Nappy Napoleon

l-r Rosie Lum, Kala Kukea, Blue Makua Jr., Luana Froiseth, Nappy Napoleon, Kamoa Kalama

I was out shooting this morning at the Hilton Lagoon, and a crusty old guy came up to say hi. His name is Nappy Napoleon. Maybe that name doesn't mean much to most people, but if you paddle canoes, you'll know who he is. Nappy probably owns the record for most times paddling in the Molokai Hoe (52x!)...the annual "Superbowl" of international canoe paddling, spanning 41 miles between Molokai and Oahu.

I'm familiar with Nappy because of what I do. A number of years back, I was privileged to work on a commercial for Long Distance USA with some of Hawaii's paddling elite...Nappy, Luana Froiseth, Rosie Lum, Kamoa Kalama, the late Blue Makua, Jr., and the late Kala Kukea. This was one of those moments when my job is more than just a job...to work with these exceptional people...all successful both in and out of the canoe...was an experience that I'll never forget.

So back to Nappy...this morning the sun rose just to the left of Diamond Head, the sky was clear, there was just a light trade wind blowing, and here I was, talking story with the man who has paddled the Kaiwi Channel more times than any other paddler. Yeah. Life is good.