Supporters of the Piper’s Angels Foundation were met with an unexpected visitor during their annual paddleboard voyage from the Bahamas to the Lake Worth Beach Pier earlier this month—a U.S. Navy submarine!
Every June, nearly 200 paddlers make the trip to raise funds for those who live with Cystic Fibrosis and their families. Paddler Catherine Kelly spotted the deck of the submarine surfacing nine hours into her journey and captured it in a now-viral social media video.
“I didn’t comprehend in the moment that seeing a U.S. Navy submarine was such a big deal,” said Kelly, whose support boat received a radio call from the submarine crew congratulating them on the 82-mile paddle.
“It was just so surreal to have your military congratulate you in such an epic journey, when they do challenging things every day,” said Kelly.
Piper’s Angels is the top grassroots organization in the world for Cystic Fibrosis, a hereditary condition that can obstruct pathways in the lungs, digestive system and other organs in the body. The foundation raised $333,000 from this year’s crossing, with Kelly raising $8,000 herself.
In her third-year paddling for Piper’s Angels, Kelly feels she has truly found her calling in advocacy. She remembers a donor’s generous contribution this year and why they chose to give so much.
“[The donor] told me that their son had been born with Cystic Fibrosis and if it wasn’t for me paddling and talking about it as much as I did, they never would have known about it,” said Kelly. “It’s really cool not realizing how many lives you impact on a daily basis doing this.”
Registration for next year’s paddleboard crossing is open and can be done here. General donations can also be made on their website.
