Paddle boarding is a fun and relaxing option to enjoy the marvellous seas that surround the Cayman Islands and on Saturday all 60 paddle boards available for rent here were put to good use in an inaugural charity event.
It was the first John Bunton Memorial Stand Up Paddle Board Fundraiser for The Cayman Islands Charitable Diabetes Trust, from Public Beach. The late John Bunton was a Canadian businessman who started the electronics Mega Systems Ltd in the Eighties here. He died a few years ago of diabetes and his son Russell, who now runs the company and loves paddle boarding, hit on the idea to raise money for diabetes and to keep his father’s name alive.
Jane Robson helped organise it. She said: “It was quite overwhelming to have so many people there and we’ve got some good ideas about how to build on things for next year. We had 70 boards in the water and around 100 people in attendance, including John’s widow who flew in from Canada for the event.
“It was great to see experienced paddlers alongside those paddling for the very first time. We had parents paddling with kids, and our youngest solo paddler was only seven. The slightly choppy sea was a bit of a challenge for the first timers, but everyone agreed that falling off is half the fun, and fun was definitely the order of the day.”
Over $8,000 was raised for the Charitable Diabetes Trust.
Robson added; “A huge thank you to everyone who turned out to paddle or who bought raffle tickets or who volunteered to help on the day. We particularly want to thank our extremely generous corporate sponsors. They were Mega Systems, The Camera Store, Bliss Yoga, Caribbean Canvas Company, Cayman Distributors, Cayman Islands Roofing, Cayman Islands Sheet Metals, Cayman Marine Services. De Sunglass Man, DSigns Quality Signage; Fiderus, Fitness Connection, Flow Yoga, Funky Monkey, Genesis Trust, Island Pharmacy, Kirks Marine, LG Contracting, Moby Dick, Overseas Asset Management, Paige & Co, Platinum Spa, Smoothie King, Sports Supply, The Kite House, Triple Crown Pub, Waterman, White Sands Water Sports – and finally Gary at Red Sail and Ivan at the Ritz who came through with extra rental boards at the last minute to help us with the overwhelming demand.”
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