At age 62, and after completing 8 channel crossings in the Hawaiian Islands over 18 years, Carl Kawauchi feels he is not ready to be recognized as a Hawaii channel swimmer. However, the Hawaii Swimming Hall of Fame has gone against his wishes and is inducting him into the class of 2005.

Carl began competing in ocean swimming relatively late in life. He was 39 years old when he decided to do the Waikiki Roughwater Swim in 1982; he finished 16th in his
age group and 230th overall, undertrained and not really knowing how to swim in the
open water. But he was hooked on ocean racing. Carl gradually phased out of running marathons and began swimming more and more; he sought out longer and longer ocean swims. In 1987 he discovered channel swimming; which was still in its infancy in Hawaii; he crossed the Auau channel from Lanai to Maui in 6 hours 49 minutes, and has not stopped.

Over the years Carl has swim a total of nearly 75 miles in crossing 4 different channels,' most of them twice (from different directions):

Auau Channel (8.9 miles), 1987, Lanai to Maui
Kalohi Channel (9.3 miles), 1989, Molokai to Lanai
Pailolo Channel (8 .4 miles), 1991, Maui to Molokai
Alalakeiki Channel (6.7 miles), 1992, Kahoolawe to Maui, 1st crossing Pailolo Channel, 1993, Molokai to Maui, solo, 1st reverse crossing Kalohi Channel, 1995, Lanai to Molokai
Pailolo Channel, 1998, Maui to Molokai
Auau Channel, 2003, Maui to Lanai

Carl's most grueling crossing was the Pailolo Channel from Molokai to Maui. He swam solo against the current almost all of the way and threatened to quit several times when he noticed he was not making any progress. But his wife refused to let him back into the boat and told him to swim or drown. Carl finally finished after over 8 and a half hours in the water. To put this in perspective Carl swam the same channel but in the reverse direction, and with the current, five years later and finished in a little over 5 hours.

Where there are two islands separated by a body of water, Carl has the urge to swim across. He enjoys putting in mega miles in the water, no speed work or intervals. You can find him many mornings at Ala Moana beach swimming 2K laps in the water. Carl is a graduate of University High School and the University of Hawaii; he also earned his Master's at Purdue University. He is an engineer with the State Department of Transportation, Airports Division. He has no plans to retire.