May 12, 2009

Tackling cancer, and the Atlantic,
alone in a 19-foot boat

Battling 30-foot waves and high winds, a 25-year-old son spent nearly three months rowing alone across the Atlantic Ocean to honor his mother and to raise money for skin cancer research.

Paul Ridley is the youngest American to row across the Atlantic alone.

After 88 days alone with the sounds of the ocean, meals of only freeze-dried rations or energy bars, and wind that blew him every which way but toward land, Paul Ridley is home. And Yale Cancer Center has $100,000 more to put toward skin cancer research.

On March 29, Ridley completed a 3,500-mile solo row across the Atlantic Ocean to raise money for the Yale Cancer Center in memory of his mother, Kathie, who died of melanoma in 2001. In doing so, the 25-year-old from Stamford became just the third American—and the youngest—to row across the Atlantic alone.

Ridley’s odyssey, which he named “Row for Hope,” began Jan. 1 in the Canary Islands, as he climbed into a narrow, 400-pound custom-built fiberglass boat, determined to row 10 to 13 hours a day to reach two goals: the shores of Antigua and raising $500,000 for Yale Cancer Center, his partner in the effort.

“There are easier ways to raise money, but I happened to be a rower,” said Ridley, who rowed crew as an undergraduate at Colgate University.

Now that he’s back on dry land, Ridley hopes to raise the balance of the $500,000 through a speaking tour and possibly by writing a book. “We still have lots of work to do,” he said.

The money raised by “Row for Hope” will be given to Dr. Mario Sznol’s melanoma program. Sznol’s expertise is in cancer immunotherapy, early drug development for cancer, and treatment of patients with melanoma and renal cell carcinoma.

Paul Ridley on a tour of the Smilow Cancer Hospital construction site.

“I’m almost speechless,” Sznol said. “It’s an incredible personal accomplishment for him.” In terms of what it means for Yale, Sznol said, “We’re very honored that he came to us, and we’ll work very hard to make sure his incredible effort is put to good use.” Research in the melanoma program focuses on molecular biology and immunotherapy. Sznol said Ridley’s donation will be designated for specific projects in those areas.

Although Kathie Ridley wasn’t treated at Yale, her son chose to partner with Yale Cancer Center because he wanted “someplace that would put the money to good use, with great researchers and smart people doing good work.”

To donate to “Row For Hope,” visit www.rowforhope.com. To read Ridley’s blog from the beginning of his journey to the end, visit www.solorow.blogspot.com.

—Helen Dodson and Charles Gershman

Photos courtesy of www.rowforhope.com

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