Reach for the Sky

Welcome Team Member Tate Matthews

2011-10-08T08:36:00.000-07:00

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

Welcome Team Member Ted Barnett

2011-10-07T11:10:00.001-07:00

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

Welcome to Team Members Jim Bahrenburg and Galen Weiss

2011-10-05T19:14:00.001-07:00

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

Welcome to Team Member John Townsley

2011-10-01T19:04:00.001-07:00

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

Why We Swim, Part II

2011-09-29T20:00:00.000-07:00

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!

Welcome to Team Member Carol Petrie Kinney

2011-09-28T20:40:00.000-07:00

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!

Welcome Team Member Nancy Campbell Manso!

2011-09-27T18:47:00.000-07:00

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!

Welcome Team Members Rob and Chau Todd

2011-09-26T21:25:00.001-07:00

Name: Rob Todd

Age: I’m 47, but Chau thinks emotionally I’m younger.

City: Houston, TX

Swimming background: I trained with Maggie Matthews 6 days a week at Punahou Aquatics and swam for Denver U.

Rough water experience: Things I’ve learned, don’t swallow water in a duck pond!

Favorite sport: College football

Favorite sports team: Texas Longhorns

Favorite shark species: Hammerheads

Body part that hurts the most after working out: If after swimming, shoulders. If after a run, my feet. If after a ride, my groin muscle.

Name: Chau Nguyen Todd

Age: 38

City: Houston, TX

Swimming background: Ironman Wisconsin, Total Immersion training

Rough water experience: Ironman Wisconsin, Tagaman Triathlon Saipan, multiple half Ironman competitions; I’ve lost count.

Favorite sport: Triathlons

Favorite sports team: None

Favorite shark species: Whale shark

Body part that hurts the most after working out: Lower back

Welcome to Team Member Jeff Bahrenburg

2011-09-23T21:34:00.000-07:00

Name: Jeff Bahrenburg

Age: 40ish

City: By the Bay

Swimming background: Punahou H2O polo

Rough water experience: Seven Alcatraz swims and counting

Goal for this race: Not to have to buy a larger size wetsuit

Favorite sport: Toss with Declan

Favorite sports team: SF Giants (Fear the Beard!)

Favorite shark species: Bull (these sharks are most curious about all moving objects)

Body part that hurts the most after working out: The parts without copious amounts of lube

Don't Forget to Donate!

2011-09-22T17:23:00.000-07:00

These team profiles are a lot of fun.

But let's not forget the main reason we're doing this -- to raise money for FSMA and help find a cure for this terrible disease.

If you're not sure where or how to donate, simply go to the FSMA page and click on the "donate" button.

Thanks to everyone who is supporting Team Reach for the Sky!

Welcome Team Member Miguel Borromeo

2011-09-21T21:32:00.000-07:00

Name: Miguel Borromeo

Age: More than old enough

City: San Diego

Swimming background: I am an ocean person – surfer, bodysurfer, paddleboarder, masters swimming

Rough water experience: Most of the Skylar Sharkfest swims and some other swim races/triathlons

Goal for this race: To finish and have a “fun” swim – races stress me out!

Favorite sports team: Boston Red Sox, San Diego Chargers, LA Lakers, FC Barcelona

Favorite shark species: Id rather not think about that. I just got back from Guadalupe where we had some encounters with the “tax man”…

Favorite superhero: Kelly Slater

Body part that hurts the most after working out: Thankfully none, yet…

Welcome Team Member Lori Murchison-Chervin

2011-09-19T19:12:00.000-07:00

Name: Lori Murchison-Chervin (aka Murch)

Age: I feel like I am 25, at least I am not twice that yet

City: Fairfield, CT, on the coast

Swimming background: Started at age 8, high school, and 2 years of college

Rough water experience: None, I am afraid

Goal for this race: To finish, avoid any shark encounters, and not be last!

Favorite sports team: I would rather participate than watch

Favorite shark species: Let’s not even discuss sharks or I might back out of the swim

Favorite Superhero: WonderWoman – all the world is waiting for you!

Body part that hurts the most after working out: Thankfully, none with swimming but Zumba does a number on my hips

Welcome to the Youngest Member of the Team: Brooks Bahrenburg!

2011-09-18T10:09:00.000-07:00

Name: Brooks Bahrenburg

Age: 11

City: Shelburne, VT

Swimming background: Swim team for four years

Rough water experience: Playing, going through the waves in Hawaii and boogie boarding

Goal for this race: To complete the swim

Favorite sport: Swimming, soccer and field hockey

Favorite sports team: Patirots

Favorite shark species: Whale shark (they are actually nice)

Favorite superhero: WonderWoman

Body part that hurts the most after working out: After a workout, luckily nothing hurts!!!!

Welcome Team Member Steve Crane!

2011-09-16T20:23:00.001-07:00

Name: Steve Crane

Age: Halfway to 90

City: Hermosa Beach, CA

Swimming background: I swam 12 laps today!

Rough water experience: Jim is taking me on a practice swim on Sunday

Goal for this race: Start slow and taper off

Favorite sport: European triathlon (eating, drinking and people watching)

Favorite sports team: Kiraly/Steffes

Favorite shark species: Land Shark

Favorite superhero: Sponge Bob

Body part that hurts the most after working out: Generally avoid activities that cause pain, but have had my shoulder, wrist and face rebuilt due to sports injuries/accidents

Andrew Higdon and Russell Matthews: Serra High Teammates and Proud Members of Serra HIgh Golden Regiment Marching Band

2011-09-15T07:49:00.000-07:00

Name: Andrew Higdon (photo on left)

Age: 17

City: San Diego

Swimming background: Two years high school, one year club swimming

Rough water experience: 10-mile semi-relay; cove swims

Goal for this race: Support FSMA and get a personal record

Favorite sport: Swimming

Favorite sports team: Chargers

Favorite shark species: Great White or Hammerhead

Favorite superhero: The Flash

Body part that hurts the most after working out: Shoulder

Name: Russell Matthews

Age: 16

City: San Diego

Swimming background: One year of high school swimming

Rough water experience: Bodysurfing for years, snorkeling, cove swims

Goal for this race: Beat dad; finish under 35 minutes; make moolah for FSMA

Favorite sport: Soccer

Favorite sports team: University of Wisconsin Badgers

Favorite shark species: Thresher

Favorite superhero: Batman

Body part that hurts the most after working out: Back

Team members, don’t delay. Send in your profile today!

Team Member Profile: Mark Matthews

2011-09-13T19:58:00.000-07:00

Name: Mark Matthews

Age: Invincible….or 19, same thing

City: Orange County (by way of San Diego)

Swimming background: 4 years high school, 4 years high school and club water polo

Rough water experience: Alcatraz 2007, SD Sharkfest 2009, 2010 (first place in age group both years), countless cove swims where I leave aging dad in my wake

Goal for this race: Win the whole race

Favorite sport: Water polo

Favorite sports team: Chargers, Lakers, Padres

Favorite shark species: Great White (we have similar appetites)

Favorite superhero: Led Zeppelin

Body part that hurts the most after working out: Stomach (need food….now!)

Team Member Profile: Maggie Matthews

2011-09-12T19:43:00.001-07:00

Name: Maggie Matthews

Age: Not very polite to ask, but since you did -- 47

City: San Diego

Swimming background: age group swimming, a year of college and some Masters swimming in my 30's

Rough water experience: all the Mattburg swims for Skylar in SF and SD. And then there was that time…

Goal for this race: Seeing old friends, family and having 500 different folks contributing to a search for a cure while we celebrate Sky!!

Favorite sport: Surfing and bodysurfing.

Favorite sports team: Chargers -- Go Bolts!

Favorite shark species: Bonsai sharks. They're still ferocious!

Favorite Superhero: Superman

Body part that hurts the most after working out: They vie for contention but the knees win hands down. So to speak.

Team members, don’t delay. Send in your profile today!

New Team Member Profile: Chris Kellerman

2011-09-09T17:22:00.000-07:00

Name: Chris Kellerman

Age: 40

City: Redwood City, CA (SF Bay Area)

Swimming background: Punahou swim and water polo teams, UCLA water polo, National team water polo, Menlo and PCA Masters swimming (ever since the first Escape from Alcatraz for Sky allowed me to re-discover my love of swimming after 10 years out of the water – what a gift!)

Rough water experience: Waikiki Roughwater ’95, ’96, Escape from Alcatraz 4 times(?), Santa Cruz Cruise, Trans-Tahoe Relay (2), SF Swim Across America (Golden Gate Bridge South tower to Crissy Field) Tiburon Mile, pretty much anywhere they’ll let me swim I’m jumping in…

Goal for this race: Inspire my 8 and 10-year old kiddies to want to become open-water enthusiasts (like dad).

Favorite sport: I can’t pick just one…in no particular order: swimming, volleyball, surfing, golf.

Favorite sports team: SF Giants

Favorite shark species: The one that actually turns out to be a friendly dolphin.

Body part that hurts the most after working out: Ummm, knock on wood – nothing – that is why I try to stick to the water. Neutral buoyancy is a heck of a thing.

Looking forward to seeing everyone!

CK

New Team Member Profile: Jack Bahrenburg

2011-09-06T21:40:00.000-07:00

Welcome to

Reach for the

Sky team

member:

Name: Jack “Shark Slayer” Bahrenburg (the one on the left; the remora on his back is J.B.)

Age: 40

City: Shelburne, VT

Swimming background: Currently landlocked

Rough water experience: Too many Sandy Beach dawn patrol sessions to count.

Goal for this race: Make sure my daughter makes it from Point A to Point B without drifting to Point Loma!

Favorite sport: Non-athletic sport of golf, for now.

Favorite sports team: Go Yanks!

Favorite shark species: Whale shark (because they cannot eat me)

Body part that hurts the most after working out: Take your pick (see age, above)

Team members, don’t delay. Send in your profile today!

New Team Member Profile: Marc Lee

2011-09-02T18:59:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Reach for the Sky team member:

Name: Marc Lee

Age: 58

City: San Diego

Swimming background: various Masters workouts (intermittently)

Rough water experience: Assorted LJ Rough Water Swims and Gatormans

Goal for this race: Lose enough weight to fit into my old wetsuit!

Favorite sport: Cycling

Favorite sports team: Chargers

Favorite shark species: Nurse (if they wear the little white hat!)

Body part that hurts the most after working out: Torn meniscus that I

have been putting off surgery for

Team members, don’t delay. Send in your profile today!

Team Reach for the Sky: Represent!

2011-08-31T10:06:00.000-07:00

Hello team Reach for the Sky.

Thank you for signing up for the swim. It should be a blast!

We thought it would be nice to get to know each other before the race. So we’re asking everyone who signed up to create a Team Reach for the Sky profile that we can post on this blog site. I’ll go first.

Name: Doug Matthews

Age: Who’s counting? (Okay, 56)

City: San Diego

Swimming background: Age group/high school.

Rough water experience: Escape from Alcatraz, ’04, ’07. San Diego Sharkfest, ’09, 10.

Goal for this race: Try to beat youngest son (doubt it will happen).

Favorite sport: Bodysurfing

Favorite sports team: Chargers

Favorite shark species: Great White

Body part that hurts the most after working out: All of them!

Anyone who would like to post a profile, send it to me via email (dmatthews@san.rr.com) and I will post it on the blog site.

Feel free to add any info that team members would enjoy knowing about you. If you want to include a photo, send that along as well.

Looking forward to getting to know you all.

Aloha,

Doug Matthews

Letter from Jim & Liz

2011-08-19T21:49:00.000-07:00

August 18, 2011

Dear Family and Friends,

It's been over three years since June 21, 2008, the day Skylar's personal fight with SMA came to a sudden and unexpected end. There isn't a day that goes by that we don't wish for one more day, or even a moment with him to hold his fragile hand, listen to his jokes, and bask in the sunshine of his enthusiastic smile. The battle he fought was valiant. It was thanks to the love and support of family and friends like you, a team of highly trained doctors, therapists and nurses and the dedicated resources of Families of SMA that Skylar was able to buy 5 additional years after his 2 year prognosis.

No parent should ever have to experience the absolute heartbreak of losing a child. This is why we fundraise to find a Cure. Families of Spinal Muscular Atrophy (FSMA) has made huge strides with their research (thanks to your donations). They have recently reached a significant milestone with one of their clinical trials moving into human testing on adults with SMA bringing us that much closer to a cure. These research programs, clinical trials and resources bring hope to devastated families.

This October 9th, our Sharkfest team of over 30 swimmers and supporters will reunite in San Diego, California for our 4th Annual Fundraiser under a new name: "Reach for the Sky" in memory of our Angel Skylar.

At our last fundraiser in 2007, we received approximately 350 donations. Our goal for this year is 500 donations. We know that times are tough for a lot of people so it is about the number of donations we receive rather than the amount of the donation. Every little bit adds up and makes a difference. So help us honor Skylar and all the other SMA angels as we Reach for a Cure! Please feel free to forward this letter on to your friends and family.

Much love and thanks,

The Bahrenburgs
Jim, Liz, Spencer, Sawyer and Angel Skylar

http://www.fsma.org/GiftReg/ReachForTheSky

Why We Swim

2011-05-13T16:24:00.000-07:00

"Memories of Perfect Moments" help to fill the gaping hole in our hearts...

Raising awareness and funds to find a CURE insures other families never have a hole to fill....

Jackson coming out of the water at the Alcatraz swim!

2011-05-04T20:30:00.000-07:00

It was a glorious day for an open water swim. Jack Bahrenburg nails the swim, defies the Alcatraz currents and emerges unscathed -- no shark wounds at all! It was a fine day and a fine way to celebrate Skylar Bahrenburg :-)

Will October 9, 2011 be as lucky a day for him?

Calling All Rough Water Swimmers (and Wanna Be's)!

2011-04-26T19:05:00.000-07:00

Everyone’s “bucket list” includes jumping into frigid 50-degree water and swimming a mile and a half through shark-infested waters while battling ferocious currents that can sweep you out into the boundless ocean never to be seen again.

Right?

Okay, maybe not.

But here’s the good news. In order to be a way cool member of the “Reach for the Sky” fundraising swim team, you don’t have to!

Thanks to the San Diego Sharkfest swim -- a calmer, tamer and much easier version of the legendary Alcatraz Shark Swim -- you can now scratch “complete an open rough-water swim” off your bucket list without putting life or limb in danger.

In fact, unless you really push yourself, you can easily complete this 1.25 mile swim without even breaking a sweat!

At the SD Sharkfest, you’ll dive into balmy 65 to 68-degree water and leisurely stroke your way though scenic San Diego Bay, with panoramic views of downtown San Diego on your left and the awe-inspiring Coronado bridge on your right.

No vicious currents. No sharks. No fear of embarrassment from having to be rescued by the kayak safety patrol.

Heck, you don’t even have to wear a wetsuit. Unless you’re a major wuss. In which case, you might want to bump up your life insurance coverage prior to the race.

Seriously, about the worst that can happen is you might get your goggles kicked off at the start of the race by some amped-up granny lady who’s shooting for a new record in the 75 and over age group. Or the bright yellow swim caps might clash badly with your new floral print speedo.

But other than that -- piece of cake!

If you’re an experienced ocean swimmer, this is probably the easiest race you’ll ever do. If you’re new to the sport, a few months of training in the pool should be enough to prepare you for the race. We’ll be posting some open-water training tips soon for those that need them.

So waddya say? Why not join us for a fun swim and a great way to help raise money for FSMA?

You’ll get a cool San Diego Sharkfest T-shirt to wear with pride. A great party at Maggie’s after the swim. A real sense of accomplishment from completing a rough water swim.

And most important, a chance to honor the memory of our beloved son/brother/nephew/cousin/friend Skylar Bahrenburg in a very meaningful way.

So sign up for the race now (http://www.sharkfestswim.com/default.asp?PageID=20158). Then get to your nearest pool, pond, lake, river, canal, ocean or over-sized bathtub and start training.

See you in October!

April 24, 2011

2011-04-24T07:41:00.000-07:00

Today is Skylar's 10th birthday.

Happy Birthday, Sky!! I wish I could wrap my arms around you and give you a huge birthday hug!

Today is also Easter Sunday. I'm looking forward to a festive gathering at 1219 Diamond in San Diego with Doug's crew, Ange's crew and Miguel's crew where stories of Sky will be told and cherished. We will also probably talk about how we need to get in the water soon to start prepping for our Reach for the Sky Swim this coming October!

This picture is from the first swim our family did for Skylar back in 2003 -- Escape from Alcatraz. 1.5 miles in frigid San Francisco Bay waters. I was all set for it and then broke my rib 3 weeks before the event and had to cheer from the shore. I planned that one well. This time around will try to keep my ribs intact and perhaps shave off a few excess pounds that are currently protecting those ribs...