I’m at Verve Coffee on 41st Street in Santa Cruz, very cool place. Serious barista-meisters, crema perfecta, good wi-fi. A big tan guy came in a few minutes ago, broad shoulders, deep chest, and missing an arm. He sat with a friend next to me and he started talking about paddling. Pretty soon we’re talking. He has a 16′ custom Joe bark board, I have a 12 footer…Turns out he’s sponsored by Patagonia, among others. He competes in paddle races and surfs. Man, what an inspiration! He just left. I looked him up and read this:
“I began paddleboarding in order to keep the edge. Having only one arm I am forced to stay as sharp as a tack in order to simply catch the waves I seek to ride. Growing up in Maine where the sun sets early in winter, our prime wave season, I was forced to embrace the night in my mission to stay fit, to ride waves. Through necessity I was awakened to another level of joy from the paddling experience.…”
https://www.thecleanestline.com/2010/02/keeping-the-edge-night-paddleboarding-with-jeff-denholm.html
Lloyd, don't miss the video interview with Jeff: http://video.patagonia.com/video/Ocean-Calling