During this sweet little spotlight on Kona Boys we took Domenico on a stand up paddleboard lesson around Kamakahonu Bay where our beach shack is located in front of King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel.

After the lesson, Kona Boy Frank shared some personal aspirations and a bit of history on how he went from corporate America to island living.

Check out the part where we are featured below:

You can watch the entire Living in America – Part 7 here.

All the video content is copyright “Living in America”.

Big Mahalos to our friends from Italia!

Kona Boys

After taking a breather from her outstanding 2011 season (and being voted 2011 Female Stand Up Paddler of the Year by SUP Magazine readers), she took some time to answer a few of our questions. We enjoyed learning some more about her and her thoughts on the sport of stand up paddling. We hope you enjoy it too.

I just hope that I continue to have fun and enjoy life – it’s been an amazing experience so far and I feel really fortunate for being able to do what I do. – Jenny Kalmbach

How did you get into Stand Up Paddle Boarding?
I first learned to stand up paddleboard back in 2006 when I was working at Kukio Golf & Beach Club. We taught surfing, outrigger paddling etc and we had these 2 big Ron House boards. We didn’t really start going out on them much until Jack Gillen, a good friend, got us all fired up about the sport.  After that we were all hooked. We surfed them a bunch that winter, and later that summer I entered a race … it’s all sort of taken off from there.

What are your favorite places to train on the Big Island?
I have a love/hate relationship with Keokea on the northern tip of the Big Island. I love being out in the big, windy conditions because it is so good for my training but I always get nervous going up there because it is so desolate and anything can happen.. people have lost their canoes, been knocked off their equipment by big sharks…it’s a very intense place but it’s also a very beautiful place. You can’t beat paddling along the cliffs with the windmills on one side and the island of Maui off in the distance.

Do you think Stand Up Paddle Boarding could be an Olympic sport?
Absolutely. It has so many different disciplines – everything from sprint to long distance, flat water, surfing, white water etc. If you really wanted you could even do team SUP. It may not happen in the next few years but I have no doubt that within 10 years it will be in the Olympics. I just hope that I’ll still be competitive, it would be a dream to be an olympic athlete.

Tell us about the equipment you use?
I race long distance on a 17′ Naish Glide which has a built in rudder system and the 12’6 Javelin for the shorter, sprint races. My favorite surfing boards are the 9’0 Nalu & the 8’5 Hokua. I am one of the few people that races with a wood paddle shaped by Odie Sumi from Pure Paddles. I like the flex that wood paddles offer and it just feels more natural when you paddle.

What is the most radical thing you have ever seen or done on the ocean?
One of the most memorable (and I guess you could say “radical”) things I have done is paddle 82 miles from Oahu to Kauai. It was part of the channel crossing expedition, Destination 3 Degrees and we spent 11 of the 16 hours paddling through the night. One of my favorite memories was taking a break at around 3 in the morning and laying on my board and looking up at the sky and seeing stars everywhere. It hit me all of sudden that I was in the middle of a channel, in the middle of the Pacific ocean… it sort of makes you feel really small. I’ll never forget that experience.

What does the future hold for you?
Honestly, I have no idea. I take things day by day – I hope to continue competing and traveling with standup paddling and I would love to compete in a Ironman triathlon one day but other than that, I really don’t know. I just hope that I continue to have fun and enjoy life – it’s been an amazing experience so far and I feel really fortunate for being able to do what I do.

LINKS:
www.jennykalmbach.com
www.facebook.com/JennyKalmbachSUP

All photos are copyright Jenny Kalmbach unless otherwise noted.

Jenny Kalmbach Interview with Kona Boys by Kona Boys, Inc is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.konaboys.com/contact/.

In case you need a little something to keep you in that aloha state of mind, we’ve put together a background wallpaper to help.

Enjoy. And don’t forget to share the aloha.

In Kamakahonu colors:

Click here for the 1280 x 800 background

In sepia tones:

Click here for the 1280 x 800 sepia background

A few months ago Kona Boys was stoked when we were able to help out with one of Korea’s most popular reality television shows, “Infinite Challenge.”

The episode was filmed entirely on location and involved a fairly large amount of production. Teams of competitors raced from clue to clue while experiencing several local activities, foods, and sites.

One of the team challenges was to paddle a wa’a (outrigger canoe) from Kamakahonu Bay in front of King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel to one of our Kona Boys team members waiting in Kailua-Kona Bay and back again. Upon completion, Kona Boys beach boy Brock handed them their next clue and shared some aloha.

Mostly, we just think it’s fun to watch.

Thanks to Kona Boys co-owner Frank Carpenter for helping set it up. Thanks also to Kai ‘Ehitu for the use of their wa’a and to the Infinite Challenge production crew and staff.

The top gate into Kiholo Bay during this period, will be closed and access restricted. So far we have some kiteboarders on the Big Island, who are willing to kokua and help out for the cause.

Malama the Aina!

December 2nd & 3rd, 2011
Mauna Lani Bay Hotel and Bungalows

See more details at http://www.konasurffilmfestival.org.

Or, see Kona Boy’s local info page on the Kona Surf Film Festival.

• Respect the beach, ocean and others
• The surfer closest to the peak has the right of way
• First to his or her feet has priority
• Stay out of the way of riders on waves
• If in doubt, don’t paddle out
• Be aware of currents, jetties and other surfers
• Hold on to your board
• Clean up after yourself and others less thoughtful
• Always aid another surfer in trouble
• Share the water, your knowledge and your stoke
• Give Respect To Gain Respect

Mahalo for your thoughts and prayers as we went through and have rebuilt from the March 11th Tsunami. We were blessed by your concern and the messages we received! We are all healthy and the waters around Kealakekua Bay and Kamakahonu Bay at the Kailua-Kona Pier are open. Repairs to the damaged buildings, sidewalks and other structures that were affected is ongoing.

The Tsunami

The tsunami was caused by the 9.0-magnitude “Tohoku earthquake” that rocked Japan on March 11th 7:46PM HST and caused horrible devestation there. Our hearts go out to these people and their families locally. (One way to support Japan’s rebuilding efforts is through Kokua For Japan.)

The wave traveled around 4000 miles to Hawaii in about 8 hours, hitting the Kona shores around 3:30AM HST with a wall of water between a foot and several feet depending on the location. Several places on the Big Island received minor damage with the most severe damage being in Kealakekua Bay, Kona Pier, and a few spots farther north of Kailua Kona.

We received warnings from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center around 9:30PM HST. 

Beach Shack Renovations Completed Days Before Tsunami

As luck would have it, we had just completed some serious renovations to our beach shack at Kamakahonu Bay. Needless to say, when the Tsunami alarms sounded we were a little nervous that our shack may now be located in the middle of Kailua Bay.

When we arrived on scene in the morning, we were stoked to see our little shack standing strong against the waters.

Maybe it’s because it’s on sacred ground, maybe it’s because it has palm trees growing through the middle of it, or maybe it’s something else…but our beach shack withstood the storm!

Here’s some pretty unbelievable footage of someone standing on a break-wall a few hundred yards from the shack.

Kamakahonu Bay

Kamakahonu Bay completely overfilled, knocking a small corner off the Ahuena Heiau, filling the shack with water, dropping many of the nearby canoes hundreds of yards away onshore, and filling the King Kamehameha hotel with a couple feet of ocean.

In the end, the entire Kailua Kona Pier area sustained a fair amount of damage. However, the people and the county have reacted quickly to repair and clean up. As of today, the only obvious damage remaining is the new “keiki pond” in front of our shack that used to be a sidewalk and a palm tree.

Wa’a At Risk

Also, our wa’a (Hawaiian outrigger canoe) was at risk, sitting on the shoreline in front of the King Kamehameha hotel. Receiving the warning call first, our guide Kawika took to the water with the wa’a's builder Kalani in the middle of the night.

Beating the impending wave, they moored the canoe a couple hundred fathoms out from the pier.  Then, they spent the night on the water through the tsunami until it was safe to return to shore.

We give big props to Kawika and Kalani for braving the storm, saving the canoe, it’s history, and this piece of Hawaiian heritage.

 The House in Kealakekua Bay

We love Kealakekua Bay. It’s history and heritage are amazing. It’s views and experiences unmatched. And it’s one of the best snorkeling spots in the world.

The Bay and nearby Napo’opo’o residents were hit pretty hard. You may have already seen this footage of the house floating in Kealakekua Bay. Other homes in the area were destroyed and choke trash ended up in the bay and along the shoreline.

Area residents, friends, and businesses rallied though. Hundreds of hours were volunteered and days worth of trash pick up and diving clean up have cleared a good deal of the wreckage out of the bay. It has been great to see everyone pulling together! Through their hard work and volunteering, Kealakekua Bay is still beautiful and open for visitors to experience its wonder.

We’re Good To Go

All in all, we’re back to normal operations and looking forward. We’ve been encouraged by all the support and concern we’ve received following the tsunami. Both Kealakekua Bay and Kamakahonu Bay are clean, recovering and open for visitors. We’re stoked to be helping people having fun on the ocean and can’t wait to see you again!

Reminder,  If you are not participating in a guided tour and you would like to land on the Captain Cook Monument side of Kealakekua Bay, you will need to get a landing permit.  The application for the permit is available here.

If you do not have a permit you are still allowed to kayak and snorkel in Kealakekua Bay, however you will have to snorkel from the kayak and keep the boat under your control.  If you have any questions regarding the rules, feel free to contact Kona Boys.

Kona Boys are stoked to share our latest ocean adventure, Historical Wa’a (Canoe) Rides from the Kona Boys Beach Shack in Kailua-Kona.  Enjoy Kona’s amazing waters and beautiful coastline in the tradition of the Hawaiians themselves.  Our guide/steersman will give you a beach side orientation before we board the Wa’a and launch from the protected beach at Kamakahonu Bay.  As we paddle into Kailua Bay and explore the coastline we will share stories about some of the local landmarks, the rich history of the area, and the role of the wa’a in Hawaiian culture.  It’s a great trip from the entire family so give us a call or email us at info@konaboys.com and schedule you’re Wa’a ride.
1 Hour Wa’a Rides – $49.99/person

1 Hour Wa’a Charters – $149.99, 6 people max

4 Hour Wa’a Charters – $399