For most people, swimming the Au’Au Channel, a 9.5 mile gap between the Hawaiian islands of Maui and Lānaʻi, would be a lifetime bucket list challenge. But Skylar Webb has swam it twice in both directions – as well as the Pailolo Channel, a rougher and more challenging open passage from Maui to Molokai. Even more remarkable, she was only ten years old when she set the record for the youngest person to swim the Au’Au Channel.
I’m always so inspired when I come across stories of people striving beyond what we think is possible, and Skylar is the embodiment of this kind of reach. There’s so much we can learn from her about a growth mindset, solid preparation, and building the right rope team – and maybe the most important part of the process – keeping our hearts open and saying, “Yes” to the adventure. Nobody can tell the story better than Skylar. In her words:
“My dad had the initial idea for me to swim the channel that first time, and I didn’t give it much thought and instead just said YES. At my first training swim, a friend and veteran channel swimmer, Mark Baker, led the way to Popoia Island and back. I was inexperienced, young, and slower than everyone around me. Thankfully, my dad stuck by my side and helped me feel more comfortable swimming in the intimidating ocean environment. Our swims progressively grew harder and longer; we swam from Waimanalo to Kailua, Kailua to Kaneohe, he Natatorium to Ala Moana, and completed 73 other swims that prepared me for the channel.
Months later, when we arrived to Lanai to take on the Au’Au channel, I was mostly excited to spend some time before the swim with my friends and family watching movies, carb loading with tons of pasta, and having fun. But the morning of the swim, my nerves hit me. I had trained and visualized for months, but suddenly the moment was real.
We woke up at 4:30AM, got our swimsuits on, and grabbed our swim bags. On the boat ride to Lanai I was feeling butterflies in my stomach and their wings were beating a mile a minute. We lathered on sunscreen and it was so thick we looked like snowmen in swimsuits. On the shore we had a prayer, a little team huddle, and then we were off.
Diving into the water I was jittery and scared. As we swam forward, the coral underneath us began to get smaller and smaller until there was nothing but deep blue, crisp, refreshing ocean all around us. But the calm didn’t last. I experienced my first jellyfish sting and when I was taking a breath I even got stung in my mouth! After a while I actually got used to the sensation of being stung. As we battled super strong currents I could feel my frustration rising as we seemed to be swimming in place. But we just kept swimming. And swimming.
Finally, we saw the shore and I felt a surge of energy rush through my body. Before I knew it, I was no longer swimming – I was running on the beach! We were greeted with leis, hugs, and congratulations from family and even strangers. My legs were like jelly and my tongue was swollen from the salt. Even our celebratory ice cream tasted like salt! But it didn’t matter because I was incredibly proud of myself. The murky water, the crashing waves that caused me and others to vomit, jellyfish stings, and sea lice were all worth it for such a huge accomplishment. Coming this far has only made me want to continue. I have no plans of stopping.”
Skylar isn’t satisfied resting on her Everest-size accomplishments. At sixteen, she is now gearing up to lead a team of eight swimmers across the Au’Au Channel next month; many of them first-timers, while also managing a website she created dedicated to helping other folks interested in swimming the channel. Keep it up, Skylar! I can’t wait to learn about your next reach. Mahalo.
