After spending hour after hour on the water with these folks, I thought I'd write a piece about what makes everyone so interesting..since we all come from such different backgrounds. In no particular order....here is the eclectic and diverse paddlers that are charging for the champs in August...

Philippe Boccara, Age 51 +
Chiropractor
Born in Le Mans, France and currently resides on the Balboa Pennisula in Newport Beach.
We have known Philippe for over 20 years, training with him since the beginning in San Diego.
He is a Chiropractor and wants to say that his interesting fact is that he sat in the K4 behind me(DeAnne) when I was honored to carry the Olympic torch at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. I think his interesting fact is he likes to wear full spandex paddling suits while dancing on my wedding video.


Rich Sprout...the youngest here at age 29.
Born in George, South Africa and currently resides in Costa Mesa, CA.
He is Firefighter for the City of Anaheim and before that was a Newport Beach Lifeguard.
Rich has only been paddling for just over 2 years and has risen quickly to a top ski paddler. He is also spending time in K1s with aspirations for the national Kayak team. No doubt he will get there. His interesting fact is not so interesting, but he says he still has his tonsils. I think he is hiding the really good stuff.



Sean Lupton-Smith, age 41
Restaurant Owner
Sean is the newest to our group, making his way from Atlanta to Malibu and now down here.
Born in Johannesburg, South Africa
He has been paddling on and off for 20 years, but when we met him, definitely been off for a few. Now the bugger has just completed the Berg River Marathon in Cape Town. March of 2010 he could barely balance a ski..day after day he hammered and now he's fit and fast.
He did not give me much as far as interesting stuff to write and I don't know him well enough to guess. Nice to have a new friend.



Patrick Hemmens Age 46
Firefighter/Paramedic for the City of Glendale.
Pat was born in Johannesburg, South Africa and has been paddling for over 30 years. Raised in Fish hoek, SA now resides in Costa Mesa.
Pats interesting fact is that he was a Lieutenant in the South African Army and stationed on the border of Angola.




Ed Visser Age 56
Physical Trainer
Born in Aruba, Dutch Caribbean, now resides in Hollywood.
Ed has been paddling a little over 2 years but came from Olympic Style weightlifting and(we will tease him forever for this)...his "Blades of Glory" phase of figure skating. Not sure if there is anything more interesting than that from Ed.



Eva Mauck, Age 48
La County Firefighter and Paramedic
Eva was born in Sweden and now resides in Newport Beach.
She has been paddling skis for about 3 1/2 years but before that spent 8 years with outriggers.
I am so glad to have her as a friend and the only other gal around that paddles ski. We can laugh at the things those men do in training.


DeAnne Hemmens, Age 46
Mother of 3
Been paddling for 22 years, born in San Francisco and live in Costa Mesa.
Something interesting is that I was kissed by Fidel Castro when I received a bronze medal in the Pan American Games, Cuba 1991.


Barry Borm, Age 50
ER Doctor, born in Kansas City, MO
Barry has been paddling on and off for 15 years. Inspired by Cliff Meidl to start paddling ski
Barry lives near San Diego, works in LA and joins us for sessions before or after work. One interesting story about Barry is a scary paddle he had with Cliff and Patrick when they were paddling in a big, cold downwind and he fell out, losing his ski. That day was one of the windiest we have had here and a quick reminder of how important it is to paddle in groups and with the right equipment.


Cliff, Pat, Barry and Noah

Cliff Meidl, Age 44
Financial Analyst
Born in Hollywood, resides in Hawthorne
Cliff has been paddling 25 years and has one of the most amazing stories.
When he was young he jackhammered into 30,000 volts of electricity. He suffered 3 cardiac arrest episodes and was basically gone for over 2 minutes before he was revived. He endured over 15 surgical procedures and spent 6 years trying to rehab his body and life. He started paddling as a way of therapy, but excelled and became a 2 time kayak Olympian. He had the honor of being voted by his Olympic Athlete peers as the flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Games.

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1. The most interesting fact about Patrick...all the talk about Fishoek and he's really n egte Vaalie !!The things you learn!
   Posted by Robin   on  08/02   at  03:36 PM

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