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Fairfield Paddlers Cruise Sound To Raise Funds

As a teenager, Eric Pasquale lived to surf. Growing up in Westchester might not have been as conducive to that pursuit as a childhood in Southern California or Florida might have been. But Pasquale made the most of it.

"I'd drive down to Jones Beach with some buddies almost every day in the summer," he said. "Half the time we'd get there and the water was slack, but it was still great."

Pasquale moved to Fairfield County as he began his career in the food business and found the quest for surfable waves to be even tougher. To maintain his fix, "I got into a fairly new sport, standup paddle," he said.

Standup paddling is just what it sounds like: practitioners stand on a long surfboard and use a long paddle to propel themselves through the water. "It's a great workout, a great way to get in shape," said Pasquale. "And you can explore areas you normally wouldn't get to."

Pasquale and a group of paddlers will take to the water for a good cause Sunday when they paddle from Lighthouse Point in Fairfield to Southport Harbor and back in the first annual Waterman's Challenge. The event begins at 9 a.m. and will be followed by a beach party at 11. It raises funds for the Norwalk Maritime Aquarium's Children's Opportunity Fund, which brings kids who would never otherwise experience sealife to the aquarium. "We need to teach young people about the importance of the ocean and water," said Pasquale. "Without water, there's no life." The Pediatric Angel Network of New Jersey is a co-beneficiary of the event.

"It's our first time doing it, but we hope it can really grow in the future," said Pasquale. More details are available at Soundsurfer.org.

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