Sometimes, bad things happen to totally inspirational people. Which kinda sucks.
James “Kimo” Akaka suffered a stroke in 2011 and hasn’t been able to use half his body since. The stroke also affected his speech. The former Navy serviceman had a custom boat designed for himself so he could get out in the ocean, amongst it. But this week, thieves broke into a friend’s place where he was storing it, stripping it clean and leaving him with an inoperable watercraft–a heartbreaking scenario for someone who relies on his equipment more than most.The boat allowed him to move freely on the ocean, something he can’t always do on land.
Akaka is the kind of guy who reminds us healthy people to quit feeling sorry for ourselves when we’re whining about nothing. I’ve seen him in action and actually raced with him one year during the Olukai downwind event from Maliko Gulch on Maui’s North Shore. Watching him crawl onto a prone paddleboard and ply his craft in the rough seas, against hundreds of other racers was pretty rad, especially since he has a hard time moving both arms together. But he finished, even though it took him four hours in the pain room, and enjoyed the afterparty as much as every other athlete there. Akaka has paddled the 32-mile Molokai Channel as part of a team. He’s a lover of the sea, with or without his ailments. There’s definitely a lesson in there somewhere.
Akaka, paddling downwind during the Olukai event. Photo: Olukai
“The water is the only place I feel at peace and safe,” he told a local news channel.
The specially-made boat allowed Akaka to operate it normally: “It (was) designed with a low freeboard, the rounded sides with the tubes that come back. He’s able to get help easily coming on board and off,” explained friend Bill Andrews about the custom boat. It was later found floating listlessly in the ocean, stripped completely except for the stark-white tubes.
Sometimes, certain stories just pull at your heart strings. This one certainly tugged at mine.
Friends have set up a GoFund me page for Akaka, here.
