Local firefighters paddle 1,000 miles for children's hospital

The last time they paddled from Fort Lauderdale to Virginia Beach, novice kayakers Mark Sturgis and Paul Gleaton had their share of apprehensive moments.

Such as when a manatee came up under Sturgis' kayak. Or while avoiding the hundreds of alligators they spotted in South Carolina. Or navigating the tricky currents around Morehead City, N.C.

That was a decade ago, in 1998. Sturgis and Gleaton, both Beach firefighters, had joined two more-experienced kayaking firefighters for a more than 1,000-mile trip up the Intracoastal Waterway.

They did it for the adventure, and they did it to help kids through Shriner's Hospitals for Children.

The hospitals do not charge for treating children, up to age 18, and four of the facilities specialize in burn care, burn research and training medical personnel to treat burns.

That's a cause firefighters can get behind. "We're so related to burn victims through our job," said Gleaton, a 1979 Bayside High School graduate.

That team raised $10,000.

Monday, the Virginia Beach Professional Fire Fighters Kayak Team will attempt to do it all over again. They hope to raise $20,000.

This time, Sturgis, 39, a master firefighter, and Gleaton, 47, a fire captain, are the veterans. Their two other team members, Master Firefighter Mark Hundley and Capt. Ray Irizarry, are the newbies, having only been into kayaking for little more than a year.

"My concern now is doing this and being 10 years older," says Gleaton. He remembers being physically and mentally drained from wielding a paddle for eight to 10 hours a day for more than a month.

"My only concern is not raising $20,000," says Sturgis. "We can make the rest of it happen."

Hundley and Irizarry are more outwardly pumped about the challenge. This trip is "baptism by fire," says Irizarry with a grin and a shrug.

Irizarry, an '82 Green Run High grad, has been in the department for 20 years. Gleaton's been in for 27; Sturgis for 14; Hundley for 10.

Hundley, 39, graduated with Sturgis from Princess Anne High in '87. He bought a boat last year. The 17-foot Fiberglass setup cost about $3,000, including gear.

Irizarry also has a Fiberglass boat. Gleaton and Sturgis made their own, composite wood and Fiberglass crafts that cost less than $1,000 each to build.

Additional money is spent on accessories, such as the $400 ultra-light, carbon fiber paddle that Gleaton uses or the spray skirt that connects to the kayak's cockpit and protects the paddler.

Sturgis recommends it. Without it, he warns the others, "Your legs will get sunburned super bad."

Food for the trip is a personal expense, as well. "All the donations are going to the hospital," emphasizes Hundley. "None of it goes to us for this trip."

"Our biggest thing is getting the time off," Irizarry, 44, says. The men have saved leave time and made trades with co-workers to put together the approximately six weeks expected for the trip. "I'll be working for other people to next year," Irizarry says wryly.

The excursion, however, was almost bagged when the team's support driver could not participate. A support driver paces the team, hauling supplies. "We couldn't do this trip without one," says Sturgis.

Spec Rescue International, an instructional and consulting organization composed of retired and active firefighters, offered to provide transportation to Florida and support driver assistance.

"They've saved this whole trip," says Sturgis, who like his teammates, teaches for Spec Rescue.

There are 36 paddle days and four rest days factored into the trip. "It's 30 miles a day," says Irizarry.

Each night, Hundley says, "We're trying to stay at fire stations." Their enclosed supply trailer will double as sleeping quarters.

Packing for the trip is pretty straightforward. Shorts, T-shirts, flip flops, lots of sunblock.

"It's very basic on gear," says Sturgis. "The whole focus is on paddling. We want to finish, that's all."

The daily schedule is the same: breakfast, paddle until noon, lunch and rest, paddle to the day's destination.

"It's a real simple itinerary," Gleaton notes. "Paddle, eat, paddle."

They'll also be watching for hazards: shipping lanes at St. Johns River in Florida, the military submarines near St. Mary's, Ga., and fast ferries on the Cape Fear River, N.C.

The worst problem? The pleasure boats that come flying past and can capsize a kayak in their wake.

The team expects to return no later than June 30, finishing at the Pungo Ferry site. The men hope to present a $20,000 check to the Shriner's Burn Foundation shortly thereafter.

Despite the extent of the trip, Gleaton insists that he and his teammates are no kayaking purists. They're just four guys who like to paddle, who happen to be firefighters, who help people.

"We're not kayakers," he says. "This is just a vehicle for what we do."

Cyndi Kight, kightcw@yahoo.com