Looking Back and Moving Forward ….
It’s been almost a month since our last channel crossing from Kauai to Niihau, which by the way, I do not recommend to anyone unless you feel like experiencing hell…but I will tell you all about that in my next blog! I am back in Kona and after taking a week off from paddling, I got back into it. I have a busy summer ahead with races and traveling so I didn’t have much time to rest and relax. I was back in the gym the day I returned, which felt GREAT at the time but left me aching for the next few days. After taking time of from paddling, it felt good to get back into it. It’s different training for sprint races after having done so much endurance paddling in the past few months but I’m enjoying not having to worry about going on 20+ mile paddles.
Next week is the Battle of the Paddle Hawaii. I’m excited to see everyone in the community and check out the race course. It’s going to be another great event and if you live nearby you should really come check it out! After that, I’m planning on competing in a couple of local races this summer, including the Molokai to Oahu race and then traveling to Europe for a couple of races there.
Looking back on what we did in April, it still hasn’t fully sunk in. It was an absolutely amazing experience and I am so excited to have been a part of it. We worked hard for so many months to make it happen and the best part was seeing it through and successfully completing what we set out to do. It would not have been possible without the help of sponsors, friends, family and so many others who supported us throughout the adventure. I will never be able to express how grateful I am to every person who played a part in making our trip a success but I want to say THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH.
Putting together a trip like this is not an overnight process and it took months of e-mails, phone calls, skype meetings, brainstorming etc to make it happen, but most of all it was largely due to the people who believed in us and our crazy idea and said yes. I have come away from this realizing that it does not matter how many times you hear the word “no”, you keep trying and if you believe in what you’re doing, someone will say yes.
Thank you to everyone who believed in us and said YES
Paul and Cassandra
Brazen Hazen Kona Coffee
Gordon and the team at Horny Toad Clothing Co. and MFA.
Curtis at Dakine
Hilton Hotels
Karen and Jeff at WetFeet
Michi at Naish
Joe Bark
Thank you to these great companies:
Pelican, Kaenon, Sweet Waterwear, Tiem, Watermans, 2xu, Vertra, Surf Stronger, ACR Electronics
Pure Paddles, QuickBlade, Del Mar, Infinit, OnIt, H20 Audio, Rite in the Rain
Our Wonderful Captains:
Mike, Nue & Earl – Big Island to Maui
Layne – Maui to Lanai, Maui to Molokai
Mickey & Kawika – Molokai sea cliffs
Jeff & Matt – Molokai to Oahu
Scott, Matt and all of the crew from Maggie Joe Charters – Oahu to Kauai
Steve G. – Na Pali Coast
Peter, Scott and Linda from Bubbles Below – Kauai to Niihau and Lehua Rock
Thank you to the Koppes and Garfinkle families for generously loaning us your boats!
Thank You To:
Pat Caldwell, Wayne Schaut, Jack Gillen, Reid Inouye, Jerry Bess, Barrett Tester, Odie Sumi, Pete Stirling, Chris Wyman, Katie Beers, Mary Edmonds, The Trout Family, Danny Haserot, John Immel, Jared Vargas, Nichole Madosik, Jeff Dietrichson, Stacy Spilman and Sanja Du Plessis.
To my family for showing me the beauty of following your dreams – Fortuna Favet Fortibus.
To Our Support Crew:
Ryan – worlds best boyfriend (biased? no way), board caddy, EMS, cook
Gregg – photographer, board caddy, joker, fisherman
Anders – board caddy, Swedish meatball maker, chauffeur
And a Final Thanks To:
Morgan – For dreaming up this crazy adventure
Jen – For the creative writing, proof reading, support
Chris – For filming and editing throughout and working hard before, during and after and most of all, for putting up with 4 girls.
Shannon – For the beautiful photographs
And of course thank you to all of our fans who followed us, whose comments motivated us throughout the journey and those who donated to our cause, Algalita Marine Reseach Foundation.
Thank you for being a part of our adventure!
Jenny K.
