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Sailboat racer Mike Christman generally thinks of wind as his friend, but on his latest water sport adventure, it proved to be his worst enemy.

The West Annapolis resident teamed up with friend Sean Hooker on what they believe is a regional first - a stand-up paddle trip from Norfolk, Va., to Annapolis.

Christman, a 1985 Naval Academy graduate and former naval aviator, and Hooker, a former Army surgeon from Newport News, not only earned bragging rights, they raised $5,675 for Fisher House, a nonprofit organization that provides free or low-cost lodging housing to veterans and military families receiving treatment at military medical centers.

The duo shoved off from Naval Station Norfolk July 9 and paddled into local waters five days later on July 14, a distance of more than 130 nautical miles. They made stops along the way in Salt Pond and Deltaville, Va., and in Maryland at Point Lookout, Solomon's Island and Herrington Harbor before landing at Christman's home on Weems Creek.

They were shadowed by a safety boat captained by fellow Naval Academy grad Gavin Giddings of Eastport, and Hooker's uncle Tim, an Army veteran.

Headwinds, strong currents and large sea swells made the going pretty tough, said Christman. The former Annapolis City alderman lost almost 10 pounds through the effort. "We only made 12 miles the first day - we were almost paddling backwards," he said.

They hugged the western shore and kept on paddling, buoyed by the sights along the way and a host of good Samaritans.

Thank you, Michael and Sean, for raising funds and awareness for Fisher House! 

Featured Event -  Viking Challenge for Fisher House 

Ground Breaking Ceremony for new Fisher House in Salt Lake City, Utah

A free home away from home for families of patients at George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center is under construction on Salt Lake City's east side.

Dignitaries gathered Friday for a ceremonial groundbreaking, but the frame is already halfway finished for the new Fisher House, which is similar to a Ronald McDonald House near a civilian hospital.

Derek Donovan, vice president of Fisher House Foundation, said the 17,000-square-foot home will have 20 suites for 20 families at a time. "You can figure out what the savings are going to be to families," he said. "But the real value is it's a home away from home."

Salt Lake City's VA hospital serves veterans and active-duty men and women from a wide geographical area - southeastern Idaho to east-central Nevada to southern Utah.  The fact that many patients and their families travel far for treatment is one reason the medical center was chosen for a Fisher House, Donovan said. The foundation's motto is "A family's love is good medicine."

Donovan said the Fisher House, which will be completed by early next year, will cost between $5 million and $6 million.  The foundation asks each community to raise about half the cost and then "pay it forward" for another Fisher House to be built at a VA hospital or military base.

However, Ray Bachiller, a retired Marine colonel from Sandy, who is heading up the fundraising effort, said he expects to do even better.

This new Fisher House will be dedicated to Chance Phelps, a 19-year-old Marine from Dubois, Wyoming, who died in Iraq in 2004. His story was the subject of the 2009 HBO movie "Taking Chance."

Phelps' mother, Gretchen Mack, attended Friday's groundbreaking and said she had passed on $5,000 that she and her daughter raised for the Fisher House. She was stunned, though, to learn the new home would be dedicated in her son's memory.

Read the whole story . . . 

Team Fisher House at the 2009 Marine Corps Marathon raised more than $250,000 for the construction of this new Fisher House.   

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