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The Matthew Nichols Paddle Out

On Wednesday, January 8, 2014, friends & family paddled out at the Balboa Pier to celebrate Matthew's love of water with a moment of prayer and reflection. In honor of Matthew, a dime was thrown into the water along with Matthew's mom's favorite flowers. As the parents and friends look on from the pier, a young seal popped its head above the water right where Matthew's mom was watching. It looked at her at length and then in awe of everyone on the pier it did a beautiful dance, with its head up looking up at all the friends and family... The seal swam up and down the pier and then slowly swam back out into the water...

Paddle Out Videos

Paddling Out 

Friends and family paddled out at Balboa Pier on stand up paddle boards, surf boards, and some even swam.

 

Moment of Silence & Prayer

Family and friends joined hands and commemorated Matthew with a moment of prayer and relection.

On the Water

All formed a circle, and in the middle three bouqets of Matthew's mom's favorite flowers were thrown into the center of the boards.

The Splash

Everyone then splashed water in honor of Matthew and shouted, "To Matthew!" The group stayed out on the water for awhile, knowing that Matthew would have been out on the water that day, too.

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