Swim Kaua‘i Aquatics coach Billy Brown was part of a historic Kaieiwaho Channel swim from O‘ahu to Kaua‘i, Nov. 22, said Stacey Machorek of SKA. Brown was the only Kaua‘i member of the relay team that conquered the channel by
Swim Kaua‘i Aquatics coach Billy Brown was part of a historic Kaieiwaho Channel swim from O‘ahu to Kaua‘i, Nov. 22, said Stacey Machorek of SKA.
Brown was the only Kaua‘i member of the relay team that conquered the channel by swimming, a feat that, according to Machorek, had never been achieved.
Brown was joined by Linda Kaiser of O‘ahu, Mike Spalding of Maui, Michelle Macy from Portland, Oregon, and a duo from California, Randy Brown and Joel Swartz.
The first leg of the team slipped into the water at 5:30 a.m. off Ka‘ena Point, O‘ahu, and following a 47-hour, 55-minute continuous swim, touched down at Nawiliwili Harbor at 5:25 a.m., Nov. 22, after swimming the 72-mile distance.
According to Machorek, swimmers rotated through the six-person team with a swimmer always in the water, and each swimmer going for one-hour increments.
The swim from O‘ahu to Kaua‘i has never been completed by swimmers until this feat, states a release from SKA. There have been at least three previous solo attempts, the latest one coming just weeks ahead of the relay, where an Australian female swimmer called off her attempt after being overcome by Portuguese Man-of -Wars.
Portuguese Man-of-Wars never left the channel and all but one of the swimmers in the relay team were stung. There was also one shark sighting while Kaiser did her stint.
Currents also plagued the swimmers, at one point holding the swimmer in place with no forward progress, said Machorek.
“They swam one-hour shifts until they reached a point where they were only going 1/4 mph,” said Kaia Hedlund, president of the Waikiki Roughwater Swim, on the Daily News of Open Water Swimming website.
“Then they shifted to 30-minute shifts. They faced lots of Portuguese Man-of-Wars and jellyfish resulting in every swimmer being stung. Linda had a shark come up to her with only its menacing head showing, and although she has faced other sharks in other channels before, she did jump immediately on the ama.”
Kaiola, a 50-foot trimaran manned by six men and a woman and owned by Spalding, accompanied the swimmers in the face of 10-15 mph winds, states the Daily News of Open Water Swimming website.
During the night before leaving, the swimmers could see Kaua‘i from the Pu‘u O Mahuka Heiau where they received blessings before embarking.
This lifted their spirits and made the task seem even more possible, Machorek said. On completion of the swim, one of the crew members offered a chant in gratitude for the successful swim.
