Morgan’s Top 5 Kaiwi Channel Moments

Jen, Morgan and Jenny going over the Molokai to Oahu line the night before the paddle

We made it! At 8am this past Friday, Jenny and I started paddling the 32 miles between Kaluakoi on Molokai and ended up in Hawaii Kai on Oahu about 7 hours later. We were lucky to have a manageable 15-20 knot east/northeast wind pushing us toward our destination, but also had to deal with conflicting swells: a primary swell from the Northwest and a secondary swell coming from the South. The result was a fun Molokai Channel crossing with some good bumps and plenty of wildlife.

Many people think that these crossings are just about paddling. These channels have the reputation of being grueling, difficult, and unpleasant, but in reality they are so much more than that. Standup paddling is the vehicle that gets us from one place to another, but what is more important is the journey with the events that happen along the way. Here are my top five favorite parts of this Kaiwi Channel Crossing…

#5. Seeing my friends at the end of the Channel.

There is nothing better than making it through something difficult and knowing that there are people at the end who are supporting you.  I am fortunate to have the best friends ever, and I can’t thank them enough for showing up at the finish line.  It is difficult to travel for so long because you really start to miss the people that are a part of your everyday life, so it was really great to see my friends again.

#4.  Knowing my way across the Channel.

This was my third time across this particular channel.  The last two times, I felt like I didn’t know where to go, and what to do, and I had to heavily rely on the support crew to get me across.  This time, it was still really good to have the support that I had, but for the first time, I was able to look at Oahu, recognize the landmarks, and make an educated decision about which direction I wanted to go and which line I wanted to take.  Having said that, it was also nice to have Jen, Chris and my Dad on the boat making sure that I didn’t make any bad choices.

#3.  Hanging out with the False Killer Whales

It was like Wild Kingdom out there in the Channel this time.  There were sea birds everywhere, Mahi Mahi swimming under our boards, one questionable brownish-beige creature near port lock, and lots of False Killer Whales.  At the time we thought that they were pilot whales, but after looking at the photos and the footage, we think that they might be false killer whales instead.  A few hours into the crossing, I heard someone on the boat yell “Whale!  Look Down!” and when I did, there were a couple of large dark animal about a foot under my board.  The whales were curious and playful and swam along side us for awhile.  They would switch from swimming under our boards, to surfing the boat wake, and back again, which was one of the coolest things ever.  They eventually left us to our paddling, but then an hour or so later, two more showed up and the whole experience started all over again.

#2.  Watching Chris and Jen handle the Hawaiian shorebreak on the way out to the boat.

If you have never seen the start of the Molokai race, you may not know that it isn’t a beach start.  Because you have boats escorting you, you have to find a way to get all of your things from the beach to the boat without getting it completely wet.  The day we left had 5 to 7 foot Hawaiian surf, which meant that we had to make it out through some substantial shorebreak on our way out.  My dad swam our two dry bags out first, and when there was a lull in the sets, Jen and I swam out.  Jen and I were lucky to time the sets pretty well and had a pretty uneventful swim out, but when I returned back to the beach to swim out with Chris, the swell seemed to have picked up with a vengeance.  Chris and I stood on the beach watching wave after wave come in, each one bigger than the last.  I knew that Chris was a bit out of his comfort zone here, but when I said it was time to go, he charged out through the surf and didn’t look back.  It was one of my favorite parts of this trip so far.

#1.  Seeing the smile on my Dad’s face when he held up his Mahi Mahi.

I am so stoked to have my Dad with me on this trip.  He loves the ocean more than anyone I know, and it has been so great to have him along.  If there is anything that my Dad loves to do, it is to go fishing.  Because we weren’t in a race situation across this channel, the people on the boat were able to fish a little bit.  Luckily (for them) our escort Captains are fishermen and had rods and reels on the boat all ready to go.  We were paddling along when the boat zoomed away toward a huge flock of birds, and I knew at that moment what they were up to.  When they returned, everyone on the boat had huge grins on their faces and my Dad triumphantly held up his trophy with a huge smile.  I knew that he was happy and having fun, and it validated what this trip is all about.

The swell coming in the night before the crossing