Hundreds gather for 2023 Friendship Paddle off Shoreline

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - People walking the bluffs along Shoreline Park Sunday afternoon were awed by a large gathering of boats and surfers offshore.

Onshore, not far from the Santa Barbara Yacht Club, cheers echoed across the ocean as hundreds more gathered in a show of support.

It was a major turnout for the annual Friendship Paddle, an event honoring someone special and very loved in Santa Barbara's aquatic community, battling a life-threatening or terminal illness.

The Friendship Paddle was created in 2003 as a way for friends, family and, strangers to gather and support that person, both emotionally and financially. Doug McFadden, a 39-year-old husband and father of two, was the first recipient.

Since then, the website states that 20 paddles have happened.

"We attempt to channel the power of the ocean into a proponent for positivity for a family that needs it most."

This year's paddle is in honor of April Medina-Watson, who was diagnosed last year with ALS, a progressive neurodegenerative disease.

As the Friendship Paddle website states, "sadly, life-saving treatments don't come for free."

The day-long event includes -- weather permitting -- a paddle from the Channel Islands to Santa Barbara's mainland, roughly a 28 to 35 mile journey.

Yesterday, the hundreds of people gathered on shore hooted and hollered, welcoming them back.

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