Ten years after Port Macquarie's Zac Young was killed by a shark, the community is coming together to attempt a world record paddle out to pay tribute to his life and legacy.
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On November 30, 2013, the 19-year-old was bitten on the legs at The Well, a popular reef break about 100 metres off Riecks Point, near Coffs Harbour. His friends managed to drag him to the beach, but he died shortly afterwards.
His dad, Kevin Young, has now invited the community to paddle out with him at Town Beach on Saturday, November 25, to honour his life.
"The event is about bringing the community together to honour the love that he had for everybody and to share that love," he said.
"I know he would be stoked about this project and the support it has attracted. This is what he lived for and what he died for... to spread love. His affect on people was amazing."
To break the world record, more than 512 people would need to participate - a feat Kevin is hoping the community can achieve.
"The way that this has already brought the community together is just incredible," he said.
"I am hopeful that we can get a minimum of 512 people in the paddle out so that we can break the world record. If we can get more than that then that would be incredible."
Kevin is also working on a documentary to tell his son's story.
Zac was, among many things, a committed Christian and a passionate bodyboarder.
"The documentary is helping me to reach as many people as possible with a message of God's love... through the lens of my son's life," Kevin said.
"In a community that's experienced a lot of trauma, we need love to recover and that's what Zac stood for.
"I'm hoping that I can honour him in that way and celebrate our community at the same time."
A preview of the documentary will be shown during the event.
The event will be held across two days.
There will be live music, food stalls and screenings of clips from the upcoming documentary on November 24, and the world-record paddle out attempt to be held the following day.
For more information about the event, or to register for the paddle out, visit this website.
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