Next week, Morgan Hoesterey (pictured above) and Jenny Kalmbach, both accomplished standup paddleboarders, will begin a three-week attempt to cross Hawaii's nine legendary open-ocean channels as never before.
Their expedition is called Destination 3°, for the three degrees of latitude (19° to 22°) that encompass the entire archipelago. Let us put this feat into perspective:
The Alenuihaha Channel, sandwiched between two volcanoes, is one of the roughest stretches of water in the world and can have 20-foot swells.
Or 65-mile Ka’ie’iewaho Channel may take 24 hours to cross, so they plan to paddle by a full moon. Also avid freedivers and surfers, these ladies' efforts are in the name of cleaning up plastics and other debris from the ocean with Algalita Marine Research Foundation.
We caught up with Hoesterey, a California native who now resides in Honolulu, to clue us in on this quest. We'll hear from Kalmbach mid-expedition.—Mary Anne Potts
