Never Quit Challenge by k38 A jetski action adventure for veterans on behalf of the Phoenix Patriot Foundation a non profit organization

1. PAGE X DECEMBER 2013
SUBMITTED BY: BRIAN CARNEY
The first time I heard of The Never Quit
Challenge was a week before the event was to
begin. Shawn Alladio, a friend of mine who
organized the event, had posted about it on
Facebook. I jokingly asked her if I could come,
thinking it impossible so late in the planning.
Five days later I found myself in Key West about
to spend the next two weeks with people I had
never met to ride jet skis 1600 miles.
NQC was a 1600 mile Personal Water Craft
adventure, starting in Key West FL and
ending in New York City on the anniversary
of September 11th. The mission of NQC was
a land and nautical centered fundraising event
supporting American veterans and their families
with community participation to benefit the
three sponsoring charities; The Phoenix Patriot
Foundation, The Boot Campaign, and The Station
Foundation.
After two days of organizing, it
was time to launch.
All of this has a
degree of difficulty
added to it because
we had riders who
were paralyzed or
missing limbs. Yeah,
that’s right. Most
able bodied people
would never attempt
something like this
and they were about
to do it with no legs.
On the morning of
September 6th we
woke up at zero dark thirty and members of
the Key West Police Department escorted us to
the Marina.
DAY ONE we rode from Key West to Miami,
a 164-mile first day. It was a long, draining
ride, but the welcome from the people of
Miami was amazing. The police drug boats and
harbor patrols met us outside the harbor and
escorted us into the city. It was nice to get into
the calm harbor after being beaten up from the
waves in the open ocean all day. We pulled into
Rickenbacker Marina on Virginia Key at around
6pm and were greeted by Mayor Tomas Regalado
and Gloria Estefan.
DAY TWO we stopped at The National Navy
UDT-SEAL Museum. Several of the challenge
members are SEALs and one is the sister of a
fallen SEAL. At the museum the names of all the
fallen UDT-SEALs are carved into black granite.
We stood there and people reminisced about their
friends and family who came to be honored at
this place. We continued around the museum and
talked about the different weapons. The Soviet
ones always brought up stories of close calls in
Iraq or Afghanistan.
The late nights and early morning starts takes its
toll. Exhaustion and fatigue begin to wear on you
and that’s when things get interesting.
DAY THREE I began on the Jet Ski in
Jacksonville, FL and ended up in Wilmington,
NC. Looking to my left and seeing land but not
knowing what state it was without checking the
GPS was an odd feeling. That day I spent over
14 hours and covered around 410 miles on a jet
ski. We stopped only to refuel, and then
quickly resumed.
As dusk started to settle we ran into problems.
One of our riders managed to find a sand bar. He
also happened to be paralyzed from the waist
down, so another rider and I had to pull him off.
After dark all four of us found another sand bar…
at about 45 mph. My ski turned out to be the most
problematic. It took three of us to drag it out.
Luckily the tide started coming in, which helped
free the skis. We then headed over to the last ski
on the bar. He also happened to be paralyzed. I
managed to pull his ski the last seven feet to the
pond, with the help of small waves coming over the
sand bar, while he jokingly offered insight on the
stars. After over an hour of pushing and pulling we
freed the jet skis and were once again on our way.
Later that night I came off the ski pretty hard. The
shadow casting across the waves was hard to read.
I gave it gas when I should have been coming off
and dug the nose into a wave at 40mph. Other than
a blow to my ego I was okay. We finally made it to
Wilmington late in the evening, pulled the skis out
and went to sleep.
DAY FOUR - The next night we found ourselves
in Virginia Beach. We had a fundraising party with
pirate theme. It was very fun and really helped to
decompress. We had to
make Atlantic City the
next day.
DAY FIVE - As we
rode North, Assateague
Island was off to the
West and you could see
the herds of feral horses
on the shore. The miles
went by fairly quickly
that day.
DAY SIX - The next
morning we rode
from Atlantic City to Beach Haven NJ where we
had a huge welcome from the locals. Coast Guard
and rescue craft escorted us in. The Police, Fire
Departments, and locals met us at the boat ramp
with coffee and donuts. We had to pull the boats
out and drive them North up to Newark. The arrival
time in New York had been changed, so we had to
make up time.
We put the skis back in and started to head for New
York City. I had never been to New York before so
coming into the harbor on September 11th after
everything we had been through was a once in a
lifetime experience.
It was inspiring to watch men, some who were
paralyzed others who were amputees, endure
something that most people would never attempt
in their wildest dreams. The indomitable spirit of
these young men is unexplainable to those who
haven’t lived with such a rare breed. They live full
lives and aren’t seeking pity.
We pulled in and our journey was over. It had been
a long trial for all of us. We met with the media
and then attended an after party. We stayed up most
of the night and on September 12th at 6 AM I got
on my flight to head home. I slept the entire way.
I met people that I will never forget, including an
ultra-endurance athlete with six world records to
the veterans that have made such a lasting impact
on my life. Sometimes big challenges in life seem
like too much, but remember someone always has it
harder, so what’s your excuse not to live?
Brian Carney grew up in Tualatin and graduated from Tualatin
High School in 2007. He was on the Tualatin Football, Lacrosse
and Snowboard teams. After graduating
Brian enlisted in the United States Marine
Corps. He served the next five years as
a Reconnaissance Marine making his
way to Sergeant and a Team Leader in
Afghanistan. He moved back to Tualatin
in August 2012, now working with his
parents at Tualatin Auto Body as well as
coaching Lacrosse at Tualatin High School.
From left to right, Sgt Brian Carney, PO1 Mike Spencer(USCG) Shawn Alladio PO1 Tony Souder.
Left to Right, Cpl Roberto Cruz and WO1 Anthony Radetic both of whom are paralyzed.
From left to right, PO1 Tony Souder LTJG Regina Feeks PO2 Bo Reichenbach.
The
Never Quit Challenge
Mission Statement - Ride to honor those who were killed overseas as well as raising awareness
of the wounded still recovering at home. Please remember those service members who are
overseas this holiday season and their family members who will be missing them.