Life just doesn’t seem to slow down for Hanalei’s Laird Hamilton and his surfing buddy Dave Kalama. Look to the waters this weekend and the two of them might just pass by, with a camera crew in tow. The two
Life just doesn’t seem to slow down for Hanalei’s Laird Hamilton and his surfing buddy Dave Kalama. Look to the waters this weekend and the two of them might just pass by, with a camera crew in tow.
The two started a paddle and pedal journey from the southernmost point of the Big Island to the northernmost point of Kaua‘i Wednesday, all for the sake of raising autism awareness. They will each traverse the ocean between the islands via stand-up paddle surfboards or canoe and pedal bikes over the landmasses.
The crossings are aimed at raising funds for cinematographer Don King’s “Beautiful Son,” a nonprofit film about healing autism; King’s son Beau is autistic.
“With Don’s film nearing completion, Dave and I wanted to create not only an extraordinary physical challenge for ourselves, but also raise the community’s awareness of autism and the need for us to keep working towards a cure,” Hamilton said in a release.
Hamilton and Kalama started their bike pedal on the Big Island, then paddled the Alenuihaha Channel to Maui. Today, they are scheduled to paddle the Pailolo Channel from Maui to Moloka‘i.
Tomorrow they should be paddling the Ka‘iwi Channel from Moloka‘i to O‘ahu. They should be passing through Kaua‘i waters Sunday and pedaling through the streets Tuesday.
For more information or to make a donation, visit www.beautifulson.com.