Task Force Hydro1

09/13/2026

🌊🛶 TASK FORCE JUNIOR VAʻA | LOW COUNTRY PADDLE — HILTON HEAD, SC 🛶🌊

What an incredible inaugural paddle for our Task Force Junior Vaʻa crew!

This is our favorite kind of race—good people, strong community, friendship, culture, and ʻOhana. ❤️

Clubs came from all over, and the friendships we made were amazing. The ʻOhana vibe was off the charts!

Yes, we were the only junior team in the 5K, but our kids had an absolute blast! They helped adults rig canoes, helped get boats on the water, paddled their 5K, came back smiling, and even got interviewed afterward. 🤙🏽

One of my favorite moments was gathering together as a team to pray before we headed out. 🙏🏽

What we’re building is bigger than paddling. We’re teaching these kids faith, leadership, service, confidence, and ʻOhana.

“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
— Proverbs 22:6 ESV

A huge MAHALO to the Outside Foundation for putting on an incredible event and directing the funds raised toward putting kids on the water. 🌊

And now… HERE’S A CHALLENGE TO JOHN BATSON! 🔥

John, you provide the kids next year for the race, and I’ll bring the canoes! 🛶😂

Let’s make that Junior Vaʻa field bigger next year!

This is why we paddle.
This is ʻOhana.
🌊 🌊

08/01/2026

Today was pure blessing. 🙏🌊
Task Force Ohana kicked off our first Saturday Stoking Saturday alongside our weekly Paddle Platoon practice, and the Lord showed up in every stroke.
We started by putting Eugenia in seat 6 for her very first time in the ocean. She was nervous—rightfully so—but the crew reminded her: we are a team. We rise and fall together. We are only as fast and strong as our slowest and weakest. And she killed it. Three miles offshore and back. Quiet strength. Pure heart. Proud of you, sister.
Then we pulled into the beach and hung with the Keiki and the surf squad. Took some of the little ones, uncles, and aunties out on the water. Laughter. Salt. Sunshine. Connection.
The biggest blessing wasn’t the miles or the sets—it was all of us together. Some of us are walking through hard things right now: relationship struggles, the anxiety of school starting Monday, PTSD that still tries to speak louder than it should. Today we left those problems on the beach. The water has a way of washing the weight off if you let it.
Thank You, Lord, for the privilege of being salt and light right here on this stretch of sand and sea. None of this is about us. All of it is for Your glory.
Ohana strong.
Task Force Hydro1
VeteranHealing Outrigger FaithOnTheWater

07/10/2026

🌊🙏 Blessed on the Water 🙏🌊
Shoutout to our Veterans, First Responders, Active Duty, families, and especially our amazing VOLUNTEERS — surf instructors, Stoking Saturday crew, canoe unloaders, Kidd Paddle Camp helpers, board members, coordinators & coaches. We couldn’t do this without you!
From our 4th of July Stoking Saturday to Uncle Kimokeo blessing our brand new canoes for their inaugural paddle at the ARE Sprints & 30-mile Silver Lining Paddle on Flathead Lake, Montana — we are so blessed.
James 1:17 — “Every good gift is from above…” Thank you donors, sponsors & volunteers for these healing opportunities!
Mahalo nui loa! Let’s keep paddling together. 💪🏾

06/19/2026

Come out and have a blast! All
Are welcome!

Waiver https://www.jotform.com/form/221884871186164

05/16/2026

🚀 Good luck today to our incredible Brian and Pauline! ❤️
An Air Force vet and his amazing wife — longtime pillars of Task Force Hydro 1 and former Stoking Saturday St. Augustine leads. Proud parents of a firefighter and Air Force airman.
It’s been such an honor watching you two grow together in this sport you both love so much. Today is extra special — Pauline’s first race!
We are so incredibly proud of you both. Go get it, Pauline! 💪

05/04/2026

Grateful hearts overflowing! ❤️
Thank you to every Paddler donor, sponsor, and supporter who made this year’s Mission 50 event unforgettable. Your generosity powered four days of breaking bread, clinics, luaus, dinners, new friendships, and beautiful keiki moments on the water — even when weather forced us to adapt.

We laughed, cried, and cheered together as our keiki crushed it in the canoes. Congratulations to Chris D on earning the Purple Shark Tooth, and mahalo to Tikki Tony for cheering us on at every stop.

Deep thanks to all who contributed: Laura (beautiful voice), Jesse (video), Ethan (drone), the Jax Halau, Shop Outrigger (canoes), Kris & Maka (kava), Hadley (upside-down cake), and so many more. Special gratitude to our dedicated wives — Marcella, Vicki, Pauline, Sonja, Marlit, Sally, and those we’ve missed — and to our amazing ops crew, Leo and all the boat captains.
This truly reflects Proverbs 27:10 — “Better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away.” We are so thankful for our paddling community that showed up first with open hearts.

A heartfelt mahalo to our sponsors: Veterans Benefit Guide, Liquid Therapy, Patti Flike, and every fundraising paddler, donor, spouse, and child.
Stand by for the 5th Annual Mission 50 Sprint, Distance & Surf Festival next year, and don’t miss our Surf Contest on October 10th with the special Hydro Games team event!

With deep gratitude and aloha, The Mission 50 Task Force

05/04/2026

Grateful hearts overflowing! ❤️
Thank you to every Paddler donor, sponsor, and supporter who made this year’s Mission 50 event unforgettable. Your generosity powered four days of breaking bread, clinics, luaus, dinners, new friendships, and beautiful keiki moments on the water — even when weather forced us to adapt.

We laughed, cried, and cheered together as our keiki crushed it in the canoes. Congratulations to Chris D on earning the Purple Shark Tooth, and mahalo to Tikki Tony for cheering us on at every stop.

Deep thanks to all who contributed: Laura (beautiful voice), Jesse (video), Ethan (drone), the Jax Halau, Shop Outrigger (canoes), Kris & Maka (kava), Hadley (upside-down cake), and so many more. Special gratitude to our dedicated wives — Marcella, Vicki, Pauline, Sonja, Marlit, Sally, and those we’ve missed — and to our amazing ops crew, Leo and all the boat captains.
This truly reflects Proverbs 27:10 — “Better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away.” We are so thankful for our paddling community that showed up first with open hearts.

A heartfelt mahalo to our sponsors: Veterans Benefit Guide, Liquid Therapy, Patti Flike, and every fundraising paddler, donor, spouse, and child.
Stand by for the 5th Annual Mission 50 Sprint, Distance & Surf Festival next year, and don’t miss our Surf Contest on October 10th with the special Hydro Games team event!

With deep gratitude and aloha, The Mission 50 Task Force

04/29/2026

Thanks to ARE Tahiti for your continuing support.

ARE Tahiti supports Task Force Hydro1’s Mission 50, a 50-mile Florida paddle raising funds for veteran, service member, and first responder mental health.

04/27/2026

🔥 Big shoutout to our girl Hadley!
This chica rolled into the club fired up and ready to paddle, and she’s been crushing it ever since. She jumped straight into our crew of misfits and fit perfectly — because she is one of us. Clinics, personal trainer, consistent grind, showing up even when it’s tough… all that work showed up big time today. In super difficult conditions, she conquered the unknown, trusted her partner, and paddled with pure heart and power. She straight-up instilled confidence in me out on the water.
Nothing feels better than watching your crew rise up and shine.
We raced against two incredible teams today. Second place went to The Hoards — that amazing couple that shows up and crushes it together every single year. I love seeing them race side by side.
But the win went to legends Christianne and Lex Rass. Lex is a true paddling icon — been out here forever, close friends with Kai Bartlett and his family. I learned even more club history: Lex brought our V3 over from Tahiti more than 20 years ago, rigged the rudder himself, and now that same canoe helps develop our paddlers every week. Full circle.
What makes today even deeper is the bond Lex and I share — both cancer warriors. Yeah, cancer sucks, but our stories of perseverance and refusing to quit inspire others to keep going. We talked about the late, great Kai Bartlett. I’d recently sent him a “F$&k Cancer” shirt, and it still hurts that he’s gone. But sharing those stories of his selflessness reminded me why we do this.
Yes, it’s about winning… but I always tell my toddlers and our crew: it’s really about how you start and how you finish. Never let sickness — mental, physical, or emotional — slow you down. When the doctor says you can’t, look him in the eye and say, “You don’t know me.”
Once again, I thank the Lord for allowing me to be out here doing this for His glory. As a cancer survivor and Special Forces Veteran, I’m grateful to be salt and light — using my testimony and the healing power of the ocean to bring others closer to Christ.
Way to go, Hadley. You earned every stroke today. Proud of you, teammate.
To the whole crew — keep bringing that fire. We’re just getting started. 💪🌊🙏🏆 Skyway Outrigger Challenge Liquid Therapy Nordic Blue Water

04/21/2026

🌊 Sometimes you just gotta GO FOR IT.
Our co-founder Leo committing to this beauty at Dolphin Plaza, Hanna Park during our monthly Stokin’ Saturday.
Overthinking (aka paralysis by analysis) will rob you of the wave — and the mission — before you even start. The best things in life happen when you paddle hard and take the drop.
That’s the spirit of Task Force Hydro1.
Come learn to surf with us — no experience or gear needed!
3rd Saturdays → Dolphin Plaza, Hanna Park (Jacksonville)
1st Saturdays → North Beach, Vilano Beach
Both days: 8AM – 12PM
All welcome. All levels. Pure stoke.
Tag someone who needs to get in the water 👇