Wynn Las Vegas Magazine by MODERN LUXURY

Wynn Las Vegas - 2016 - Issue 1 - Spring+Summer

Wynn Magazine - Las Vegas

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At its core, the story is about supporting the traditions and practices of family fishermen for whom conservation has been an unspoken principle for hundreds of years. The backyard in Maka'alae before the party arrives. 40 When he was beginning to plan Lakeside's Hawaiian fish menu, he knew he didn't want to employ an ordinary commercial fishing operation. "Typically, those boats are out on the water for 12 to 14 days, and they keep their haul on ice until they sell it at auction," he explains. "That length of time is still con- sidered fresh by the standards of most restaurants." So he called his friend Eric Kingma, the environmental policy coordinator for the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, for ideas. "He recommended the Linds based on what honest, responsible, and good people they are," Walzog says. After a flurry of phone calls, he was on a plane to meet them in Hana. A typical day for Greggie and Ekolu starts before dawn, when Gina helps them launch their fishing boat and then drives back home to get the children ready and go to her teaching job at the local elementary school. She'll come back when their day is done in the late afternoon. The boat is Kaihawanawana, or Whispering Ocean, the name given to the Linds by Greggie's paternal grand- mother following age-old custom. "She had offered us a second name, Ehukai, but that reminded us of rough oceans," Gina says. "The area of Maka'alae is known for its ehukai [salted breezes] when the ocean is rough." Because their livelihood is entirely dependent on good seas and the fair treatment of their contents, for the Linds, tradition and protocol—even a bit of ancient supersti- tion—are everything. When a member of the crew grabs a banana to take on the boat, Greggie stops him. "No bananas," he warns. "It's bad luck." We ask why, expecting some romantic Hawaiian origin story, and Greggie is flum- moxed. It's just not done, he responds. A single banana can be a scourge to a whole day's fishing. The reason doesn't matter. On board, Ekolu and Greggie reel in fish with the intricate choreography that only a father and son born to this life can achieve. Ekolu can't imagine another way; in fact, he has negotiated a homeschooling arrangement with his mother, his days of fishing contingent on his grades. The waters are choppy, but Ekolu scans the sea for the flocks of birds that signify there are fish below. He looks far older than a newly minted teen as he reels in fish after fish, the densely green hills fronting Haleakala Crater as his backdrop. He and Greggie won't catch more than they can sell, and nearly all of their haul will go to Walzog. In fact, for Walzog, the fish shopping happens while Greggie is still at sea: "He'll call me and say, 'I'm at 200 pounds of mahimahi. Stop or keep fishing?'" Once they've reached Walzog's target, the Linds will return to shore, pack the haul into coolers, drive for two hours down the winding road to Kahului, and ship their fish to Wynn. If they time things right, the shipment will be served at Lakeside the next night.

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