After reading your article on the passing of Greg Hind, it is obvious that you could fill a book with all of the things Greg did for our community.

Here is one that we will never forget: Back in 1980, Greg sponsored and produced the Hind Swim and Run Invitational down at Avila Beach. The event included a 1-mile open-water swim and a run-swim-run.

We were living in Avila at the time and heard the event was coming, so we asked Avila’s head lifeguard Brett Percival whether he thought we could handle a mile in the ocean. He gave us a simple training plan that had us swimming relatively short distances parallel to the beach and in creasing those distances every week until we had worked our way up to 1 mile.

Race day arrived, we entered and finished. Our lives, and those of many who competed that day, were changed forever. We entered dozens of similar events up and down the coast over the years, and one of us (OK, it was Pete) went on to complete a successful crossing of the Catalina Channel.

In 1983, Greg grew the event to include the Sea to See Triathlon, which has got to be the very first triathlon held in San Luis Obispo County. Again, more lives changed as we were introduced to this budding new sport.

On behalf of everyone who entered those early races, thanks, Greg.