Aloha everyone.
It’s been a while since the last letter, but I had to write something about the Molokai Solo race yesterday. Hosted by PA’A it was crazy weather leading up to it. The wind had been raging and we can only imagine how bad it was in the channel. A friend of mine Roxanne Morgan flew to Honolulu for a paddling camp run by Ryan Pogue. And while she enjoyed the camp, it was so windy, the instructors had a difficult time scheduling the classes for the ocean. Roxanne said that it was blowing so hard, there were white caps in her toilet. Naaht.
Anyway the wind settled some as the race drew closer. The day before the race, it was blowing from the northwest, which was into the paddler’s faces. OC website posted all possible predictions of who the top finishers were going to be. My friend Jerome Kanuha visited me and said there were rumors that the race may be cancelled, which we both doubted. You might say the rumors were swirling in the wind?
We know the mindset of most OC1 racers, “The bigger the better….until they see those waves in the channel.” By Sunday race day, it began to drop a bit, but blowing in a more manageable direction from Molokai toward Oahu. “And the race was on.”
Pre-race
On race morning, Manny Kulukukualani race host, participant, director and father confessor was seen standing on the rocks, megaphone in hand still organizing, while his OC1 lay on shore patiently waiting. Meanwhile people paddled back and forth to their escorts, oblivious to the invisible weight on his shoulders. Manny is the man. You wonder how much faster he would be, if he only had to concentrate on himself. Anyway everyone sincerely appreciates him.
First hour:
The first hour of the race Danny Ching took a slight lead over the rest of the pack, which included Jimmy Austin, Manny, Luke Elsvin and several others.
Several times Jimmy pushed forward to pull almost even. Each time, Danny would counter with a burst, surfing on several swells and surging back to the lead.
Sometime around the 1 ½ hour mark, Manny twice made a push to pull up to Danny, only to have Danny hold his ground and surf ahead on several bumps.
Second and third hour: About the second hour it was Jimmy’s turn again. He caught Danny and the battle intensified once again. At this point Jimmy had a definite surge and looked dangerously strong. Meanwhile a chopper appeared and began shooting videos, hanging just above the pack. See their video on YouTube. The noise was so disrupting that Coaches Johnny Puakea and Josh Crayton resorted to hand signals to point out the correct course to Danny. The pressure was mounting throughout the pack and the noise only added to it. By now the true contenders were Danny, Jimmy and Manny. It was still anybody’s game at this point. Jimmy took off on a big wave that threw his canoe ama under, dumping him into the water. Jimmy said, “I dropped in on an insane bomb and it took me out.” By the time Jimmy recovered he had lost over a hundred or so yards.
True to the spirit of great watermen, each never gave in to pain or disappointment. Manny seeing his chance revved up his skills and chased down Danny dueling it out for a while. Jimmy quoted, “We were never separated by more than 150 yards between the three of us.”
By the time they neared China wall, a dumping tide out of Kuliouou Fish Pond posed new strategies from each escort. Jimmy with incredible will, somehow passed Manny and closed on Danny as they approached the wall. Cutting to the right and behind Danny, he received a water/nourishment drop and elected to surf along the edge of the wall while Danny stayed away as instructed. It was a gamble for both paddlers and their handlers. In the few minutes or so it takes to run along China wall, an entire year’s worth of training, glory and disappointment can be born. Someone must win and someone must lose. China wall has been the great demarcation for souls past and present.
Coach Josh amid all the excitement and yelling said later, “My entire job in this whole trip was focused there in those few momentous seconds. I said, Danny you’ve got to believe in yourself, I want you to plant your blade up front, pull through quickly, but slow your mind down.” Josh did not want a frantic stroke. With that, both paddlers rounded the last corner, Jimmy on the inside, Danny on the outside. Chasing the last Molokai wave over the reef, they both entered flat water. Into a headwind, against the tide, under the bridge and across the fish pond, on to the finish they raced. Without pause in their stroke, each dedicated to the end result. It was reported to be the closest finish ever, with Danny winning by 38 seconds. Jimmy said, “but he was just too strong in the flat.”
Congratulations to Danny Ching on winning his first Molokai Solo.
Tremendous respect to Jimmy Austin in his incredible effort. Manny Kulukukualani, “The Man,” has everyone’s admiration and respect in taking third.
Definitely congrats to 4th place finisher, Kai Bartlett who decided at the last minute to enter the race, without much training due to a shoulder injury. He said at one point he was about 40th place and his wife Lauren was ahead of him. “Gulp. The guy was in serious trouble.”
Congratulations to Lauren Bartlett for winning the women’s race in record time. Lauren broke her own record by seven minutes. She said it didn’t even feel like the best race she did. “Must be nice.” Taking second was Andrea Moller also from Maui. Also congrats to my old friend Jane McKee in taking 3rd place. “You go Jane.”
And Finally,
Got a call from Nathan Taluega and Keli Stevens relaxing at Waikiki watching the sun set. They finished 2nd in the mixed 2-man division. They said it was much bigger and rougher than last year. The big waves came from the east through the channel, which they caught only by catching the smaller waves coming from Maui. But their OC2 kept burying into the front wave and couldn’t pull out, which definitely slowed them down. Nathan, who stroked said they got hit by a big wave and unbeknownst to him washed Keli off the back. Nathan said, “When we got hit, the canoe shook. All of a sudden it felt light. Then I hear this voice in the distance yelling, “I’m off the canoe, I’m off the canoe.” I turn around and there she is drifting away in the water. “…aah quite moments spawn great memories.”
Mahalo Al
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