Clay Walking Eagle (left) and Tim Warner practice for an expedition that
will take them from bridge to bridge. They plan to paddle from the
Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco to San Diego’s Coronado Bridge to
raise money for charity. Photo by Jared Whitlock
20-foot waves, strong winds and sharks — these are some of the
dangers Carlsbad residents Clay Walking Eagle and Tim Warner could soon
face.“A book of unknowns is being opened,”
Warner said. “But the risks are more than worth it.”On March 2, the duo
will stand-up paddleboard from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco
to the Coronado Bridge in San Diego to raise money and awareness for the
global water crisis.
An estimated 4,100 children die every day from water-related
diseases, according to the men’s charity of choice called Charity:
Water, a nonprofit that digs wells and brings clean water to developing
nations.
While teaching in Mozambique, Warner saw firsthand how water
shortages and cleanliness issues devastated communities.“I experienced
not being able to turn on a faucet and how hard it is to get water in
those areas,” said Warner, a South Africa native. “With the economic
level, the people don’t have money to buy adequate water-filtration
systems. So they drink unpurified water full of water-born illnesses and
water-born parasites and get very sick.”The men originally planned on
kayaking from San Francisco to San Diego for fun. But the trip took on a
new meaning when they realized they had a
once-in-a-lifetime-opportunity on their hands.
“Everyone has to work to pay the bills, including us,” said Walking
Eagle, who’s a filmmaker and photographer. “We figured out we had a
short window of time where we somehow have the resources and
availability to pull this off.”
The men grew up fishing and surfing, but neither had tried stand-up
paddleboarding until five months ago. Adding to an already great
challenge, they’re beginning their journey during the tail end of winter
— when the ocean is at its most unpredictable. The swells are bigger,
sharks are out in full force and the wind direction changes often, which
can make stroking through the ocean that much more difficult. Still,
the men couldn’t resist “a life-changing adventure” and unique way to
draw attention to their cause.
“We want to raise $5,000 to build a well that will provide water for
over 200 people,” Warner said. “It’s a long-lasting supply of water, not
something that will dry up fast. We’ll try and raise more if we can.”
The duo hopes to cover 20 miles each day by paddling for five or six
hours. They’ll be around 300 yards offshore on average when paddling. If
the weather cooperates, they expect to reach San Diego in about 25
days.
No comments:
Post a Comment