so happy to spend so much quality time with Isaiah. we had 10 hours total just talking about life. Isaiah doesn’t own a phone so he’s always into the moment. that’s what i like about this kid. if he owned a phone, we would have lost Mao-san because he’s the spotter. but both of our eyes were on her and there was no way we would lose this girl.
when Mao-san needed something, Isaiah would jump up, take off his shirt, and jump in the ocean. he was super alert when it came to that.
Isaiah has never done this type of thing before but i knew he can do anything when it comes to the ocean. Isaiah is the most all around waterman of the whole Moniz family.
he would give her her water, give her encouraging words, and support her till the fullest. i don’t know how Mao-san could smile like this 5 hours into the race. i can’t believe it.
and the funny thing about this whole thing was we didn’t know Mao-san, and Mao-san didn’t know us. it was her first Molokai race, and it was Isaiah’s first time spotting, and my first time escorting. the only thing we have in common is we all love and respect the ocean equally. yes, the ocean brought us together on this memorable day she won her World Championship!
Mao-san lives in Okinawa so to all my Okinawan friends, please congratulate her when she returns to home. she deserves it!
