Operation Open Water’s Veterans Day paddle again a success
Thirty-three U.S. military veterans and first responders gathered in a circle in the Catalina Channel on Thursday morning.
Each person held a rock. At 11:11 a.m., on the 11th day of the 11th month of the year, the paddlers dropped them into the ocean.
The symbolic gesture, made on Veterans Day, was meant to symbolize mental wellness and letting things go. It meant a lot to Irvine resident Jordan Sisco, a U.S. Army infantry veteran who lost both of his legs in an explosion in Afghanistan in 2012.
“I feel like I’m always hitting that wall, trying to fight it,” said Sisco, 31. “Just letting go of that rock, letting go of all that weight and then coming onto the shore, it was more than just a physical [thing]. It was way more emotional.”
The third annual Operation Open Water Veterans Day paddle concluded a few hours later, as the group of paddlers hit land just south of the Huntington Beach Pier. The paddle unites veterans and first responders with the community in the endurance challenge, to promote camaraderie and connection.
Sisco trained for the paddle and completed it with his father, John, a lifelong surfer who also made the crossing last year. Operation Open Water was co-founded by Danny Nichols, who is a former professional surfer himself, and Army veteran Kyle Kelly.
The veterans and first responders got a bigger crowd than normal welcoming them on the shore, thanks to an unseasonably warm day that brought plenty of people to the beach.
The conditions on the 32-mile crossing, which started at daybreak, were also ideal, Nichols said, adding that “the universe was looking out for us.”
“We’re just using water as a medium to bring veterans, first responders and the local community together,” Nichols said. “We’re all just here to be of service. Some serve our country, some serve our communities and some serve others. There’s a lot of gratitude in that. There’s a lot of humility and respect in all of that.”
Interim Huntington Beach police chief Julian Harvey said he enjoyed the paddle, as part of a relay team from the police department.
“I’ve done some paddling, but nothing of this distance,” Harvey said. “It was a wonderful experience. For me, it reminds us that we take a lot for granted. We should be considerate of those who have served our country, and those who have lost everything.”
Bill Cerri, a captain with the Huntington Beach Fire Department, made the trek as part of a four-person team. Each man went as hard as he could for a half-hour shift, he said, before passing off the paddling to a teammate.
“It’s a challenge,” Cerri said. “That’s what it is, it’s just a challenge. You only live once. To get that opportunity to do something different with a team, you’ve got to jump at it.”
Sisco said a highlight was a pod of dolphins that followed the paddlers for much of the journey.
As he got back to the beach, he got back into his wheelchair, still without legs but with a full heart.
“I’ve never had that experience before, or anything close to it,” he said of paddling with the dolphins. “It was really, really freaking cool. Really cool to see Mother Nature just kind of cheer you on, in a way.”
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