This month I got to team up with six-time SUP World Champion and ultimate waterman, Kai Lenny, alongside Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii and The 5 Gyres Institute for first-ever statewide beach cleanup on the Hawaiian Islands.

Transported by various human-powered crafts, we traveled the 209 nautical miles through the Hawaiian channels, watching Kai fly by on his NON motorized hydrofoil, to attend beach cleanups and empower communities around oceanic pollution. 

It began with the Alenuiha’ha channel (roughly translated by some as ‘very large trough-like waves’) between the Big Island and Maui, is generally regarded by the U.S. Coast Guard as one of the most treacherous channels in the world because of strong winds and high seas (not to mention, it’s shark infested). 

Marcus from 5 Gyres showed us how to troll for plastic off the sail boat on the oceans surface.

In 8 minutes we collected hands full of plastic in the oceans along the most beautiful coastlines in Hawaii. He said to think of plastic pollution in the ocean as “smog of the sea” – its impossible to clean it up – we must plug the source!

It took 6 days to complete the voyage through the island chain.

  • 3/28 – Pololu, Big Island Hawaii Cleanup, the Alenuihaha Crossing, the Maui Cleanup on Kite Beach
  • 3/29 – Maui to Lanai crossing, cleanup on Lanai, Lanai to Molokai crossing, cleanup on Molokai
  • 3/30 – Molokai to Oahu crossing
  • 3/31 – Makapu’u, Oahu cleanup
  • 4/1 – Oahu to Kauai crossing
  • 4/2 – Kauai cleanup

It was wild to be alongside Kai Lenny as he broke the SUP world record from Molokai to Oahy by 41 minutes!

I’m thankful for the opportunity to be a part of this incredible journey and cause…and I think it’s time to go global to see if Kai can foil to Indonesia or Australia for our next clean up? ????

Check out this Video of our adventure by Red Bull Media House

RECORDS BROKEN

  • Longest swell ever ridden
  • Longest time spent flying on a hydrofoil
  • First channel crossing(s) by hydrofoil – Alenuihaha, Ka’iwi
  • Record breaking time for crossing the Ka’iwi (Molokai to Oahu channel) by ‘new class’ craft
    • Beat old record of 4:07 by 41 minutes
  • First launch of a hydrofoil by canoe or traditional Hawaii wa’a
  • First Taco Bell burrito handed off by boat to surfer (…not kidding)