Foil Mart Hawaii Hosts Kaimana Beach Fundraiser for Flood Relief

Foil Mart Hawaii turned Kaimana Beach into a fundraiser for one of the hardest-hit parts of the state, channeling foil-community energy into flood relief for Molokai. The April 18 swap meet ran from 9 a.m. to noon and paired foil demos with a silent auction, a live raffle, and experts who answered questions about prone, downwind, parawing, wing, and Foil Drive setups.

The money went to a clear target: Āina Momona. All proceeds from the beach gathering went directly to the Molokai-based organization, while F-ONE and MANERA contributed product for the raffle and auction. That mattered because the storm damage was not abstract. Hawaii Public Radio said communities across the state were dealing with the worst flooding in more than 20 years after two Kona low systems hit roughly a week apart, and Episcopal Relief & Development said the March 10 to 16 storm period brought as much as 40 inches of rain in some areas, left 40,000 people without electricity and forced rescuers to pull more than 200 people from floodwaters.

Molokai’s recovery needs were still especially sharp. The Star-Advertiser reported on April 12 that residents were facing serious challenges in flood recovery, and Island News said families were still rebuilding weeks later with far fewer resources than larger islands. At the same time, volunteers with Molokai Cares were organizing and distributing donations from the Hawaii Tourism Authority office in Kaunakakai, a reminder that the response on the island has depended on local coordination as much as outside help.

Āina Momona’s own role made the fundraiser especially specific. The organization says its land base is Keawanui Fishpond and Cultural Learning Center in the Kaamola ahupuaa of Molokai, and that its home base took some flood damage during the Kona lows. It also says watershed restoration work helped prevent worse damage, and that donations to its general fund will support broader recovery on Molokai and repairs at Keawanui.

For the foil scene, the event worked on two levels at once. It was a practical place to move used gear, talk shop, and get people around boards and foils they might actually ride, but it was also a direct pipeline to disaster relief for Molokai. In a state that just absorbed a brutal rain cycle, that kind of beachside organizing was not just community spirit. It was usable help, with a named recipient and a clear place for the money to land.