World's biggest paddle out gathers 1027 surfers

World's Biggest Paddle Out: Cronulla Beach saw 1027 surfers paddling out for mental health

On March 15, 2025, history was made at Cronulla Beach, Australia, as 1,027 people paddled out to form a massive circle in the ocean.

The World's Biggest Paddle Out event was led by former professional surfer and mental health advocate Blakey Johnston.

The gathering aimed to raise awareness and funds for youth mental health programs.

The previous official world record for the largest paddle out was set in 2017 when 511 people linked arms in Huntington Beach, California.

A larger attempt of nearly 650 surfers was made in Port Macquarie in 2023, but it did not meet the requirements for an official record.

To claim the title, participants at Cronulla had to form an unbroken circle and hold it for at least 60 seconds.

Ultimately, they more than doubled the existing record.

A Cause That Matters

Johnston, who surfed for 40 hours straight in 2023 to raise funds for mental health, once again dedicated his efforts to an important cause.

The paddle out was organized to support Find Ya Feet and OneWave, organizations that provide psychological education and support for young people.

Through registration fees and donations, the event raised crucial funds to help individuals navigate life's challenges.

"Making sure people are there for one another and teaching practical tools to manage life's ups and downs is what this is all about," Johnston told local news.

His passion for mental health advocacy stems from personal experience, having lost his father to suicide in 2013.

Since then, Blakey has raised over $400,000 for mental health initiatives and was recognized as the 2024 Sutherland Shire Citizen of the Year and Westfield Miranda's Local Hero.

Community and Celebration

The paddle-out was a part of the 2025 Cronulla Surf Festival, a surf culture celebration that included live music, surfboard demonstrations, competitions, and a vintage board exhibition.

With over 1,000 people participating in the paddle-out, the event required careful coordination.

Participants entered the water in groups of 100 to ensure smooth execution of the record attempt.

Johnston emphasized that the day was about more than just setting a record.

"Paddle outs are important in our surf culture. Often, they are in memory of someone or as a protest, but we wanted this to be a celebration," he said.

por Surfing | News, Headlines and Top Stories https://ift.tt/AYv2EuS

Postagens mais visitadas deste blog

Duke Kahanamoku reflects on surfing, Olympics, and old Hawaii in 1966 interview

Duke Kahanamoku is the most influential surfer of all time and is often hailed as the father of modern surfing. There is nearly no one questioning these titles. Recently, Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) Hawaii unveiled a never-before-seen interview with the legendary surfer and Olympic swimmer. In the 1966 episode of Pau Hana Years, a seminal Hawaii television program that aired on KHET-TV (now PBS Hawaii) for 16 years, running from 1966 until 1982, Bob Barker chats with Duke Kahanamoku, then 76. The conversation drifts from royal ancestry to Olympic lanes, from Hollywood sets to a surfboard shaped by hand, tracing the outline of a life that helped define modern surfing and Hawaii's public image in the 20th century. And if you know little about the man who dreamed of getting surfing into the Olympic Games, this is a precious piece of history. A name with history, worn casually The interview starts with Kahanamoku explaining that "Duke" is not a title but his giv...

The hydrodynamics of surfboard fins

Have you ever wondered why a surfboard fin looks like that? It is a single or a set of fixed blades or keels located under a board, near the tail, often no bigger than a hand. Yet that small surface is where much of the surfboard's behavior takes place. Speed, hold, looseness, and the feeling of control all trace back to how water moves around fins. The physics of surfboard fins falls under hydrodynamics, the study of how fluids behave in motion. So, according to science, they feature a shape designed to turn flowing water into several forces. Let's take a look at what's at stake when fins and water interact. Lift and the feeling of control One of the key variables in hydrodynamic terms involving surfboard fins is lift. When a surfer leans into a turn, the board tilts and the fins meet the water at an angle. The angle is enough to create a pressure difference between the two sides of the fin. Water speeds up on one side and slows on the other. The result is a sidewa...

How paddleboarding transforms your body and mind

Adventure is on our doorstep. With so many different bodies of water available to paddleboarders, from city canals to coastal routes, we can find adventure in places much closer to home than people might initially expect. According to the Canal and River Trust, 50 percent of people in England and Wales live within just eight kilometers of a canal or river, and eight million people live less than one kilometer away. I had lived within just a few kilometers of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal for years and never really explored it before stand-up paddleboarding (SUP) came into my life . The challenge created both a new perspective and a deeper love for where I lived and the areas which I passed through. On my coast-to-coast journey, I slept in my own bed for two nights as the route passed through my then hometown of Skipton, yet I felt I was on a grand journey of discovery. We are braver, stronger, and more resilient than we think. SUP not only helps us feel more connected to our va...

Vitor Oliveira

Pesquisar este blog