Miles To Go.

Largest on water cleanup- Ever.

News spread pretty quickly that the Shell Oil LNG platform destined for Long Island Sound sunk back into oblivion last week, likely for good. In its proposed form, it would have towered above all other structures on either side of that great body of water and inspired the curses of generations to follow. It should have been a procedural layup, with the interests of the Sound split between two states, both struggling with budget and resource constraints, and zero organized advocacy to oppose the revenue generating and cost saving proposal.

Now the legend of how that didn’t happen continues to grow, just as quietly as it snuck up on everybody before the battle began.

Begin with Leah Schmalz, a delightful director of legal and legislative affairs for Save the Sound, a program of Connecticut Fund for the Environment who began the opposition eight years ago with meager resources and virtually zero platform to get the word out. She picked her punches wisely.

Then, out of no where, Kayak for a Cause jumped in, ostensibly because ”Save the Sound” had the brand that most directly fit the core values of the organization. But as KFAC learned more, both organizations realized the symbiosis of their existences. What followed was a virtual marching band of support for Leah and her work at STS. When STS needed to get the word out, KFAC designed an “on the water clean up” over 14 miles of sound. When STS needed a platform to gather more supporters, KFAC was there with a stage, a microphone,and a tremendous crowd ready to listen. When STS needed promotion during a crucial state senate vote, KFAC rallied its 10,000 donors to flood the capital with expressions of concern. And when STS needed financial resources to back up Leah, KFAC was there with five figure support, year after year.

Was is most amazing, perhaps, is that all of this was started with nothing, and done for love: One simple bet, and a few guys redirecting the proceeds to charity became an annual tradition along the Sound.

It’s now hard to fathom that KFAC has always been an entirely volunteer organization which somehow fields a crew of 500 committed souls every year to manage the logistics of a modern day Normandy with a beach party at the end. The leadership and organizational talents of this group are stunning. People like Shirleen Dubuque and Steve Showalter organize provisions, supplies and people with sublime, 11th hour hijinx. Kim Beaumont at DownUnder and Dave Haddox from Purdue have likely trained hundreds of kayakers to be safe enough to make the voyage. Tad Jones worked stage miracles for years, packing thousands of people into legendary beach parties that rallies the troops around the charities. Patrick Sikes was a master magician at logistics. Amy Rule and Kathy Foreman wrangle hundreds of volunteers to do undesirable work details at unmentionable hours. And Adam Uhrynowski and Brian Russell have this magic touch capturing the whole thing on film for us to replay over and again in the long winter months of  frozen water.

All of this energy was harnessed and directed to something good, for years on end. And then last week…

“In sending a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission requesting to vacate their certificates, Broadwater has signaled that their proposed floating gas plant is finally dead,” said Leah Schmalz. “Eight years ago, the citizens of Connecticut and New York recognized that this proposed project was not good for our environment or our livelihood,” Schmalz said. “It took years of fighting, partnering with federal and state officials on both sides of Long Island Sound, but now we can say that the health and safety of our Sound will not be compromised by the proposed industrial complex.” More here

Years ago, another KFAC treasure named Morley quoted Pete Seeger  in “Where Have All the Flowers Gone” from the stage, as she had witnessed KFAC grow from dozens to hundreds and then thousands.

I’ve been surprised by some good things happening in my lifetime. Sometimes quite suddenly.

Imagine a big see-saw, with a basketful of rocks sitting on one end. That end is down on the ground. At the other end, up in the air, is a basket half full of sand. Some of us are trying to fill it, using teaspoons. Most folks laugh at us. “Don’t you know the sand is leaking out even as you put it in?”

We say, that’s true, but we’re getting more people with teaspoons all the time. One of these days that basket of sand will be full up and you’ll see this whole see-saw just tip the opposite way. People will say, “Gee, how did it happen so suddenly?”

Us, and our little teaspoons.

Leah Schmalz is now working on controlling emissions and ecoli bloom from the Bridgeport harbor. Kayak for a Cause launches for its twelfth year on July 21th. And Long Island Sound is that much nicer because they do what they do.

Compo Beach Volley. The serve was in...

Beach volleyball taught me something very valuable in angel investing: how to guess.

I’ve been playing since the mid-90′s, when I discovered an open court in Aruba and fell in with an old Choate pal, Nick Webb, who ran Connecticut’s largest tourneys at Sherwood Island. For those not familiar, beach volleyball is a game of two-on-two, played on a regulation sand court. The balls are served and slammed at incredible velocity, and the reaction times are akin to those of a  baseball player at bat. There’s nowhere to hide, and only one partner to save you. Many volleys take a Herculean effort to keep alive; no wonder most beach volley players end up in pretty good shape.

One great example is defensing a good hitter. My partner would generally block, meaning he would be up in the air roughly covering one-fourth of the court, and unable to further adjust. This left the remaining 650 square feet of sand to me, an entirely indefensible area when the ball is coming at you at 120 mph. And even if you are in the right spot, you have to have your hands in the right place to even have a prayer of digging the ball.

Sounds hopeless, right?

But as the years roll by, one thing emerges that saves you : how to read the subtleties of the game and use them to Guess Well.

In beach volleyball, there are a ton of subtle hints that inform your guess while defensing a slam: how tired is this guy? What did he do to win the point last time? Does he look up (and see me) before he jumps? Does his partner scan the court and tip him off? Is he young and prone to swinging as hard as he can, or is he wily and likely to try some slop shot?  How high does he jump and at what angle can he hit the ball down? Was my partner able to block him earlier? Was his approach clean or not? How close to the net is the set? Would this slam be the game winner?

Answer these questions instantaneously and you can make a pretty informed guess as to which few square feet the ball is heading into and at what speed and arc. Arrive there in time to dig the smash and you look like a magic lightning-cat capable of tracking down anything on the court. Dig a few in a row this way, and you really have an advantage.

Likewise, there are a ton of reads in backing successful entrepreneurs- none of which I am going to give away today. Most of them are imperceptible to the untrained eye. But they are huge clues to making good guesses, and if you can read them well, you can cover a lot of court.

Editors note: The Compo Beach volleyball courts still among the best in Southern Connecticut.  Come by and see what real beach volleyball means- at least on the East Coast. (We know the gods live and play in Los Angeles and Rio).

Coordinates
» Compo Beach, Westport, CT

KFAC X features Maori island images... sorta.

I was sitting on my porch, listening to the water gurgle peacefully in the pool as it does when I don’t change the filter right proper. I tried to figure out how a fifty dollar bet could end up, years later, launching a small armada of kayaks and a charitable phenomenon. And that’s when I put two and two together.

Kayak for a Cause, the Foundation I founded with Scott Carlin, has been pretty well documented in the press- thank you very much Greg Matusky. But one story that hasn’t been written is this: things happen when they are ready to happen. While I prefer my destiny in my hands, crossing Long Island Sound in a kayak definitely puts that destiny somewhere else. How you deal with it makes all the difference I believe.

KFAC III and KFAC IV illustrate my point.

KFAC III was a death march on water. We put 8 boats in the water. It took most of us 6+ plus hours in withering heat. Some finished in 7+. Some did not finish. Most of us needed transfusions in Long Island. My arm was mummified from the elbow to the thumb, a condition that looks as idiotic as it sounds. (I pulled too hard with the right to compensate for an uneven paddle stroke). We retuned to Connecticut, mumbled a few goodbyes, and headed for home. And half of the paddlers did not- would not- do it again.

KFAC IV was different, you might say. We put 40 kayaks in the water. I personally knocked four hours off my time, and I was basically the middle of an amazing pack that ranged from 2:00 to 3:10 total time. We stuck together, we had a nice reception in Long Island, and we posed for pictures for the media. When we got back to Norwalk, we were treated to a lobster dinner on the beach and the luscious sounds of a diva named MORLEY and her band. We raised over $70,000, about 700% over the prior year. We thought that was a lot.

Since then we have put 1,5000 butts in kayaks and lead them across Long Island Sound. We’ve raised over $1,000,000 for charities tha support our community, environment and leasdership. We have an all volunteer organization of ~50 people to produce the event. And we have a blast doing it.

So, what gives?

Truthfully, it was just the tide, doing its thing both literally and figuratively. Before we hit the water, we caught some good swells. A committed volunteer organization* rallied around us and created our look, vetted charities, recruited paddlers, sourced kayaks and chase boats, arranged land transport, found entertainment, and managed donations. We let it happen, I’m proud to say, by answering most every challenge with simply this; let it take you. We were able to deal with near disasters like being short 15 kayaks at 05:00 and logistical challenges like returning 40 kayaks by land when they had arrived by sea. To match the swell of support on land, we let the currents take us at sea: we enjoyed 3 knots tides, both out of Norwalk and into Northport, with a 5mph tail wind to boot. It was fun.

Where will the tide of KFAC take us next? One thing’s for sure, we’ll stick to the spirit and fun of that $50 bet. And we’ll let the tides take us from there.