Editor:

Last weekend, over 2,000 people in 621 man/paddle-powered boats gathered to set a new world record.

Record breaking was far from one person’s mind. Rick Gohl was on a mission to find his daughter’s paddleboat. In his homemade brown and yellow kayak (he made when he was 14 years old), in an attempt to find his daughter’s paddleboat (or a needle in a haystack), he joined the mass of boats at the Paddle for Fame event.

A few weeks prior, and a day before his daughter’s 14th birthday, he purchased the Pelican paddleboat (at a neighbor’s garage sale) with a blue hull and white top, grey seats and a metal bracket on the back to mount a motor. It was unique and not difficult to spot. His daughter was delighted by the boat and had lots of fun on the lake with her friends on her birthday.

The day before the Paddle for Fame event, the paddleboat went missing from the dock. Thinking it had floated away, as the lake was now being raised again after many months, he ventured out in his canoe to look around the lake, but was unable to find it.

Later that day, the story of the missing paddleboat unraveled. There was an estate sale at the neighbor’s house. A company was hired to sell everything in the house that weekend, as there would be new tenants moving in. The estate sale company informed him that they had sold the Pelican paddleboat. Even though the paddleboat was tied to his dock, a mistake was made and the paddleboat sold.

Unfortunately, the paddleboat was not seen at the Paddle for Fame event, and the search continues. Any information about the paddleboat that was purchased on Friday, June 29 at 5201 Riverlake Road in Discovery Bay is much appreciated. Please contact Rick Gohl at 408-513-5543 or e-mail rgohl@yahoo.com.

Julie Harris, Discovery Bay