Saturday’s round two of the Shaw and Partners Australian Ocean Racing Series, THE CHUCKY from Fisherman’s Beach Collaroy, is in honour of Charles “Chucky” Stewart. We asked his good mates, Dean Gardiner and Guy Leech, to recall their memories of that fateful day in January 2016 when Chucky suffered a heart attack after a paddling session, and Leechy’s frantic attempts to revive him.

Chuck’s sudden passing was a big wake-up call on heart health. Deano created THE CHUCKY, and Leechy set on a mission to get defibrillators more readily available to all Australians.

In this quick chat, Leechy and Deano tell the CHUCKY story, and Leechy tells what happened after Chuck passed, and he asked the 100 visibly fit and healthy paddlers he trained to have their heart checked. Listen to the vid for the results and to find out what to do if you ever confront a heart incident. Please SHARE with your friends.

And see you at THE CHUCKY for a celebration of Chuck and being heart smart! Entries close at 5pm Friday at oceanpaddler.com
See you on the Fisho’s start grid!!