Saturday, October 8, 2011

Welcome Team Member Tate Matthews

Name: Tate Matthews

Age: 52

City: Mililani, HI

Swimming background: Schofield Sharks, age group and high school in Fairfax, VA

Rough water experience: Escape from Alcatraz, ’04, ’07, San Diego Sharkfest, ’10, plenty kine days at Makapuu, Sandy’s, Pyramid Rock

Goal for this race: Captain of Brooks’ support team

Favorite sport: Reciting nonsensical lyrics from “They Might Be Giants” albums

Favorite sports team: Dallas Cowboys

Favorite shark species: Tiger (those stripes are so slimming!)

Body part that hurts the most after working out: I pay people to work out for me

Friday, October 7, 2011

Welcome Team Member Ted Barnett


Name: Ted Barnett

Age: 46

Job: Semi-retired airline pilot, kite surfer, guitarist in Zeppelin band

Passion: Doing math homework with my kids. OK, red wine and NFL, actually

Swimming background: None, except of Sharkfest 2007 (still recovering from that)

Goal for this race: To not be rescued by kayaker and to honor Skylar

Current gripes: NBA season may not happen, and financial stocks

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Welcome to Team Members Jim Bahrenburg and Galen Weiss

Name: Jim Bahrenburg

Age: 46

City: Long Beach, CA

Swimming background: Nothing formal (which explains why I am officially the slowest Matthews/Bahrenburg sibling on record)

Rough water experience: Enjoy doing the Alcatraz swim once a year since 2003 (thank you, Maggie, for the motivation)

Goal for this race: Finish safely with the entire RFTS team and achieve our team goals

Favorite sport: Anything my boys will play

Favorite sports team: UCLA Bruins, Bruins, Bruins!

Favorite shark species: Angel Shark

Favorite superhero: I’m going with Aquaman for swimming inspiration and his nifty ability to communicate with sea creatures


Name: Galen Weiss (no photo available)

Age: 46

City: Cambellsville, Kentucky

Swimming background: Had fun in the pool playing Marco Polo as a child

Rough water experience: Did some tubing in the Ohio River

Goal for this race: Finish the swim in time for the meal

Favorite sport: Squash, golf, eating

Favorite sports team: None that I don’t like

Favorite shark species: Hammerhead

Favorite superhero: Superman

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Welcome to Team Member John Townsley


Name: John “Hambone” Townsley

Age: 47

City: Dallas, TX

Swimming background: I never had an appreciation for swimming/beach until I moved to 400 miles from the closest beach. I took up “competitive” swimming at age 34 to stay in shape for surfing, et al.

Rough water experience: Waikiki Roughwater Swim, Alcatraz Tri, and many other triathlons

Goal for this race: I HOPE TO NOT FINISH LAST

Favorite sports: Surfing (all forms), swimming, running, triathlons, Formula 1 racing

Favorite sports team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers, LA Lakers, Oregon St., anyone playing Notre Dame

Favorite shark species: Great Whites

Favorite superhero: The irascible Bugs Bunny

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Why We Swim, Part II


For most of us, our bucket list includes things like climbing Mt. Everest, skydiving, seeing the Taj Mahal, diving with Great White Sharks (okay, some of us), and things like that.

Skylar’s bucket list was different.

He dreamed of doing the things that most people take for granted. Like sit up unassisted. Run and play ball. Breath normally without having our lungs pumped three times a day.

Sadly, these things did not come true for Skylar. But before he left us, Skylar had the opportunity to scratch a big one off his bucket list.

Here is his personal account, written with loving assistance from his cousin Kelly Matthews.

The Boy that Didn't Want to Go In the Ocean

Chapter One

There was a boy named Skylar. He did not want to go into the ocean. So he just went in the little pool, and he would go to the beach, but he did not want to go in the ocean. One day he went in the ocean and it was lots of fun. The next day, he did not want to go in because his Dad told him there were jellyfish had stung his Dad. But his Dad told him they were farther out, so Skylar stayed closer to the beach.

Chapter Two

Skylar went in the water and jumped over a whole bunch of waves. He even jumped over a tidal wave! Godzilla was riding it, too! He was jumping over all the waves that came at the last second. After he got out, Skylar wanted to go in again, but he couldn't, because he had to take a shower. He felt warmer afterwards.

Chapter Three

The next day, Skylar wanted to go in again. He did and his Uncle took him in. He jumped over every wave that came towards him. After that, he was tired. Later that day, he went in the ocean again and this time, he went underwater and saw a bunch of fish. It was pretty cool.

Chapter Four

The next day, he had to leave Hawaii. He was very sad! But his brother got to stay. He was mad very mad! He was going to miss going in the ocean, and he was going to miss that beach, building protective walls around him and mostly Hawaii.

THE END

Who can say what happens to us when we leave this planet? As for me, I believe Skylar is somewhere jumping over the waves -- unassisted -- with a HUGE smile on his face!

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Welcome to Team Member Carol Petrie Kinney

Name: Carol Petrie Kinney

Age: 47 (for another two weeks)

City: Sudbury, MA

Swimming background: Countless freestyle laps beginning in high school, when my super-athletic mom hurt her hip and was told to rehab it in a pool and she didn't want to swim by herself

Rough water experience: Does this count? While I'm swimming, my boys like to play a game where they see how close/fast they can swim across my lap lane without crashing into me...

Goal for this race: Support fundraising for SMA research

Favorite sports: Swimming and yoga

Favorite sports team: Have we met???? How about the Lincoln Sudbury Regional High School Warriors

Favorite shark species: Tall dark and handsome Land sharks

Favorite superhero: Maggie

Editor's note: Carol is unable to make it so San Diego. She will be swimming in her own race in Mass. and will be with us all the way in heart and spirit!

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Welcome Team Member Nancy Campbell Manso!


Name: Nancy “Beans” Campbell Manso

Age: 39 and holding baby!!

City: America’s Finest -- San Diego

Swimming background: Countless years spent swimming for Punahou Aquatics, Punahou School and Vilanova University

Rough water experience: Makapuu, Sunset Beach and Big & Little Beach at Makena, Maui

Goal for this race: Finish in one piece and raise money for truly special kids with SMA like Skylar Bahrenburg

Favorite sport: Playing basketball and baseball with Andy in the backyard (editors note: as a child her favorite sport was terrorizing lifeguards at the Pacific Club)

Favorite sports team: New York Yankees, San Diego Chargers and Villanova Wildcats Basketball

Favorite shark species: Sand sharks

Favorite superhero: Spiderman of course!