Keri's doing it AGAIN!!!

Yep...I'm doing it again. BEN DID GO 10.0 from Catalina to Newport!

When I ask myself the question, "Should I cross the channel again?" My mind comes up with many answers. Ultimately, the answer has to be YES, for two main reasons: FEAR & COMMUNITY

Plain and simple, I'm scared to do it again. For all the reasons you'd think and for many more. Ignorance was bliss last year, but now I know. I know just how incredibly difficult it is to paddle from Catalina to Newport with nothing but your arms. FEAR is a loud and overpowering voice telling you all the reasons you can't or shouldn't. I'm choosing to walk toward and through my fear again on September 13th. My favorite quote these days is: "Your body can do almost anything. It's your mind you have to convince." That's the Truth!

Yet, despite the fear, I'm also filled with tremendous excitement for this summer. Crossing the channel gives me the opportunity to be a part of something bigger than myself. Paddling to support lifeguarding and the Ben Carlson Foundation gives me and so many others a common goal. As I get older I'm realizing that strong COMMUNITY is so important. Last year Alice & I trained and crossed with the VESL Vixens. This year we've surrounded ourselves with a new crew, a super fun bunch of misfits called "Prone 2 Paddle". I feel super lucky to be supported by these crazy-positive humans. Many of them are new paddlers, just like I was last year. So, I will paddle again, to support them and their first time "across the channel". (Follow us on Instagram @Prone2Paddle)

Please help me by donating to my fundraising paddle. NO AMOUNT IS TOO SMALL. The money collected will support local and international lifeguarding efforts, water safety, junior lifeguard programs and give scholarships to student athletes. YIP YIP!

**SPECIAL BONUS** Donate $25 or more and you'll receive a jar of my homegrown & homemade Organic Blackberry Jam.  (While supplies last)

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.