A special congrats and thank you to all the members of Team California-Fenn at the recent 2009 Moloka’i Surfski World Championships. Awesome job to Patrick, Barry, and Noah. I greatly appreciate all your help and teamwork during this years race preparations. Also, a special mahalo to Chris for his hospitality and local expertise during the pre-race and race preparations. Your expertise and group preparation was an essential key during this years grueling race conditions for 32 miles of hot and flat Moloka’i Channel.
I had an awesome experience during the race. Once the sound of the start horn blew, I was out of the gates with a brisk pace but knew I had 32 miles to the finish line. At mile sixteen, I still had energy to spare and started to pick up my pace for a strong finish. Unfortunately, the last five miles were the most difficult as the race approached the island of O’ahu. The tides were going out from the island and causing a huge up tide battle. In addition, the swell conditions picked up simulating a washing machine effect in the water. Add a lot of fatigue and the day seems to be very long. When I finally reached the finish line I heard the horn go off and knew I was going to hear those words I have been desperately waiting for: “Stop paddling.” 33rd place out of 82 racers- 4 hours and 40 minutes – I finally achieved my goal of crossing the Molokai Channel on a surfski.
Even though this was a solo race, a lot goes into the teamwork process when preparing for this race distance. Training together as a group, learning from one another technically and physically, and just simple hard work and many miles and months of paddling. What does one gain from such an experience? Pushing yourself to the next level which prepares you for new challenges… But most importantly, it is the friendships one gains through these unique experiences.
For more information on surfski and kayak paddling visit: www.oceanpaddlesports.com
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