SUPer Ed Carpenter to Paddle 62.1 Miles for Suffolk Veterans
It’s 100 kilometers, or 62.1 miles, from the Great South Bay to Montauk—that’s if you travel by water. And now one man, Ed Carpenter, is attempting to standup paddleboard (SUP) those 100 kilometers in a single day to benefit the Veterans Assistance Program of the Suffolk Police Veterans Association (SPVA).
If 100 kilometers sounds like a long way to paddle in a day, that’s because it is. “It’s 12 miles farther than I have ever gone in a single day,” Carpenter says when discussing the challenge, adding, “But as a former Marine, the cause is near and dear to me.”
That cause, the Veterans Assistance Program of the SPVA, is a fund that steps in to help veterans in need. Carpenter mentions several recent instances in which the program has provided critical funds, including $5,000 to a Marine wounded by an IED and to another veteran whose house burned down.
“Every penny they raise will go to the veterans,” Carpenter notes.
That should encourage people to give generously to Carpenter’s project, and donations are being accepted now at suffolkpolicevets.org. By clicking on the “donate” button, you can make your contribution using any major credit card and be assured that all of the money will be used to aid veterans.
Carpenter’s paddle is tentatively slated for September 19, but he’s keeping his options open in case of bad weather.
“I’ve done 50 miles against the wind in 90 degrees, and I don’t want to do it again,” he laughs.