Kaulapapa

Bjorn Dunkerbeck: Boat trips are always fun: there is absolutely no wasted time as you are on site throughout the trip, ready to hit the water. As for how we got along, we are all old friends and we got along very well. However, it was a short trip! It was an amazing boat though, that handled rough water really well and was as luxurious as the ‘Itoma’ in Cape Verde.

Scott Carvill: When you can have all your equipment in one place ready to go it makes things really easy. It doesn’t hurt when your boat is a 100 foot ship with more conveniences than your home. The boat really was unbelievable, the trip would have been good without even leaving the dock and it made abig change from my other trips here which are usually cramped on small fishing boats, salty and sunburned all day, sleeping on the floor with bilge water and fish blood all night. As for the camaraderie, it couldn’t have a better 14 on the boat. All the sailors are best friends from windsurfing and the tour, while Jon the captain Bryce and Kohl the crew are all best friends from Kailua.

Vittorio Marcelli: For me boat trips are the best kind of trips, as I have a total love of the ocean and this allows me to be with the it 24 hours a day. What’s more, the boat we ended up on was quite simply perfect for the trip. As far as camaraderie was concerned, I get along with everyone and am friends with everyone. So it's not something I give much thought to.

Robby Naish: That depends... normally boat trips are not, the best, unless you really like boats. This was exceptional, as the boat was so “styling” and large. It does add to the adventure of the whole thing. What’s more, everyone got along really well, as most of us are pretty seasoned travellers, and know how to stay off of each other’s nerves. Sailing was cool too... there were plenty of waves to go around.

Impressions of Kaulapapa and the impact of what happened here to us.

Tristan Boxford: The first sight of Kaulapapa was truly breathtaking: imposing high cliffs dropping down into the perfectly turquoise ocean that buffeted a picturesque, quaint little town. Indeed from afar, you would never guess what had happened here. However once we were onshore and following a guided tour round the town by the extremely kind and understanding Sheriff, the extent and severity of what took

place in this quiet secluded town and what these people went through was hard hitting and left me quite dumbfounded. I found it ironic the length that we as windsurfers and free spirits go to find un-crowded spots to windsurf and surf, far from any kind of civilisation, whilst these poor Hansen’s disease victims were dropped off from boats against their will to what was, in those days, a completely desolate and windswept piece of land. They were in the healthy establishment’s eyes ‘outcasts of society’ and should be completely isolated from the rest of the world. Kaulapapa still has a quiet and almost eerie reverence to it and a chilling calmness that will stick in my mind for years to come. Nothing can change what happened, but respect and understanding is the least we can show to the survivors and their families who still live on there.