KEALIA — After years of planning, Kapa‘a resident David Vincent successfully circumnavigated the entirety of Kaua‘i on a paddle board in an effort to bring awareness to conservation of marine life.
A decades-long surfer and yearslong paddle boarder, Vincent has always enjoyed spending time on Kaua‘i’s waters. Whether it was paddle boarding from Hanalei to Polihale or from Kealia to Nawiliwili, Vincent had grown great interest in longer-distance marine expeditions.
Over time, this interest grew to as large as it could on the island — circumnavigating all of Kaua‘i. Vincent explained that as hard as he tried, he couldn’t find a single example of anyone ever accomplishing such a feat.
“That made me want to do it more,” he said. “The more I asked people and I didn’t know anyone who did it, the more I was like, ‘I’m going to try to do this.’”
While Vincent had been tentatively planning this trek for a few years, his call to action finally came after a July visit to Peru thrust him into environmental advocacy.
What was planned as a surfing vacation to Chicama took a dark turn after Vincent and his girlfriend visited the town of Pacasmayo, about an hour north of Peru’s legendary beach. The two went on a beach walk, where they were surprised to find about a one-half mile stretch of sand littered with more seal and bird carcassess than they could count.
“It just went on and on — as far as you go, you just kept seeing death everywhere,” he said. “I’m surprised that there’s really no media about it.”
Suddenly, Vincent’s project had a purpose — he would paddle around the entirety of Kaua‘i to bring awareness to the mass marine deaths in Peru, as well as his related environmental organization, Ocean Earth Vitality.
Upon his return to Kapa‘a, Vincent quickly sketched out his plans, deciding to start at Kealia and paddle clockwise around the island, estimating it would take him about four days to complete the journey. While taking the Napali Coast’s strong winds head-on may seem counterintuitive, Vincent told The Garden Island this decision was made on purpose.
“Most people think about going from Hanalei to Polihale, because it’s with the wind,” Vincent said. “But if you’re looking at the bigger picture of the whole island, that’s actually going to be harder to go that direction.”
Vincent suggested more favorable winds overall would be a greater benefit, adding that he could stop for breaks at beaches along the coast if it became too difficult.
With his plans set, Vincent took off on Aug. 10, paddling southbound from Kealia Beach on what became his most productive day. After battling some moderate side winds along the eastern coast, Vincent described a smooth trip to Salt Pond Beach, where he rested for the night.
“When I got around the corner from Lihu‘e toward Po‘ipu, that was probably the fastest I went on almost the whole trip, where the wind was with me for a little while,” he said.
Picking back up Aug. 11, Vincent had a relatively simple path to Polihale Beach — although he would later regret stopping so soon.
“I wish I would have went to Miloli‘i that day,” he said, “because then my next day was the hardest.”
As Vincent had anticipated, he faced strong trade winds almost immediately after beginning the western leg of his circumnavigation. Unfortunately for him, the Napali Coast had one major unexpected hitch — the rest stops he had expected were nowhere to be found.
“Usually this time of year, there’s beaches in between Kalalau and Hanakapi‘ai,” he said. “This year, there was nothing. No sand.”
With nowhere to rest, Vincent had no choice but to slog through Kaua‘i’s strongest winds, paddling nonstop from Polihale to Hanakapi‘ai Beach.
“That was, by far, the hardest part,” he said.
After a short rest at Hanakapi‘ai and Ke‘e Beaches, Vincent reached Hanalei Beach before dusk, where he would spend the last night of his journey.
Vincent’s fourth and final day began with some unfavorable winds as he pushed from Hanalei to Larsen’s Beach, but he described the very last leg as a much-needed reprieve from the brutal gusts he had fought the day prior.
“From that point on, I was pretty good,” he said. “I cruised the rest of the way to Kealia, and when I saw Anahola, I was pretty stoked.”
While Vincent took the trip solo, that’s not to say he spent the entire trip alone — his girlfriend had met him each night to replenish food and water, and a friend of his in the U.S. Coast Guard watched over the entire trip from a distance, making sure he was safe throughout the journey.
Additionally, several curious passersby stopped him to ask what exactly he was up to. Vincent told The Garden Island that while most boaters expressed confusion over his plans, the locals he met were overwhelmingly supportive.
“Probably five or six local guys and girls all said the same thing — ‘Oh brah, you one hammah!’” he said. “Every local guy I saw said that exact same thing. I thought that was funny.”
For many, a paddle boarding trip as strenuous as circumnavigating Kaua‘i would leave them tired of the activity for at least a few weeks. For Vincent, it’s had the opposite effect — within days, he was back out on the water, and is currently planning several even more ambitious expeditions.
“I definitely want to do some some more adventures with the paddle board,” he said. “Go farther, go bigger.”
Vincent’s environmental organization can be found on Instagram at @oceanearthvitality.
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Jackson Healy, reporter, can be reached at 808-647-4966 or jhealy@thegardenisland.com.
