Kai Lenny and John John Florence are two people that can read the ocean like a regular person reads a book. They can because they spend their lives in it — not just surfing, but sailing, paddling, diving, swimming… almost anything one can do in the ocean, they’ve done it. And, since they’re both professional athletes, they love a challenge. They came up with the idea to foil across the Kaua’i Channel from O’ahu to Kaua’i and back on John’s 18-foot catamaran, a trip of 200 nautical miles.
Although Kai’s an expert foiler, things change a little when a sail is added. So before they left, Kai needed to go through a training session. “I have supreme confidence in John and myself,” Kai said. “I’ve been windsurfing and kiting and doing these other wind sports long enough that I feel like I have a very good understanding of the wind.”
John, of course, has been sailing for a while now and had a solid grasp on what the voyage might entail. He wasn’t too worried about Lenny’s skill on a catamaran. “I have tons of confidence in Kai,” he said. “He’s strong, he knows what a foil is… and that’s about where my confidence is laying.” It was a multi-day mission that pushed their limits.
So, after a few days filled with a very steep learning curve, the two world champions set off. Of course, it wasn’t entirely all smooth sailing. They flipped at least once and broke a part of the boat, but that’s just par for the course when embarking on a voyage like this. Then, of course, in the process of replacing the broken part, the replacement part broke. To add insult to injury, once they fixed it, it didn’t fit. “It could have been so easy for us,” John said, lying on his back in the sand, staring at the part. “But no, it can’t.”
Thankfully, however, after a few hours, a bucket of elbow grease, help from some friends, and a never-give-up attitude, they returned to their travels and headed back to O’ahu, where they are left with a head full of memories and experience that will last a lifetime.
