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Posted on: Friday, November 24, 2000

Paddling to save the ocean

By Lee Cataluna
Advertiser Columnist


It was an act of courage, strength, and, to hear witnesses tell it, sheer stubbornness, that few of us could ever imagine.

In 1999, Donna Kahi Kahakui paddled solo from Upolu Point on the Big Island to Waikiki, covering 140 miles in three days.

Now, when I say "solo," I don’t mean that Kahi was all by herself out in the open ocean. She had an escort boat captained by Nainoa Thompson to make sure she stayed on course. She had a medic to check her vital signs, look into her eyes when she got delirious, and run an IV when she got to the point where she couldn’t keep liquids down. She had friends and supporters cheering her on, telling her that she had it in her to finish, reminding her of why she set out on this journey in the first place.

But the paddling part, she did that all by herself. It was her strong arms, her powerful back, and her huge spirit that made the crossing.

I love Kahi’s story because it’s so full of lessons for the rest of us couch-sitting, TV-watching, Cheetos-eating mortals. I like to think that we’re all on journeys. Some are brave enough to set out on their own. Others sort of get pushed out by the tide or pulled out by the current.

Doesn’t matter if you’ve never been on a boat in your life; at a certain point, you understand on a very deep level what it’s like to be so far out to sea that you aren’t even sure where you’re headed. And sooner or later, you realize that though there are people around to help point the way, you’re the only one with the paddle, and you gotta do the hard work yourself.

It helps to have a higher purpose.

Kahi’s purpose is to save the ocean. She founded Kai Makana (www.kaimakana.org) an organization that puts muscle, money and leadership into marine environmental issues. It’s a cause that burns so bright it keeps her going when every inch of her body is yelling at her to stop. This mission first led her to paddle solo from Maui to Oahu three years ago. Earlier this year, she paddled around Oahu, covering 113 miles in three days and nights, not sleeping much, not eating much, hardly resting at all. The long-distance journeys are meant to draw attention to Kai Makana’s work.

What sets Kahi apart from the rest of us isn’t just her athleticism or her dedication to a cause. It’s her willingness to go through these ordeals over and over again. After her grueling paddle from the Big Island, the only thing on her mind as she touched the sand at Waikiki Beach was, "What am I going to do next?" Next for Kahi is always something bigger, something even more difficult.

Next time around is Tahiti, up the island chain from Papeete to Bora Bora, a total of 200 miles, by invitation of the people of Tahiti.

Kahi doesn’t realize the lessons she’ll share will go far beyond stream restoration, debris removal and water-quality monitoring. She doesn’t quite see how her brave voyages are inspiration for a courageous life.