Gabriel Abarca was in the water about two seconds before he caught his first wave to shore.

There were two things Abarca was stoked about: First, taking waves. Second, that the salt water helped him breathe easier, a newly found natural treatment for Cystic Fibrosis, a degenerative disease that causes mucus build up in lungs and makes it difficult to do the simple act of taking a breath.

Newport Surf Camp, Wahoo’s Fish Tacos and surf wear company O’Neill came together on the shores of Newport Beach on Saturday morning to help kids battling CF take some waves. The event aimed to raising awareness for the upcoming fundraiser Pipeline to a Cure in Huntington, a gala that draws big-name surfers such as Laird Hamilton and raises money toward research.

Click here or on the image below to see a slideshow of the day:

About a dozen kids with CF teamed up with instructors on Saturday – including O’Neill pro surfers Cory Lopez, Timmy Reyes, and Alek Parker.

“I went over big waves and it was awesome,” Abarca said. “I love to surf now. I wish I could go surfing all the time.”

About his lungs: “A lot better,” he declared after his session.

Taylor Ross, 9, was one of the young surfers with CF who got in the water.

It’s been only two years since her mom Lindsay found her not breathing one night, her lips blue. She sat her up, slapped her back and she coughed up a ball of sticky mucus, the color of a green highlighter. People with CF have mucus that sticks to the wall of their lungs and it becomes like a thick spiderweb, catching bacteria that can’t escape.

“You could tell there was a raging infection deep in her lungs,” Lindsay Ross said. “She was drowning in her own lungs.”

Surfing helps, Lindsay Ross says.

“Something as simple as putting her out in the ocean – in nature – to breathe. It’s pretty amazing,” she said.

It broke her mom’s heart when Taylor, 9, was asked for a school assignment to jot down what she wanted to be when she grew up and she wrote: “When I get older, I just want to grow up.”

People with the sickness, about 30,000 nationwide, have an average life span of 37 years old. Taylor’s mentor and pen pal Emily Haager, a 27-year-old Irvine resident who was the face for Pipeline to a Cure, died May 1.

“With her passing, it brought the reality to everybody,” said Mike Shumard, executive director of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. “She left a legacy.”

The 3rd annul Pipeline to the Cure gala in Huntington, which will be held July 31, is one of the major fundraiser events and raises hundreds of thousands of dollars to go toward research for a cure.

Todd Elder, owner of Newport Surf Camp, said it’s a good cause for the surfing world to get behind.

“It’s bringing so many people in the industry together. We can actually help out, not just with money, but with our efforts,” he said.

Huntington Beach Pro Surfer Timmy Reyes, who was Taylor’s teacher for the day, was amazed by the young surfer’s determination, and was stoked to help out at the event.

“The salt water helping the children is so cool. Who knew that would actually do that?” he asked. “It was amazing to surf with the kids out here.”

For more info on the upcoming gala fundraiser, go to pipelinetoacure.com

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