Kings And Queens Of The Hawaiian Island Channels
Courtesy of Dr. Steven Minaglia, Nā Kai ‘Ewalu, Hawaii.
Dr. Steven Minaglia is a channel swimmer who lives on Oahu in Hawaii. The Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery and Obstetrics and Gynecology double board-certified specialist does many marathon swimming.
Dr. Minaglia, who completed his fifth crossing of different channels in Hawaii on October 31st in 12+ months, explains the situation in the state of Hawaii, “Hawaiian channel swimming has been heating up during the COVID-19 pandemic. There has been a lot of time to train and since travel outside of Hawaii has been limited, most of us have been swimming a lot more here at home.
There are 9 channels in Hawaii. To date, no person has crossed all nine channels between Oahu, Kauai, Molokai, Maui, Lanai, Kahoolawe, Niihau, and Hawaii. Both Linda Kaiser and Mike Spalding have crossed 8 channels with the exception being the 115.8 km Kaieiewaho Channel that separates Oahu and Kauai. People have attempted solo swims of this channel and people, including Linda and Mike, have completed relay swims. For the most part, this channel represents a heroic accomplishment- one that is out of the range of the average channel swimmer.“
Bill Goding stands tall among the rest with a lifetime cumulative total of 27 island crossings.
Top 3 Swimmers for Each Channel in Hawaii:
Total crossings:
1. Bill Goding (27)
2. Dr. Steven Minaglia (18)
3. Stefan Reinke (13)
Kaiwi Channel, 41.8 km between Molokai Island and Oahu:
1. Forrest Nelson (3)
2. Harry Huffaker (2)
3. Beth French (2)
Auau Channel, 14.16 km between Lanai and Maui:
1. Bill Goding (21)
2. Dr. Steven Minaglia (6)
3. Stefan Reinke (6)
4. Hudson Slay (6)
Kalohi Channel, 14.96 km between Lanai and Molokai:
1. Carl Kawauchi (4)
2. Dr. Steven Minaglia (4)
3. Stefan Reinke (3)
Alalakeiki Channel, 11.26 km between Kahoolawe and Maui:
1. Carl Kawauchi (2)
2. Alton Motobu (2)
3. Numerous swimmers with one crossing
Pailolo Channel, 13.67 km between Maui and Molokai:
1. Dr. Steven Minaglia (6)
2. Carl Kawauchi (4)
3. Numerous swimmers with two crossings
Alenuihaha Channel, 48.2 km between Hawaii to Maui:
1. Mike Spalding (1)
2. Linda Kaiser (1)
3. Penny Palfrey (1)
4. Harry Huffaker (1)
Kaulakahi Channel, 27.35 km between Kauai and Niihau:
1. Bill Goding (2)
2. Numerous swimmers with one crossing
Kealaikahiki Channel, 27.3 km between Kahoolawe and Lanai:
1. Quinn Carver (1)
2. Bill Goding (1)
3. Linda Kaiser (1)
4. Laurie Foster (1)
5. Mike Spalding (1)
Kaieiewaho Channel, 115.8 km between Oahu and Kauai:
1. No solo swimmers – only one relay with Mike Spalding, Linda Kaiser, Randy Brown, Michelle Macy, Joel Swartz, and Billy Brown in 47 hours 55 minutes in 2011.
Photo shows Bill Goding finishing on Sandy Beach on Oahu after crossing the Molokai Channel in 2006 at the age of 53.
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