“Life is worth it, live and share every second of it no matter what!”

Paul, a well-known Florida kiteboarder, is a waterman and an island guy. In general, the best kiteboarder in Keywest, which is his home. He has been blessed in my life to have focused passions such as cooking, spearfishing, and–numero uno–kiteboarding.

Everyone sets goals and competes to be the best. For him, sports can be extreme and often dangerous. Perhaps, he wants to say that, it is necessary for everyone who wishes to become an experienced kiteboarder.

His love for the Cuban people, their food, and their culture have beckoned him for years to cross the narrow ninety-mile straits from Key West to Cuba. Once he learned that former Key West Mayor, Sonny McCoy, had already waterskied across, he knew Paul’s destiny was to be the No 1 kiteboarder in  Keywest to make it happen.

His kite sponsor, Kent Marinkovic, and a representative from Red Bull formed their team. Each of them would ride the ninety miles, and they would compete as a team.

They trained for months. He rode the length of the Florida Keys in one day to see how he would fare. They then traveled to the Bahamas where we completed 50+ miles a day developing and testing new techniques. The sport was still very new; the record for a crossing was 40 miles on the open sea. They were breaking the rules, forging a new path.

Finally receiving permission from the U.S. government to make the crossing, the team celebrated and began making final arrangements to return to Key West and prepare to forge a new world record. He, the FL famous kiteboarder, dreamed of Cuban cooking, and the challenge of the waves and currents in the Florida Straits, and began to visualize every mile of the journey. It would be glorious for them!

Three days before departure, he came down with intense fever, vomiting, and body aches. After two days in the hospital, his teammates decided they would make the trip without him. No way! He escaped the nurse's clutches and made his way down to the boats. His family, son, and the town of Key West were counting on him, and he do not quit. They would make it in the record book, or he would die trying.

They left on December 21st, 2001, the shortest day of the year and the longest day of his life. To be honest, it was pure adrenaline and the thought of being left behind that got him into the water that day, and headed out to sea.

He trusted his team and off they went. The first 2 hours were not so bad, but he was feeling the effects of my sickness — no food in 2 days; just I.V.’s — and started to become dizzy. Six hours into the biggest waves he had ever seen, 25-knot winds, and all hell breaking loose, there it was…land on the horizon. They broke the record.

He said that the rest of the story cannot be recalled by him. At some point, he passed out and had to be revived several times. This part was not a good scene. His team saved his life that day. They made it to Cuba, and he was treated medically for a variety of self-inflicted was sent home by plane to be treated, but claimed a victory no matter how crazy people considered him.

Cuba is such a proud and beautiful country. When the wind is just right, he will return by kite, arriving even faster, achieving a new world record. Then he will begin my Cuban cooking adventure. Is it worth it? The endless conditioning, the pain, the expense? People always ask. All he can say is, “life is worth it, live and share every second of it no matter what!”

Paul Menta, Cuba, 2001