Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California.

“Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky in morning, sailor’s warning,” so goes the mariner’s saying.

Back in September 2004 when the sky was red, Betsy Jordan and Peter Riddle crossed the Maui Channel together with Peggy Leong.

“We had favorable conditions, pretty calm water except for some swells coming into Kaanapali [on Maui] at the end. We had thought we would aim for Lahaina, but the currents took us a bit farther on, so we ended near Black Rock.

“The only marine life issue was some little stingray particles, which seemed only to attack Peggy and me and not my husband Peter,” recalls Jordan. “A little calamine lotion helped get rid of the itches the next day. It was beautiful taking off from Maui with a gorgeous red sunrise sky. We stopped every 20 minutes to see if we were all OK with the pace, and to drink a little. It was a most successful crossing.”

Judy Collins explains the Hawaiian word for the Maui Channel, “Au’au [for Maui] translates to ‘to take a bath.’ Warm, pacific.”

That was exactly what Jordan, Riddle, and Leong enjoyed during their day across Maui – that was punctuated with a beautiful rainbow at the end.

Copyright © 2014 by World Open Water Swimming Association