Salt, Sun, and Surviving: The unprecedented circumnavigation of Maui passes halfway point

John Kalemakali’i Clark has been in salt water so often this past week that his tastebuds have nearly burnt off.

“The water to the north, just along that north coast, is very salty. Come down south, it’s a little less salty,” Clark noticed, though unsure if his lips had been fooling him.

Technically speaking, Clark might be one of only four people to ‘taste’ all of Maui’s ocean water, as he and 13 more swimmers attempt a brave circumnavigation around the island of Maui this month.

“Nobody’s ever done anything like this. Trying to get around an entire island in a specific period of time, in a short period of time, with incredibly difficult conditions,” said fellow swimmer, Stefan Reinke of O’ahu.

Circumnavigation swims are outlandish, even for experienced water-athletes. Only two people have done it on O’ahu, but never before on Maui, at least as records show. The journey around Maui is 190 miles, lasts three weeks, in conditions with occasional six-foot-surf, sharks, sunburn and saltburn — not to mention burning about 4,000 to 4,500 calories per day on a sustenance diet of mostly liquid gels and energy juice.

Now, more than halfway through the full swim, four athletes — Andy Donaldson, John Kalemakali’i Clark, Ryan Leong and Stefan Reinke — are still on track to become the first to complete the circumnavigation of Maui, as they have participated in each swim to date.

Speaking of records, Epic Swim Maui might never be one, at least not officially.

“From a traditional sense, I don’t know if it’s going to be recognized by any of the organizations that typically ratify these types of swims,” said Leong.

This wouldn’t come as a surprise to most open-ocean swimmers, as touching land typically disqualifies a swimmer, according to the sport’s rules, WOWSA. The crew employs rest days and sometimes retires its swimmers mid-swim as a safety measure.

Thankfully, accolades come nothing close to what Epic Swim Maui and its participants are hoping to achieve through their “common bond of suffering” towards their goal.

For Leong, “As long as one of us from the group, and [as long as] we all help one another to get all the way around this island, we complete the mission of this swim,” he said. “Whether or not it’s on record or recognized by an open water swimming community or any federation, it’s much less about that, and more about the overall scope of the event for ocean health, sustainability and science.”

Epic Swim Maui has become more than an extreme swimming event.

The event is partnered with the United Nations Ocean Decade, the County of Maui, oceanographers from across the globe, indigenous leaders, and numerous local and global brands to bring awareness to ocean health.

Its swimmers are collaborating with the UC San Diego’s Scripps Institute of Oceanography and Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, a climate research institute in Germany, to collect water samples and conduct studies on microplastics and PFAS (forever chemicals).

The event hopes to take shape in its subsequent documentary, which will feature its swimmers, who come from six continents and Hawai’i, as well as scientists, community leaders and environmental champions all focused on improving the health of our oceans and nearshore environments.

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The full list of swimmers includes:

• Paul Blackbeard of Australia
• John Kalemakali’i Clark of Hawai’i
• Andrew Donaldson of Scotland
• Sarah Ferguson of South Africa
• Barbara Hernandez of Chile
• Marion Joffle of France
• Amber Keegan of the United Kingdom
• Prabhat Koli of India
• Jono Ridler of New Zealand
• Yvette Tetteh of Ghana
• Sarah Thomas of the USA
• Dr. Mostafa Zaki of Egypt
• Stefan Reinke of Hawai’i
• Ryan Leong of Hawai’i
• Dina Levačić of Croatia
• Archie Kalepa of Hawai’i, safety chief

*The swimmers spoke to Maui Now on one of their rest days on Wednesday, June 17, 2024. Epic Swim Maui is ongoing.

**Editor’s Note: The full swimmers list was updated at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 21