Posted at 6:46 p.m., Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Big wave surfers complete island journey
Associated Press
NAWILIWILI — Big wave surfers Laird Hamilton and Dave Kalama completed their 430-mile crossing of the state today with a 26-mile bicycle ride from Nawiliwili to Kilauea Lighthouse on Kauai.Their weeklong land and water journey over and between the islands was undertaken to promote a documentary film on autism made by their friend cinematographer Don King. "Beautiful Son" is about King's autistic 6-year-old son Beau.
Hamilton and Kalama agreed the hardest part of the trek was standup surfing the 78 miles between Oahu and Kauai. It took about 19 hours.
"It's the hardest thing I've ever done, and I won't forget this anytime soon. It was a serious gut check. I'm so glad to be on land right now," Kalama said Tuesday after completing the overnight crossing.
The two encountered rain squalls that were so heavy at times that they had to paddle on their stomachs to keep their balance. The heaviest showers hit around 2 a.m., reducing visibility to near zero.
"It makes you feel very small," Hamilton said. "It's very humbling."
Hamilton and Kalama began traversing the state Oct. 4 at South Point on the Big Island. They biked across land and used extra-long paddles for standup surfing between the islands.
King, who works on the ABC series "Lost," being shot in Hawaii, has said he hopes the effort by Hamilton and Kalama will raise $40,000 to distribute the autism documentary to a wider audience. The film addresses the struggles the brain disorder brings to families.
