When teller of Hawaiian tales Eric Knudsen (1872-1957) of Kauai was a young man, it was his pleasure to listen to the past exploits of an elderly, former Hawaiian whaleboat captain named Kapahe.
One of the best stories that Kapahe shared with Knudsen concerned the time Kapahe was shipwrecked in the Kaulakahi Channel between Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau.
Kapahe’s story began when he embarked from Kalalau in his weatherbeaten whaleboat with a load of taro for Ni‘ihau accompanied by an aged Hawaiian couple.
At mid-channel, violent gale force winds gusting unexpectedly out of the north sent huge waves crashing against the battered whaleboat causing it to break up.
There was no alternative for Kapahe and the old people but to abandon the wrecked whaleboat and swim for Ni“ihau.
They swam until dark, but made little headway against raging seas.
Before long, the old man and woman became exhausted and told Kapahe to go on alone.
Kapahe protested, but, finally, in desperation, he realized that their only chance for survival was for him to leave them in the hope of reaching Ni‘ihau and bringing back help.
He soon left the old people far behind, and as he swam even further away, he heard them singing a hymn, and knew then that they had surely given up their struggle with the sea.
It was dawn when he felt reef beneath his feet, dragged himself ashore, and fell into a deep sleep, only to awaken hours later to discover that he was on Lehua, nearly a mile away across the treacherous Kumukahi Channel from Ni‘ihau.
Barren, uninhabited Lehua offered no provisions for survival.
He knew he must reach Ni‘ihau to live.
Summoning all his resolve, he plunged into the sea and set out for Ni‘ihau.
On and on against tide and current he swam until he at long last got ashore on a small sandy beach on Ni‘ihau near Ki‘i, where fisherman later found him dead to the world, lying asleep in the sand.
They took him to their camp, gave him fresh water to drink, and fed him fish and poi.
He survived.
