The noise and smoke from the Pirates Week celebrations were just beginning to clear over George Town, when Jasmin ‘Yaz’ Muratagic and Eoghan Ryan quietly slipped into the harbour to make their own historic landing.
After covering 100 kilometres, to go round the island in less than 24 hours, the paddleboarders surged towards the finish line to the sound of jubilant cheers from friends, family and well-wishers gathered at Rackam’s Waterfront bar.
The pair tipped paddles in an elongated high five, before saluting their support crew.
The herculean effort has so far raised more than $20,000 for the charity Acts of Random Kindness, which provides housing, education and cost-of-living support for families in crisis.
Beaming as they accepted hugs and fist bumps from almost everyone in the crowded bar, the paddlers said it had been an emotional end to an historic few days.
“I saw my wife, saw all my friends, my best friend here with me, and it was, this is everything,” said Ryan as he clambered on to the deck at Rackam’s for the after-party, which included an auction for ARK.
“We’re gonna stay here for as long as we can and we’re gonna raise a bunch of money. And we’re gonna do everything we can because it’s not about us, this is about ARK. We just highlighted it.
“We do what we do and hopefully other people in the future will do what they do to raise money for charities like this.”
ARK’s Tara Nielsen said the effort had raised more than $20,000 even before Saturday evening’s event, which included a raffle and auction.
Round-the-island
The effort began simply enough, with the paddlers cruising north form Rackam’s on Friday along Seven Mile Beach with the sun setting in the distance. As dusk fell, they made good time, catching favourable currents to cross the North Sound from West Bay and round Rum Point.
In the thick of night, with only a pale moon, a malfunctioning head torch and the lights of the support boat to guide them, the ocean threw up its sternest test.
A squall brewing off-shore brought large swells to disturb their progress as they paddled along the northern coast.
The pair called out warnings to each other in the dark, shouting “roller, roller”, as they battled through the toughest stretch of the course in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Muratagic said, “Experience is what helped us come through that night. I was really confident because we’ve done it, we knew we could do it. We trained so hard and we needed every bit of that training and experience in one 20-mile stretch of map.”
It wouldn’t have been possible without the help from their support boat, following their progress and supplying food and drink at regular intervals.
“We followed their tiny light for 12-13 hours and they took us through the night,” said Ryan.
Morning found them passing East End, well ahead of schedule. The battle overnight had been worth it and they were able to cruise through calmer seas, lingering a little on the southern side of the island to time the arrival for the planned party in aid of ARK.
Hungry for more
The calorie-sapping ride left them hungry.
“Can someone get me some curry chips?” Ryan called out to the bar staff as he reached the finish line.
Green 2 Go was one of the sponsors of the effort and the pair crammed calories from specially made juices throughout the journey.
“We just burned through what we had and we’re gonna eat for two days now,” Ryan added.
As founder members of Keep Calm and Paddle On, a group that seeks to use the sport to raise money for important charities, the duo hope to be involved with more fundraising efforts in future.
Tara Nielsen, of ARK, said the proceeds from their round-the-island paddle would go directly to help Cayman Islands families in need.
“We have been overwhelmed by the loving kindness, enthusiasm, commitment and gigantic hearts of the KCPO team.
“We want to express our gratitude to them for enabling ARK to be able to continue to help the community in need during these very difficult times and months ahead.”
The pair paid tribute to their sponsors and support crew including fellow paddlers Kiristen Cousins and Chad Guenter, who accompanied them through stretches of the route.
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Congratulations to KCPO! What an uplifting story to start my day, and a truly inspiring one. I’ve been reading more stories of hope, gratitude and kindness…I am grateful to entrepeneurs who use their talents for the good of others!