Some paddlers from Wrightsville Beach are almost done with their 325-mile trip along the coast of North Carolina.
People from the Wrightsville Beach Outrigger Canoe Club chose to take on a challenge three years ago.
Karen Allen, a paddler and coastal supporter, said that this effort to bring attention to the need for clean coastal waters hit close to home for many in the club.
“We the Water is a North Carolina paddling initiative and it’s really designed to Hawaiian outrigger canoes to tell the story of the coast and raise awareness around coastal issues as well as act as a fundraiser for the North Carolina Coastal Federation,” said Allen.
“We were looking for ways to connect our club and our paddlers with coastal stewardship and through some collaboration with Hawaiian paddlers we came up with this idea to paddle the entire North Carolina Coast.”
In 2022, the group began their 350-mile journey by paddling the first 120 miles, which began at the border with South Carolina. They paddled 120 miles in 2023, and the last 110 miles took them two days this year.
The group from We the Water had to stop about 10 miles short of their goal, which was the Virginia line, because of bad weather. To finish the last stretch, they still plan to go out there soon.
One paddler, Vicki Hunt, said, “It took a lot of work from a lot of people, and we’ll be very proud that we did it.” “It’s just been incredible being on the water, feeling the movement of the water in the canoe, feeling the ocean.”
Allen told them that many of the paddlers have learned a lot from the experience.
“It’s been interesting for a lot of our paddlers to see how different each part of the coast is,” she mentioned. There is a huge amount of storm water flow where we are (in the Wilmington area).
Simply the fact that those waters are closed and we can’t paddle in them after a big storm—it may only take a couple of days of heavy rain—as compared to other areas with less development.
A lot of the paddlers will still be working to promote coastal care after they cross the finish line. Allen said it’s a big part of the outrigger canoeing heritage.
“We have this initiative in our club: Malama I ke Kai,” said Allen. “Malama is a Hawaiian word that means to take care and Kai means ocean or sea.”
The group almost made it to their goal of raising $50,000 to help the Coastal Federation do its job to clean up the water. There is still a silent sale going on until September 23 to raise money.