Lean and Hard and Sunbrowned and Kind

She swam the rugged north coast of Molokai because she couldn’t afford a boat. She towed a raft loaded with food and water and shelter because she didn’t know what she’d find. Charts were spotty and old, and she knew only that the prevailing currents and wind wouldn’t let her retreat. But she went anyway, swimming four or five miles a day and camping at night on empty beaches, alone but for stars and passing whales.

In 1962, single mothers of four generally didn’t wade into the Pacific Ocean and swim into the unknown with no hope of turning back, but Audrey Sutherland wasn’t like most single mothers. From the time she was a little girl in Southern California until she passed away at age 94, Sutherland lived emphatically by the mantra she expressed at every turn: go simple, go solo, go now.

“On the first Molokai trip, I got into more than I planned because the maps were inadequate at