Cape Cod Bay Challenge 2009 – A huge success

Saturday, August 15th 2009, 21 more standup paddlers became a part of the CCBC family. An almost perfect start to the day, warm, sun just rising over the glassy waters of Plymouth Harbor, a light SW breeze. Everybody was excited as we prepared in the early dawn light.

Mike sounds the official CCBC conch horn to start the event

The Mary C heads out in support.

It was tough for Mike and I to watch everyone take off. Pretty ironic that the two of us are both on Drs orders to stay off the water for awhile. We still had a fun day together, driving down and getting into Provincetown early for breakfast and getting things ready for the party. Thanks to the help of all our volunteers setup went very smoothly. The folks at the Surf Club were great….very accomodating.

This taxi explains the vibe in Provincetown much better than I can

Finally coming around the breakwater

Mike sounds the conch in welcome.

Harbormaster escort

At least a couple of my boards made the crossing…PonoBill on my 12-6 and John Hibbard on my 11-2 Starboards

What a great crew…hope to see you all again next year when Mike and I can make the crossing again.

The after party was great. Lots of great Wachusett Ryde beer, great food, The Nate Mott Band rocked the place…I mean REALLY rocked the place. Thanks to our sponsors we had a great assortment of cool stuff on hand to raffle and auction off.

Mike thanks Tim Sheehan, our support boat Captain, with a presentation of a Hepi Maxwell Maori Hei Matau Hook. All the paddlers got one too.

Martha Welsh, Executive Director of Christopher’s Haven thanks the crowd and explains how much this means.

The big surprise of the day…at least for me…was a get well present for yours truly…a new Vec custom 14′ downwind/race board. Kind of embarassing getting choked up to the point of being speechless.

My, my, my….I’m gonna go FAST!

We’ve already been talking about ways to make CCBC 2010 even better. One thing that keeps coming to the front…and everybody says the same thing regardless of their ability. Don’t change the format…don’t make it a race. Especially telling coming from John Hibbard who could have done it twice in the 9 hours it took for the group. The CCBC is special because it is about teamwork….we are a family working toward a common goal. No competition, people helping people and becoming friends along the way. The feeling of coming in as a group, the camaraderie, can’t be beat. We are out there to raise funds to help kids face a much more difficult challnge. We see the CCBC as a metaphor for the kids we are doing this for…we want everyone to cross the finish.

I’m very proud of all our paddlers and honored to call them friends. With their hard work and the great support of our sponsors we have raised in excess of $30,000 dollars for Christophers haven. Enough to support an apartment for a year. That’s a lot of kids and their families that will have a little less stress in their lives during a difficult time.

Thanks again everyone for your hard work and dedication. You are the best! See you next year.