Newport Aquatic Center Team 'We Are Ocean' Joins Forces with Team 'Open Water' in 32-Mile Catalina to Newport Paddle Boat Race Part of Puakea Designs Wild Buffalo Relay
Newport Beach, CA (PRWEB) March 20, 2023 -- The Newport Aquatic Center’s (NAC) paddle team We Are Ocean along with paddlers from Team OpenWater are set to take to the waters off the Southern California coast on Sunday, April 2, 2023, for an inaugural 32-mile open water outriggercanoe race and fundraiser as part of the Puakea Designs Wild Buffalo Relay Race. Teams will depart Avalon on Catalina Island, CA, taking approximately 7 to 9 hours to complete the crossing arriving in Newport Aquatic Center in Newport Beach, CA. Teams of paddlers will include cancer fighters (in active treatment or in remission) and first responders, active-duty military and veterans. The cross-channel race is a fundraiser to raise money to send cancer patients and survivors to the life-changing cancer support and adventure camps run by NAC / We Are Ocean on Catalina Island later this year.
The Puakea Designs Wild Buffalo Relay Race is an annual race event and is organized by Puakea Designs and Kelly Schwartz, Race Director. The NAC / We Are Ocean team is led by Jack Marshall Shimko, Founder and Program Director of the Newport Aquatic Center (NAC) We Are Ocean cancer program. The race was launched in response to The Puakea Designs Wild Buffalo Relay naming NAC and We Are Ocean as the beneficiaries of their upcoming race. The We Are Ocean team is generously sponsored by the Newport Aquatic Center, Puakea Designs, Florence Marine X, The Kennedy / Marshall Company, The Schulein Family, Crown Ace Hardware, Kaenon and Athletic Greens.
The goal of this outrigger canoe race and fundraiser is to raise $27,000 to fund an entire week-long, water-based adventure camp for 18 participants. The cost per camper is $1,500 per week-long session. These camps, based on Catalina Island and organized by NAC / We Are Ocean, provide ocean-based transformational adventures for teens and young adults fighting cancer.
The Puakea Designs Wild Buffalo Relay Race is a small craft relay race within the SoCal Ocean Racing winter series. The race will include all small crafts with solo divisions and relay divisions of 2-4 people (depending on the craft). The race will run from Avalon, Catalina Island, CA to the Newport Aquatic Center, Newport Beach, CA (32-miles). Paddlers from all over the world come in to compete across the channel but also be a part of a whole weekend retreat which includes professionally led hikes, beach yoga sessions and an adventure panel open to all participants.
"I'm doing the Puakea Designs Wild Buffalo Relay because I'm done letting cancer sideline me and I'm ready to get back out there. I'm a lifelong endurance athlete, ocean enthusiast and two-time cancer fighter. Originally diagnosed at 29 with Hodgkin's lymphoma, and after 13 years living cancer free, I was diagnosed in August of 2022 with chronic lymphocytic leukemia," states Jack Shimko, Founder and program Director of the Newport Aquatic Center. "I just completed 12 more rounds of cancer treatment and am waiting to hear what the next steps of my treatment plan will be. I'm in medically uncharted waters - that's why this paddle feels so important to me. A way to show cancer I'm done sitting in the sidelines and I'm ready to get out there!"
"All of us at OpenWater are so grateful for the opportunity to share this experience with the NAC and Team 'We are Ocean.' While everyone of us is on a different journey, the Wild Buffalo channel crossing provides fellowship, a powerful intersection point for us to come together and to surrender to the healing powers of the ocean," states Danny Nichols, co-founder of OpenWater.
About NAC / We Are Ocean
The Newport Aquatic Center (NAC) was founded in 1982 and built in 1987. We Are Ocean was started by Jack Marshall Shimko in 2012 as a non-profit corporation and became a part of the NAC in 2021. NAC offers the public unique opportunities in the Olympic water sports of rowing, canoeing, kayaking and outrigger canoe competition.
The Newport Aquatic Center is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. This year alone some 87,500 teens and young adults will be diagnosed with cancer. Most will fight back through conventional means, but at
NAC / We Are Ocean we take them out of the chemo wards and ferry them deep into ocean-based adventures. The primary mission of the NAC / We Are Ocean Cancer Program is to provide ocean-based, transformational adventures for teens and young adults fighting cancer. We Are Ocean focuses on bringing intimate groups of cancer fighters together in coastal wilderness environments while providing opportunities for connection, self-discovery, empowerment, support and adventure. For more information or to support the NAC / We Are Ocean Team, donations may be made on the site below. All donations are fully tax-deductible. Federal Tax ID: 95-3699894
NewportAquaticCenter.combio.site/nac_WeAreOcean
IG: @newportaquaticcenter IG: @nac_weareocean
About OpenWater
Operation OpenWater is a California based 501(c)(3) whose mission is to support the health and wellness of every Veteran and First Responder through unique training programs, fellowship, and open water experiences. For more information or to learn more about OpenWater: OperationOpenWater.org
Where: Newport Aquatic Center
White Cliffs Dr., Newport Beach, CA 92660
Date: Sunday, April 2, 2023
Arrivals: 2 PM to 4 PM (arrival times approximate)
Press Check in: 1:30 PM
Your coverage is invited. To cover the arrivals event at the Newport Aquatic Center, speak with one of the event organizers or to get more information about the event:
For Press and Media Inquiries:
Kelly Schwartz, NAC Manager Phillip Nakov, Publicist
Puakea Designs Race Director City PR
mailto:[email protected] [[email protected] __title__ null]mailto:[email protected] [[email protected] __title__ null]
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Phillip, City PR, http://www.cityprinc.com, 1 3108492173, [email protected]
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