Photos: Crowd Turns Out For Paddle And Party For Pink 2016 Breast Cancer Fundraiser

SOUTHAMPTON, NY— Havens Beach was packed early Saturday morning with excited participants at the 5th Annual Paddle & Party for Pink 2016 event to benefit the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF).

Special guests pro volleyball player Gabrielle Reece and her surfer husband, Laird Hamilton, along with the event’s co-chair Maria Baum, a triumphant survivor who spoke tearfully of her own breast cancer journey, inspired the crowd with their passionate speeches before the paddle boarders hit the water to compete in either the six- or three-mile race.

Family and friends cheered their loved ones on and waited almost an hour until the first paddlers made it back to shore. As they crossed the finish line, some running, some grabbing water or a Tracy Anderson power bar, they were all met with cheers, high-fives and lots of hugs and kisses.

From the father and his daughter who paddled for their sister/aunt who is a breast cancer survivor, to Maria Baum’s 16-year-old son, Gregory, who finished tired but exhilarated to committee member Tracy Anderson and her son, Sam, all paddled to raise money for a cause close to their hearts.

Coming in first in the six-mile race was south shore lifeguard Billy Swezey, who was the first one the crowd saw at the halfway point. Susan Linnen was the first woman coming in for the three-mile, while Core real estate agent Sean Attebury was number one in short board for the three-mile race.

The strong winds made paddling harder than anyone expected; even the pros were surprised at how difficult the course was. But they were all united in spirit and as a brother of a breast cancer survivor said: “Nothing we felt out there was anything compared to one round of chemo.”