.  How did I think I could pull this off?  What if I got hurt?  What if….?  And then, I remembered a card I had received in the mail a day or two before my departure from a woman whom I had never met, who lived in Oregon, and who was another SUP racer/supporter.  She had heard about my adventure through Facebook.  The card had contained the popular $20 offering (which touched me), but even more relevant, was the quote she included in her card.

“Just as the wave cannot exist for itself, but is ever a part of the heaving surface of the ocean, so must I never live my life for itself, but always in the experience which is going on around me.  It is an uncomfortable doctrine which the true ethics whisper into my ear.  You are happy, they say; therefore, you care called upon to give much.”  -- Albert Schweitzer

There it was again.  This idea that I wasn’t doing this just for ME but that I was acting with and for the people around me in living out a dream.  I was a wave rolling through the ocean, and these friends of mine, these crazy, wonderful, beautiful friends had sent me up high, cresting on the magnificent sea because I WAS a part of them, and the greater whole. 

I spent the rest of that night in my car asleep at The Church Without Walls in Rincon, PR, a beautiful spot my friends and I had discovered on our previous trip.  This “church” was an outside enclosure, a clean patio with a plywood ceiling and mosquito netting that sat in a garden on the edge of a spectacular hill that on a clear day offered views over the verdant land straight away to the ocean.  I was still exhausted but beginning to feel the spark of adventure in my heart.  Here I was, a former middle school teacher, now at 43 years old and sleeping in my car outside a church in Rincon, PR?  I started to enjoy myself.   

Race day dawned bright and clear.  I awoke around 6AM, did some yoga, ate my granola, meditated and, once refreshed, grabbed my paddle to head out to the Villa Confresi where the race was held.  I had entered into the Women’s Elite Stock division. This meant I was racing a 12 foot, non-raceboard (a regular flatwater SUP board) for the full 8 mile race.  We were to paddle from the Villa Cofresi, which sits just outside the village of Rincon down the coast line to Domes Beach, turn around the buoy there and head back.  This run would take us past some of my favorite stomping grounds, the marina where you can paddle almost any day no matter how big the surf, Tres Palmas, Maria’s, the lighthouse and finally Domes, where there sits right on the coast a giant nuclear reactor that was shut down in the 60’s.   

            I was nervous but not overly keyed up.  I met up with Lars from Main Beach Surf Shop in East Hampton who I knew was down there racing with a couple of friends.  We found a place for our boards and began some serious warm up exercises.  The Villa was filling up quickly, contestants, spectators, staff and guests were milling around the place.  The ocean front was covered with giant stand up boards and to walk, one had to maneuver carefully or move down to the water’s edge to avoid getting mixed up in somebody else’s leash.  There was a hum in the air, and the vibe was fantastic!  Lots of good cheer and enthusiasm.  Everyone was on board for a great event.

            The event coordinators had us line up for a photograph with all of our boards, easily 200+ people lining the beach.  My friend, Angelo Cardero stood on the roof of the Villa Cofresi to shoot this magnificent event.  You can see his photos here and get a sense of just how many people and boards there were.

            Then, it was to your marks.  Men lined up first with the women behind.  We had a 5 minute wait time after the start of the Men’s Elite and then…. GO!!!  Off we were, sprinting to get out in front.  I focused on staying with the lead pack, even though Heather Baus who eventually won the women’s division, quickly tore away and became a spec on the horizon.  Once we moved out of the main fray, I found a couple of gals who ran at a good pace I could keep up with and paced myself according to their stroke.  Three of us hung together like that for most of the way to Domes.  Paddle, paddle, switch.  Paddle, paddle, switch.  As we neared Indicators and the lighthouse, we could see the men turn the buoy and head back our way.  Paddle, paddle, switch!  Some confusion as the men’s Elite began to pass through our ranks but everyone was smiling and cheering for the others.  It was great!

            As I approached the buoy, Heather passed me on my left, way ahead of the pack, heading back to the finish with the same furious, quick paddle stroke she had had since the sprint.  Focused and determined, that woman was burning past the men now as she had made up the 5 minute difference and was still going strong!  I let out a whoop as she passed me and, reinvigorated, renewed my efficacy of stroke, watching my paddle shaft, pulling the blade up quickly on the return.  Around the buoy I made up some ground on a couple of the women and kept them in my sights.  Four miles to go!

            On the return, I repeatedly checked in with my body:  How does the shoulder feel? Where is there difficulty in your stroke?  Do I need to settle down or can I pick it up a bit?  The back wind I was hoping for on the return trip had completely died off and as I hit Tres Palmas and the Marina, I began to feel every inch of that 12 foot board as I pulled it through the water.  Oh brother.  My arms were strong but my legs felt tired.  Paddle, paddle, switch!

            Passing over Tres Palmas, as always, I was mesmerized by the reef.  So incredibly beautiful!!!  My attention wandered as I took in the beauty surrounding me, the palm trees, the color of the water, the warmth of the air on my skin.  Suddenly, I felt a surge of adrenaline and, looking forward, knew I was almost there. I was going to make it!  I was going to finish my first ever official SUP race!  I was super stoked! 

Just after the Marina, I caught up with a young man struggling in this last mile of the race.  We nodded to each other, not speaking as to conserve energy.  He pulled along beside me for several moments and then, realizing I still had something in reserve, I pulled away and set my sights on the buoy ahead.  500 more yards, 400, 300… there was my friend Hector taking photos from a chase boat.  200, 100, around the final buoy and heading in.  Would my legs hold up once I hit dry land and carry me up the beach to the finish?  I pulled off my leash and jumped, clutching my paddle and sprinted. People were everywhere, cheering, taking pictures, enjoying the moment.  Once I crossed the finish line, I was received by the volunteers with a big hug and a medallion that was placed around my neck.  In Rincon, we are all winners.  We were paddling for a cause, and in that case, everybody wins. 

I had done it.  I had pushed my limits, paddled my best and completed an 8 mile course, by myself with the support of my family and friends.  This adventure was so much more than just an adventure of the body, but one that dictated I reach within and draw on a courage I didn’t know I had, and to let down my boundaries and receive the support and love from my family and friends in order to accomplish this feat.  My placement?  4^th!  My success?  Total. 

Mahalo to each and every one of you that lifted me up, that created this wave of which I am but an integral part.  Thank you, thank you for allowing me to participate in this community and being able to participate in its heart.  I will pay it forward, Ursula.  Every chance I get.

If you are interested in learning more about SUP racing or participating in one of our local events, Main Beach Surf and Sport is hosting a series of flat water races this summer.  From 3 miles to 6 mile Elite races, you can paddle for a cause, as each race is a fundraiser.  For more information, please go to http://mainbeach.com or call 537-2716 ext. 1 for more information.  Mahalo & see you out there!