just talked to Mao-san and got her side of the story. everything was going really good half way to Oahu. continuous paddling, lots of energy left, and enjoying the moment. 
right after we heard about the 2 big sharks in the channel, Maki-san jumped in. i was really proud of her because i know hundreds of my guy friends that would never do it. this will make her stronger and much more calmer when she’s in the ocean. this is mental training at its finest…
then as we got closer to Oahu, things change drastically. the winds started blowing 30mph straight off shore. then the current started going backwards. this is when Mao-san spent 2 hours on her last part which was only supposed to take 45min. she was fighting and fighting, and never gave up. it was so inspiring watching this happen…
then she the came into the bay and headed to the finish line. she was advised to take that course by her coach Takuji-san. and it turned out to be the winning way! 
i couldn’t believe she could even still walk after that??? Mao-san rode a stock SUP board so it was big and bulky. imagine paddling that against the wind and falling off 20 times??? just getting back up on the board took lots of energy. i couldn’t have done that.
we had a nice dinner and a nice talk. Mao-san plans to go back to Okinawa and relax. the first thing she wants to do is eat Okinawa Soba. haha. then she’s back to training in the ocean. she plans to SUP next years race, and FOIL the next year after that. what??? but with master Coach Takuji-san on her side, and her 110% positive mentality, i’m pretty sure she can do anything she tries. remember that after winning last years prone race, she only started to SUP 8 months ago. that’s unbelievable… anyway, thank you Mao-san for all showing me how to never give up… and thank you Maki-san for being my spotter and brave heart for jumping in the deep blue 4 times. so happy to see the Women of the Ocean…
