DeLand cancer survivor goes for Guinness World Record in boating challenge

Scott Flowers loves a good challenge. Even when the odds are slim to none, backing down is never an option.

Doctors first found the growth in a routine checkup in 2015. Flowers, 63, had no real symptoms but was told the pinkish-colored mole on his back was cancerous and the disease had spread to his lungs.

The five-year survival rate for Stage 4 melanoma is 15 to 20%, according to the American Cancer Society.

More: Skin cancer protection tips: Yes, sunscreen is a must

"And I just said, 'Game on,'" said Flowers, a DeLand resident.

Now, nearly 10 years later, he is cancer free.

It is with that same sense of confidence that Flowers embarks upon his next trial. A licensed charter boat captain, Flowers ― who also goes by "Captain Red" due to his ginger hair ― will set out June 15 on a journey called the Great Loop, traveling some 6,000 miles of contiguous waterways along the eastern seaboard, the Great Lakes and eventually the Mississippi River, looping back around to Key West.

Here's the thing, though: He's aiming to make the voyage in just over a month where most boaters take several months or even years to complete the feat. As such, Flowers is hoping to set a record with Guinness World Records.

His goal is also to raise $1 million through a combination of private donations and corporate sponsorships to benefit the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation.

'Straw that broke the camel's back'

Flowers gives credit to his wife, Tammy, for making sure he keeps up-to-date with dermatology appointments. This boat captain has spent years in the sun and with his ruddy Irish skin knows he can't take any chances. His mother died of cancer; so did a brother and sister. All three had been diagnosed in their 50s.

After the discovery of the skin tumor, Flowers immediately began treatment at UF Health Shands in Gainesville. Sometimes he'd go in for just a day to do a port infusion, other times there were longer stays, for more involved procedures.

Across the floor from his unit at the facility was the children's cancer ward and Flowers and his wife got to see some of the same faces ― kids, parents, medical personnel ― coming and going.

If he was fighting his own cancer battle in middle age, he could only imagine how that same battle would feel for younger people and their families.

One year, around Christmas, the Flowers stopped seeing one pediatric patient show up to appointments.

"That was the straw that broke the camel's back," Flowers said. "It set me on fire. I said, 'Tammy, I need to do something.'"

As far as his own health, Flowers learned about a drug still in the trial stages about halfway through his treatment. Keytruda was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2023.

So the captain rolled the dice again.

"It was my only choice," he said.

Months into the experimental treatment, the cancer riddling his body began to diminish, and then nearly shrank away. The disease got better, but then worse, setting up an emotional roller-coaster.

He battled back again and now has been free of cancer for almost four years.

But Captain "Red" Scott Flowers never forgot his vow to give back.

Enter the Great Loop

He'd heard about the Great Loop from a boating friend who'd completed it, joining a legion of so-called "Loopers."

"So being as competitive as I am, I started looking around to see what was the fastest time anyone had done it in, and I wanted to try to do it in about a month," Flowers said.

He'd originally set out to take on the expedition around 2020 working with the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation to publicize it, but COVID put that plan on hold.

"He is amazing," Chris Geib, chief development officer with the NPCF told The News-Journal. "He's so passionate about it, and he just kept coming back and pushing it [the challenge]."

The boat he will captain is a 28-foot vessel custom built for both shallow water and offshore navigation. It has been donated to Flowers specifically for his journey through a partnership with Florida boat manufacturer Canyon Bay.

Said Canyon Bay chief executive officer Ross Toepel, "What really drove us to [doing this] was Red's passion and his inspirational story."

Moving the needle

Joining him on the challenge will be three friends: retired 7th circuit judge James Clayton; retired DeLand businessman Scott Schwerdfeger, and DeLand-based veterinarian Michael Bailey.

They're aiming to log at least 16 hours on the water each day and, as Flowers said, "We'll spend the night wherever we can."

If that "wherever" happens to be on the boat, it will be on the top deck with only bean-bag cushions in the way of comfort.

The challenge is substantial.

"Most people do the Great Loop as a leisure trip; they'll take four or five months and cruise very slowly," Geib said.

The fundraising goal is substantial as well, according to Geib, saying, "That [amount] will go pretty far."

And that makes it all worth it for Flowers.

"We are going to make a difference," he said. "We are going to move the needle."

Kicking off with the fundraising campaign, a banquet and auction was held last weekend at the Lake Beresford Yacht Club in DeLand. Once anchoring ashore after the Great Loop, the boat will go up for auction with the proceeds benefiting the NPCF and go toward meeting the total fundraising goal.

The National Pediatric Cancer Foundation plans to track the boaters and provide updates on their progress in real time on social media.

For more information or to donate to Flowers' Great Loop challenge, go online to https://nationalpcf.org/the-great-loop-challenge-2024.

This article originally appeared on St. Augustine Record: Cancer survivor goes for Guinness World Record in Great Loop challenge