Paddlers Packet Casey, Jake Portwood and Blake Carmichael. The three recently completed the Okeechobee Waterway Crossing for Clean Water -- a journey from Stuart, Florida, to Fort Myers. PHOTO BY LOGAN GRAHAM, LOCALE FILMS

On Sunday, March 10, Jake Portwood, Packet Casey and Blake Carmichael completed a dream to paddleboard for the good of the Okeechobee Waterway that’s been in the making for the past 15 years.

According to Portwood, this adventure –the Okeechobee Waterway Crossing for Clean Water — began with a starting point in Stuart, Florida, that ended in Fort Myers.

“We would start every day at sunrise and we would paddle for around 10 hours a day, taking short breaks to switch out our hydration packs and eat some food and stretch our legs a bit and then we’d continue. The main goal for this adventure was to raise awareness and fundraise for Captains for Clean Water,” Portwood said.

He also said someone asked the three paddlers once they hit the beach how it felt to be finished. The answer to that question, he admitted, is that this is not the finish line.

Fundraising for the non-profit Captains for Clean Water was made easier by their Go Fund Me page as well as having gained sponsors who were willing to get involved, not only on a financial level but also by supplying gear that would be beneficial to the trip.

From left are paddlers Packet Casey, Jake Portwood and Blake Carmichael. The three recently completed the Okeechobee Waterway Crossing for Clean Water -- a journey from Stuart, Florida, to Fort Myers. PHOTO BY LOGAN GRAHAM, LOCALE FILMS

Portwood has been paddleboarding for quite some time, as he said, he did his first race in 2008. His usual competitive races are 5 to 10 miles, he said, which differs vastly from this experience, he explained, describing it as an “ultra-endurance, marathon silo event.”

“We had a support boat with us the whole time, and they carried all our hydration, nutrition and everything we needed to make sure we were safe,” Portwood said.

He maintains that when you accept a mental challenge, such as this trip was for the three of them, having a good reason for doing it makes it more meaningful, if not altogether possible.

“Our ‘why’ was Captains for Clean Water and trying to clean up our waterways. The residents around here locally are directly affected by the discharges,” Portwood said. “It’s not natural — it’s dirty, nasty, chemical filled, fresh water getting dumped into our aquatic saltwater estuaries, which are very harmful and unhealthy to humans and marine life. We’ve been hearing about it for over 20 years now and it’s nice, as a Florida native, to finally step up and do something about it.”

“A lot of people want to take a back seat and say this is something that can’t be fixed, but, there is a solution in the works, it’s just being stalled out year after year,” Portwood continued. “We need to stand up and fight this at a political level, which is what Captains for Clean Water is doing. A critical part of this process of change is for citizens to make their voices heard, and this first stand-up paddle across the state of Florida was our way of getting loud. Thank you for hearing us, and for making our voices echo across the state. Let’s keep going.”

Portwood said the three could not have done this without sponsors, most of which are Florida companies who donated to show their commitment to the environment in their home state: Shaka Kai, Adventure Sports USA, Scuba 4 Good, BLU3 and Flying Fish.

The trip also offered special thanks to its support crew — Dad, Doug and Logan.

Those who wish to contribute to the cause can visit gofund.me.

For more photos of this trip, or by this artist, visit logangrahamphoto.com or Instagram page instagram.com/logangrahamphoto