Kai Ponting is currently a senior at Seabury Hall. He was born in Palo Alto, California, but moved to Maui at just nine months old thanks to the invention of kitesurfing in the late nineties. Ponting was a Rider at Haiku Elementary School, and has been a Spartan at Seabury Hall since the sixth grade. He became an avid reader in the second grade, remaining introverted, nerdy, and obsessed with science (he wanted a new element named after him) until he discovered a passion for sailboat racing during his sixth grade Winterim. Ponting sails out of the Lahaina Yacht Club, and races in both state and national regattas in many types of boats. He obsessed with the ocean, as he surfs, kitesurfs, paddles outrigger canoes for Seabury Hall and Hawaiian Canoe Club, and of course sails. If there is a sport on the water, Ponting will do it. He is also the vice president of Seabury’s Interact Club, helping lead events for the disabled community like the Fall Ball and Spring Fling, and helping set up and give gifts for the homeless shelter Christmas party. In the future, Ponting hopes to study aerospace engineering and apply that aerodynamic knowledge to yacht design. He hopes to design the racing boats that will race around the world and in the America’s Cup, sailing’s premier competition. In his free time, Ponting can be found either on the internet browsing for news and on YouTube or on the water sailing and surfing.