Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. Michael Twigg-Smith was born in Hilo, Hawaii, but he now plys his trade between the islands of Molokai and Oahu. The captain now specializes in escort boat services for open water swimmers and relays across the Molokai Channel (Ka'iwi Channel). Twigg-Smith's entire life has been around the water. He
Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. The team of veteran open water swimmers including Brent Blackman, Bernie Zeruhn, Keith Dickson, Karen Dehmel Schmidt, Amy Dantzler and Jen Schumacher* set two records when they completed their Catalina Channel crossing from Santa Catalina Island to the Southern California mainland in 6 hours 57 minutes.
The two teams started right on time at the inaugural Ka'iwi Channel Swim this morning on Kepuhi Beach in Kepuhi Bay on the western shores of Molokai Island. Considering the conditions, co-race director Steve Haumschild predicts a crossing of the 28-mile (45 km) channel under 12 hours. "The conditions are pretty good - 15 mph winds coming from the east with
