Support Our 32 Mile Paddle BEN DID GO 10.0

Please support our BEN DID GO 10.0! This will be my sixth year paddling and my 16 year old son, Max’s first!!! I’m honored to be paddling and incredibly stoked to get to experience the paddle this year alongside my son! 

We will be prone paddling 30 miles through the Channel from Catalina Island to the Newport Beach Pier in support of the Ben Carlson Foundation. The funds we raise for the foundation will support local and international lifeguarding efforts and give scholarships to student athletes. I truly appreciate your generosity in helping us achieve our donation goal! Thank you for following along!

 

Ben's Story: It occurred at the end of a busy 4th of July weekend that was marked by warm conditions, abnormally large and turbulent surf, and giant crowds. Newport Beach Lifeguards made 562 rescues that holiday weekend. Many of those were dramatic lifesaving events that resulted in relieved and reunited families, but the next rescue would not.   At 5:15 pm, Newport Beach Lifeguards Ben Carlson and Gary Conwell were patrolling beyond the large surf in a NBLG rescue boat when they spotted a distressed swimmer. Ben jumped from the boat and after a long swim made contact with the man.  As they began to make their way back out to the rescue boat, both were hit by a large wave and taken over the falls.  

The distressed swimmer made it to the surface and was rescued, but Ben was missing. A 3 hour search ensued that included members from 7 agencies including Newport Beach Lifeguards, Fire, Police, Orange County Sheriff’s Harbor Patrol, Huntington Beach Lifeguards, Laguna Beach Lifeguards and State Parks. Ben was eventually located more than a half a mile away from the original rescue location at 8 pm and was transported by Newport Beach Paramedics to the hospital where he was pronounced deceased. He was the first and only Newport Beach Lifeguard to die in the line of duty since the service was formed in 1923.