Kayaker on solo trek also gets ‘heartfelt’ message across

Worshiped by the public, professional athletes are often sought as spokespersons by organizations eager to raise money and awareness for their causes.

But the Philadelphia-based Adult Congenital Heart Association, which is smaller than some of the huge national nonprofits, has an amateur “paddler” telling its story.

She is 48-year-old kayaker Camille Richards, who surprises people, as she did Sunday on Holmes Beach, when she paddles to the shore in her 19-foot-long ocean kayak from roughly eight miles out in open waters to bring her message that millions born with heart defects desperately need to stay in treatment as adults to extend their lives.

Richards is a Mississippi resident who is on the board of directors of the Adult Congenital Heart Association and also is the program director for a Mississippi facility that offers specialized care to adults with congenital heart defects.

When she lands on a Florida beach, as she has done a lot lately, tired and sweaty after paddling non-stop for hours, she often draws a crowd around her high-tech kayak. This gives her the chance to tell about the ACHA and share that only 10 percent of adults with congenital heart defects are in specialized care.

“We are fortunate to have her,” said Mark Roeder, president and chief executive officer for the Adult Congenital Heart Association, whose mission is to extend lives of those who have congenital heart defects through education, advocacy and the promotion of research.

“Camille is on our board,” Roeder added during a phone interview Sunday from Philadelphia. “But this is taking dedication to a dramatic new level. The fact that she is spending so much time on the water trying to raise awareness for genetic heart disease and our organization is truly inspiring.”

“This is why I am doing the paddle,” Richards said. “The ACHA is an amazing organization.”

Trying to join an exclusive club

Besides her ACHA outreach, Richards loves to paddle.

“I decided to combine the two,” she said.

Richards is attempting to become the third woman ever to go solo on the Florida Circumnavigational Saltwater Paddling Trail, which is a 1,515-mile trek around the state of Florida, including 26 segments.

Richards landed in Holmes Beach on Sunday on the sixth day of this particular 275-mile segment. She expects to finish this segment in roughly two weeks in Everglades City.

Richards hopes to have all 26 segments completed — she is not doing an all-at-once “paddle through” — by December 2018.

A typical day is a 15- to 20-mile paddle followed by a camp out by the shore.

“Today I paddled 11 miles from Shell Key to Anna Maria,” Richards said Sunday.

While some people enjoy a quiet kayak ride on a lake or river, Richards likes to get out away from land where terror would grip most people. She enjoys competing against ocean waves in her kayak, which is longer for more stability.

“I love the water and sea life and using my maps to figure out where I am going,” she said.

The married Richards — she gives her husband a head start when they paddle together to keep things interesting — eats freeze-dried food and camps on the shore.

She calls herself “Paddling CHIK,” with the CHIK an acronym for “congenital hearts in a kayak.”

You can’t be scared

As Richards paddled through Tampa Bay on the way to Anna Maria Island this weekend, she was dwarfed by tankers. Tampa Bay sea turtles startled her with their crooked grins. Dolphins raced for fish around her. Sharks were a constant reality. She is often out of sight of land, relying on maps and a GPS system to keep her on course.

She deals with fog, wind, rain and rogue waves that can topple a kayak.

She was asked why she isn’t scared of all these things.

“My mom named me after Hurricane Camille in 1969,” Richards said. “I don’t know how she got it right. It was innately in me when I was born. I’ve kind of always had a streak of determination. I was raised by a mother who has no fear and can do anything and everything. My dad still runs marathons at the age of 70. My stepfather has a work ethic better than most people. I think when you are surrounded by that type of environment you learn.”

What about pirates on the open seas?

“If they look anything like Captain Jack Sparrow, I’ll be flagging down the pirates,” she said with a joyful laugh.

This story was originally published November 26, 2017 at 8:23 PM with the headline "Kayaker on solo trek also gets ‘heartfelt’ message across."