Mayor Joe Stapleton

The Annual Ben Did Go 10.0 will take place on Saturday, September 13, 2025. An epic event that was started by Spencer Pirdy in 2015, has become an annual athletic challenge that continues to grow every year, as watermen and women prone paddle 30 miles through the Channel from Catalina to Newport Beach to raise funds for the BCMSF. In its 10th year, the Foundation plans to raise more than $250,000 with donations from all over the world. The incredible support from the 2023 and 2024 paddle have been joyfully overwhelming. These funds support our international lifeguarding efforts and scholarships to student athletes.

The Ben Carlson Memorial & Scholarship Foundation was formed in the wake of Newport Beach Lifeguard Ben Carlson’s final rescue that claimed his life on July 6, 2014. Taking into consideration the things that truly mattered to Ben, your support has enabled the BCMSF to have a long lasting impact in our local community and around the world.