Trinity Part II: Rest, Recovery, and Freedom

There are some experiences that are hard to put into words.

Here is one: Standing on a beach in Kailua, sweating with what felt like our entire community, smiling and watching a three-flippered sea turtle named Trinity race back into the ocean.

But to explain why that moment meant so much, we have to rewind a little.

Tradition Coffee Roasters recently partnered with Hawaiʻi Marine Animal Response (HMAR), an organization doing incredibly important work protecting Hawaiʻi’s marine wildlife. Like many organizations doing this kind of work, HMAR has faced significant funding challenges in recent years, so we wanted to find a way to help.

Through our Team Tradition program—essentially, coffee for a cause—we created a special HMAR coffee bag featuring a ridiculously cute Hawaiian monk seal, with proceeds benefiting their work. (Shameless plug: the limited-edition HMAR coffee is available in our café and online. Coffee + monk seals + supporting marine animals? Pretty easy sell.)

And then HMAR called us with a question we were not expecting.

They had been caring for a juvenile sea turtle that came to Oʻahu from Hawaiʻi Island after becoming severely entangled in fishing line around both front flippers. The damage to the right flipper was so significant that it ultimately had to be amputated.

The turtle was recovering beautifully.

Would Tradition like to be part of the release? And, by the way, would we like to name the patient?

UM. YES.

Sea turtles have always been my favorite animal. There is something about their quiet, wise, peaceful demeanor that is almost impossible not to love. Suddenly, we were being asked to name one!

The timing made the answer surprisingly easy.

We named the sea turtle Trinity.

September has always held a special place in the heart of Tradition. Our co-founder, Brian, was a New York City firefighter on September 11, 2001, and participated in the rescue and recovery efforts that day and for many months afterward. This year marks the 25th anniversary, making the responsibility to Never Forget feel particularly close.

As we shared in our previous Trinity story, Trinity Church became a place of refuge for rescue workers at Ground Zero. It was somewhere firefighters could step away, rest, eat, read the cards and care packages people had sent from around the country, and sometimes simply sleep for a few minutes away from the cameras and chaos. A place for rest, recovery, and healing before going back out.

Twenty-five years later, this little turtle had also come to Oʻahu for rest, recovery, and healing—and was scheduled to return home to the ocean just two days before September 11.

There really wasn't another name.

And Trinity, as it turns out, has some firefighting personality.

Our friends at the Gettin Salty podcast define “salty” firefighters as seasoned veterans whose experience has been earned through years of doing the job. They know what they're doing, they're tough, and they've probably got a little attitude to go with it.

According to Trinity's caregivers, our turtle was feisty. Strong-willed. Tough.

Salty.

Perfect.

When we visited Trinity during recovery and suggested the name, I am certain we got a wink of approval from our new favorite turtle. No one can prove otherwise.

Trinity is a juvenile sea turtle weighing about 17 kilograms—because apparently medicine insists metric wins—or roughly 37 pounds for those of us still stubbornly clinging to imperial measurements. Trinity is also too young for experts to determine their sex, hence my very intentional use of “they.”

Most importantly, Trinity proved to be an amazingly strong swimmer, even with only three flippers.

Trinity's story also taught us something we really want to pass along.

Fishing line is an enormous danger to sea turtles. When a turtle is accidentally hooked, the instinct can be to cut the line immediately because you don't want to hurt the animal. Unfortunately, that can leave the turtle swimming away dragging many yards of fishing line behind it. With every stroke, that line can wrap farther around a flipper, becoming tighter and tighter. Eventually, it can cause devastating injuries, prevent the turtle from swimming properly, or leave the animal stranded.

So, if you accidentally hook a turtle or other protected marine animal, don't simply cut the line from a distance. Follow Hawaiʻi's recommended guidance: carefully reel the animal closer while keeping yourself and the animal safe, and cut the line as short as possible. Report the animal to trained responders who can help. You will not get in trouble with these organizations; they truly just want to help the animal, and intervention is easiest the sooner it's reported.

If you remember one thing from Trinity's story, let it be this: Leave as little line behind as possible.

Back to release day.

Kailua turned out in a big way.

We estimate nearly 2,000 people gathered along the beach to watch one little turtle go home.

Sarah, our café manager, and I had the extraordinary privilege of helping carry Trinity's bin down a pathway lined with people quietly cheering, smiling, and waiting for a glimpse of an animal they had never met but somehow already cared about.

And then Trinity was released.

There was no hesitation.

Three flippers. One big ocean.

And off Trinity went.

Watching them race into that water was one of the most beautiful things I have ever experienced.

As I stood there, I couldn't help but think about the story behind the name.

September 11, 2001, began as an extraordinarily beautiful blue-sky day in Manhattan. Twenty-five years later, here we were under another brilliant blue sky, surrounded not by tragedy, but by community, hope, and the celebration of a life getting another chance.

Trinity once represented a place of refuge for people who needed rest, care, and strength before going back out into the world.

And somehow, all these years later, the name found its way to a tough, slightly salty little turtle who had been given that same gift.

Rest. Recovery. Healing.

And then back out into the world—or, in Trinity's case, the ocean.

Swim strong and brave, Trinity.

Thank you to the incredible HMAR team, the people who healed and cared for Trinity, and the thousands of people who showed up to celebrate the moment they went home.

We will never forget this one.