{"id":34824,"date":"2023-02-22T14:52:45","date_gmt":"2023-02-22T21:52:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/team-guardian-welcomed-home-by-san-juan-county-officials\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T08:21:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T08:21:10","slug":"team-guardian-welcomed-home-by-san-juan-county-officials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/team-guardian-welcomed-home-by-san-juan-county-officials\/","title":{"rendered":"Team Guardian welcomed home by San Juan County officials"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Steve
Steve Lanier, Lt. Jarrod Slindee, Capt. Mark Pfetzer, Mike Hogue with toy paddles. (David Edward Albright\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

About 75 people filled the San Juan County Commission meeting room Thursday in Aztec to welcome home and honor Team Guardian<\/a> members who rowed 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean to honor first responders.<\/p>\n

Capt. Mark Pfetzer, Lt. Jarrod Slindee and retired Sheriff\u2019s Sgt. Mike Hogue met the crowd after spending a few weeks to recover and enjoy family time.<\/p>\n

The crew rowed from La Gomera, Canary Islands to Antigua, Leeward Islands in the Caribbean. The team\u2019s boat, \u201cKatie Ella,\u201d was named in honor Katie Becenti. Becenti, a San Juan County deputy, who reportedly took her life in February 2021.<\/p>\n

Steve Lanier, San Juan County Commission chairman, hosted the celebration.<\/p>\n

Lanier read a new resolution, No. 22-23-51, which tated in part: \u201cGuardian Initiatives will leave a legacy for the Four Corners first responder community by raising awareness, facilitating training for the first responders and their families, sharing resources, and assisting with treatment costs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sheriff Shane Ferrari, County Manger Mike Stark, Farmington Mayor Nate Duckett, Bloomfield Mayor Scott Eckstein and Jim Crowley, representing Aztec, all spoke in recognition of the team\u2019s harrowing 51-day adventure.<\/p>\n

Laughter and applause erupted when Lanier called the team up to receive a small toy paddle as a memento.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe decided you would never want to hold a full-sized one again,\u201d Lanier said.<\/p>\n

The team embarked Dec. 12 from the Canary Islands on the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challeng<\/a>e, to raise funds in support of first responders in the Four Corners. Pfetzer, who was boat captain, came up with the idea to raise awareness of the stress that first responders face.<\/p>\n

They arrived in the early hours of Feb. 2 at Antigua in the Caribbean area.<\/p>\n

The crew faced its own fears and hardships along the way.<\/p>\n

Pfetzer, 43, said that for him, it was the fear of the unknown.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m rowing and I\u2019m watching my wife on the dock and I\u2019m holding it as best I can to keep from crying \u2026 but the fear of the unknown is there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For Slindee, the crew crossed a big hump on Day 32. They were dealing with head- and crosswinds and weren\u2019t getting anywhere, he said. \u201cWe were just down in the dumps and couldn\u2019t figure out what was going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

But when they called the weather router, they found they couldn\u2019t blame the weather.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s your output boys,\u201d the router said, leaving the crew no choice but to row harder. The next day was a \u201cgood day,\u201d he said, drawing laughter from the crowd.<\/p>\n

Pfetzer said the biggest wave was \u201cprobably 20- to 30-foot swells.\u201d He said they learned how to ride those waves, which typically doubled their speed, from about 2\u00bd mph to 5 mph.<\/p>\n

He said no one fell out of the boat, but extreme rocking from side to side almost caused them to fall out at times. They were always tethered in, Pfetzer said, but \u201cit was crazy how when you\u2019re rowing the waves would suddenly hit straight from the side, especially at night sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Capt.
Capt. Mark Pfetzer served as boat captain. (David Edward Albright\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Hogue said he volunteered to do the first cleaning of the boat\u2019s hull to remove the life-forms that can build up and affect speed. He said when someone gets separated from the boat you have 12 to 15 seconds before they are out of range to get the lifeline to them if they\u2019re untethered.<\/p>\n

Slindee said one of the \u201cgreatest experiences was the wildlife \u2026 the whales, dolphins, the sharks.\u201d He recalled fearing that marlins would puncture the boat, which has happened in previous years\u2019 challenges.<\/p>\n

\"Jarrod
Jarrod Slindee spoke about his experiences at sea. (David Edward Albright\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Slindee said the journey showed him it was the same with first responders \u2013 with good and bad days, with really tough situations to face.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a great experience, and I\u2019m happy to have done it, and we thought a lot about our first responders,\u201d he said, becoming emotional when he noted that the following Saturday was the anniversary of Becenti\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

Initially reluctant to participate in the challenge, the cause persuaded Hogue to join the team.<\/p>\n

Hogue, 58, now a pastor in Albuquerque, recalled how he had returned to the area for first responder training and was asked to join the crew.<\/p>\n

\"Mike
Mike Hogue brought a sense of humor to his storytelling. (David Edward Albright\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cNo, I don\u2019t think I can do that,\u201d Hogue said when asked to join the challenge about four years ago.<\/p>\n

But after more consideration about the important cause of the mission, he called them back and decided to move forward with the training. Hogue, who joked that he \u201cfloats like a rock,\u201d said that at one point after departing La Gomera he might have been tempted to jump ship.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were times when if a big boat came along I would have gone,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The team also faced challenges outside of weather and dangerous sea creatures.<\/p>\n

There were \u201cdays where you put three alphas in a small area\u201d and it was a challenge to \u201cnot tear each other apart,\u201d Hogue said.<\/p>\n

Age was also a factor. Hogue said they made it because of the support and help from his much younger mates.<\/p>\n

\u201cJarrod had to step up at times because I didn\u2019t have it. Thank you so much,\u201d he said, adding that after the journey, he gave them both a joke T-shirt that said, \u201cHelping the Elderly Across the Atlantic.\u201d<\/p>\n

The challenge not only raised awareness but also funds.<\/p>\n

During the Q&A, Pfetzer told the audience that they raised about $265,000, including about $2,000 since their return, almost hitting their goal of $100 per mile.<\/p>\n

Funds raised will go toward training and services for first responders, particularly for volunteers who may not have insurance coverage.<\/p>\n

Asked if they would do it again, the crew agreed that one experience on the open seas was enough, and that their wives would agree.<\/p>\n

Pfetzer said it was in Week Two that he called his wife on their rented satellite phones and told her to sell the rowing machine.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I get home I don\u2019t want to see that rowing machine in our house,\u201d he told her.<\/p>\n\n

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