Santa Barbara High Sophomore Paddles from Santa Cruz Island to Ventura to Raise Thousands for Unhoused Neighbors

Before dawn broke over the Pacific on December 11, 15-year-old Axel Wright was already on his way to the open ocean. By sunrise, he was in the water, paddling alone on a prone board off the coast of Santa Cruz Island — the silhouette of Ventura a distant blur across 22 miles of glassy, rain-cleared sea.

Seven and a half hours later, Wright pulled up to Ventura Harbor, exhausted and salt-crusted and having raised, as of Thursday, more than $8,100 for DignityMoves, a Santa Barbara nonprofit dedicated to ending homelessness. 

“It took seven and a half hours, and it was 22 miles,” Wright said in an interview. “I was on a prone board. I’m a big surfer, so I decided that I was gonna do something like this, and this was the right thing to do.”

This was not the first time this Santa Barbara High School sophomore had done something like this. Two years ago, at just 13, he paddled 13 miles from Anacapa Island to Oxnard — also for DignityMoves. “I was seeing the islands and I’d be like, ‘Man, that’d be really cool to paddle,’” he said. “Then my mom was like, ‘You should do it for a cause.’”

That cause became DignityMoves, which provides small, modular homes and wraparound services for individuals experiencing homelessness. “They’ll take somebody in for, I think it’s like five to nine months,” Wright explained. “They’ll help them … give them a small home and help them get back on their feet. They’ll get them jobs. It’s really cool.”

Wright launched a GoFundMe for this month’s paddle, which quickly gained traction through friends, family, and a few generous strangers. “I’m at $7,800,” he said proudly.

The idea came from something simple and deeply human: kindness. “I always saw a lot of homeless people when I’d be downtown,” Wright said. “I’d talk to them with my friends, and they were always so nice. I just really thought that I could do something to help.”

The paddle itself was grueling. He started the day at 4 a.m., catching a boat from Ventura to Santa Cruz Island. “Right as the sun was coming up, I was in the water,” he said. “It was a lot of just kind of being, like, 10 or 20 feet away from the boat with headphones in, just paddling.”

Visibility in the water — unusually clear after recent storms — made the distance feel longer. “Because of how much rain there was, it was super clear,” Wright said. “It just didn’t look like I was making progress at all. I’d look back and the island would still be so close. It was a lot slower than I thought.”

Aside from a quick stop to eat a sandwich halfway through, he kept paddling — fueled by momentum, his music, and, of course, his purpose. 

Wright, who’s part of the SBHS surf team and surfs three times a week, said he doesn’t paddle often, but he was drawn to the challenge. “I just thought it would be cool,” he said. “I think I’m gonna keep doing this.”

The GoFundMe campaign remains active.

“Even just a few dollars can help move this mission forward and reach those who need it most,” Wright wrote on the page. “Thank you so much for your kindness and generosity. It means the world to me.”