Kenny Howell

Challenging the Great Ocean

Written by Kenny Howell
Friday, 06 June 2008 20:14
This short video shows what it's like to race in the Molokai Challenge, considered the world championship of ocean kayak racing. The race took place on May 18. The video was made by my escort boat crew. Contestants in the Moloka Challenge paddle solo in specialized open kayaks called surfskis. There is also a division for one-man outrigger canoes. The course from Molokai to Oahu is 32 miles through the Kai'iwi Channel - considered one of the roughest patches of water on the planet, with howling trade winds and roaring swells from the northeast converging against swirling currents and sheer volcanic cliffs in the middle of the Pacific. My first attempt at the race in 2006 saw classic conditions: 10' swells and 30 knot winds. You paddle downwind and across the waves to reach Oahu. We surfed the wind waves and hit speeds of 16 mph, at times linking up rides for long stretches. The race winners average 9 mph for the entire crossing. My time in '06 was just under 5 hours. I'm not an elite racer, but I love the challenge of this event. For the 2008 event held on May 18, conditions were mild by Hawaiian standards; wind waves of 2'-4', and a tail wind of only about 10 knots. Despite the lack of ideal conditions (no big down swell rides), I was 10 minutes faster than the previous effort. It may sound a bit romantic, but while waiting for the race to start on the island of Molokai, a wave of understanding washed over me. It's not just about the race: it's just as much a celebration of the Polynesian spirit of exploration and adventure, as well as the chance to paddle with and watch the best ocean paddlers in the world compete. You have to love the Hawaiian saying "kanaka ikaika", roughly translated as "mankind's respectful challenge of the great ocean." -Kenny Howell June 6, 2008 Thank you to Lesley Stevens of Honolulu for putting together this video.

Kenny Howell: The Watershed Keeper, Part 2

Written by Darin Boville
Tuesday, 03 June 2008 15:43
As we continue our tour of the San Francisco Peninsula Watershed with Waterkeeper Tim Sullivan, unique habitats and landscapes come into view along the Cahill Ridge trail. Old growth Douglas fir forests, lush pockets of wildflowers, and dense stands of coastal scrub are protected and managed by the Watershed to conserve extremely precious wildland resources edged by an urban metropolis. Tim explains the natural and human forces that have shaped this land, and we move deeper into the open space which I've previously only seen from the air, or from distant mountain tops. We are the only souls for miles and miles around, yet freeways and suburban sprawl can be seen just beyond the Watershed boundaries. It's a thrill to be here and see a new place that is really close to my home. If you missed the first installment of The Watershed Keeper with Kenny Howell you can check it out here. To see more of Kenny's videos go to the orange menu at the top of the page, choose "Search" and then "Kenny Howell: Messing Around in Boats." Or just click here. Videos by Darin Boville

Follow Kenny at Molokai

Written by Darin Boville
Sunday, 18 May 2008 09:47
Montara kayaker extraordinaire Kenny Howell is in Hawaii this week competing in the Molokai World Surfski Championship. A surfski is a sort of ocean-going kayak. The decades old Molokai race is the most famous race of them all, taking the competitors 32 nautical miles from the island of Molokai (surprise, surprise) across the ocean to Oahu. Want to track Kenny as his makes the four and a half hour trip? Using GPS technology the web page Surfski.info is planning on plotting a map of the race with real-time updates on the position of the contestants. The tracking information is supposed to be there soon--the race starts around noon, Montara time--but I don’t yet see it posted. When it does come up all you will need to do is enter Kenny Howell’s last name and his boat number--72. Click here to go to the Surfski.info web page. Best of luck to Kenny! Map by Surfski.info UPDATE: It appears, presumably due to the volume of hits, that Surfski.infi is having trouble loading. All I can suggest is to keep trying... UPDATE: Surfski is now directing people to a new another web site for direct access to the map. It's not clear to me yet how to enter Kenny's name and boat number, though. UPDATE: Here is Kenny's position (in green, with the green line) as well as the positions of the other competitors as of 2:02 pm Montara time. Note that it appears they did not all start at the same time so comparisons might be tricky.

Kenny Howell: The Watershed Keeper, Part 1

Written by Darin Boville
Tuesday, 29 April 2008 15:58
Tim Sullivan is a happy man. He finally found his dream job after searching the planet a lifetime. Now he holds the keys to a forbidden paradise above Montara. Many coastsiders know Tim from his days as a ranger at the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve. Four years ago he landed a cherished position at the Peninsula Watershed as a Watershed Keeper. I asked Tim if this job was a "keeper"; he replied that it was definitely a "good catch"! What does a Watershed Keeper do? To find out, we followed Tim for a day in his life - to get a rare and privileged glimpse of a 24,000 acre tract of spectacular open space where man is a visitor, but does not remain. Special thanks to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission for their permission, enthusiasm, and nearly unfettered access to produce this video profile on one of their employees. The Watershed is notoriously guarded about access, and guided tours have only recently become available to the public. Criticism over lack of recreational access has been much alleviated with the tour program, yet millions of Bay Area residents never have, and never will, see some of the terrain and vistas that Tim shared with us that day. This is the first part of a multi-part episode. -Kenny Howell Editor's note: The second installment of The Watershed Keeper with Kenny Howell has been published--click here to see Part 2. To see more of Kenny's videos go to the orange menu at the top of the page, choose "Search" and then "Kenny Howell: Messing Around in Boats." Or just click here. Video by Darin Boville

Eric Soares, Tsunami Ranger

Written by Darin Boville
Tuesday, 01 January 2008 10:10
Kenny Howell: Messing Around in Boats Eric Soares is one of the founding members of the famous Tsunami Rangers, a kayaking team based in the Bay Area that makes our coastside shores its home base. The Tsunami Rangers have been featured on television and in print far and wide. Their award-winning DVDs are bestsellers. Entire specials have been made about their exploits on National Geographic, Discovery Channel, MTV and many more. Now, reaching perhaps the apex of their fame, one of their members is being profiled here on Montara Fog. Kenny Howell writes this: Our sincerest thanks to Eric Soares for giving so generously of his time, entertaining us with his inimitable style, and infecting us with his joi de vive. We shot this video in October of 2007. The next month Eric underwent a 3rd scheduled heart surgery to repair a new leak in his aorta and he is recovering well. Without the operation, his doctors said he could die suddenly; however, the procedure itself could also kill him! While Eric got his doctor's permission to kayak, it was not necessarily cart blanche to paddle into ocean rock gardens! Equipped with his custom made Kevlar life vest, Eric gave me specific directions not to ram his chest with my kayak; a severe impact would have been extremely life threatening. -KH Video by Darin Boville

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