It takes decades of repetition to master something.
… Usually.
But at the ripe old age of 24, it’s safe to say that Kai Lenny has basically mastered anything and everything there is to know about watersports. He’s been surfing and kite surfing since age four, and he just put his skill to the test by completing one of the most impressive feats in endurance surfing, well, ever.
Lenny successfully hydrofoil-surfed 50 miles, from the Big Island to Maui. That’s technically 30 miles as the crow flies, but Lenny needed to zigzag to ride the swells that propelled him there. Take a second and imagine the core strength and stamina needed for that.
His hydrofoil is basically a standup paddleboard that glides above the water. To get started, he has to lie prone and then paddle into the swell. In an Instagram post, he said the Alenuihāhā Channel crossing was his longest ride yet. It’s also considered to be one of the most brutal channels to cross, thanks to the wind-funnel effect its named after: it means “great billows smashing.”
Also ingrained in young master Lenny? A love of the earth. He’s doing a “downwind challenge” where he makes his way from one Hawaiian island to the next to clean up the beach with the help of NGOs like Surfrider and Hawaii Wildlife Fund. How he gets to each island depends on the conditions, so the next leg may be on a kiteboard.
Follow him on Instagram to follow his journey.
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