Jodi Young Wilmot, race spokesperson, said the money would be split equally between OC1 and Surfski competitors.

Prize Money

Prize money for the female competitors is still to be confirmed.

Weather Forecast

The latest forecast for Sunday still indicates small glassy swell conditions with virtually no wind.  The trade winds are only likely to return on Thursday next week, long after the competitors have returned home.

NOAA O'ahu weather forecast: http://www.prh.noaa.gov/hnl/pages/SRF.php

Competitor Comments

In comments to the Honolulu Advertiser, Clint Pretorius spoke of the pressure of being the defending champion.  "It was a big benefit to win the race last year," said Pretorius, 22. "I met a lot of new people and got some nice sponsors out of it. But at the same time, it also puts a lot more pressure on me to do well again."

Race blessing ceremony (Photo: Mike Long)

Oscar Chalupsky

Oscar Chalupsky was his usual ebullient self.  "I never come here to get second," he said. "Winning 11 times is good, but 12 would be even better."

Oscar's association with the race has increased this year.  Epic Kayaks, for whom Oscar is vice-president of sales, is sponsoring this year's event and several of the top competitors are paddling Epic V10 surf skis.  "I'm sort of like the tour guide for the international competitors every year, because I've been here so many times," he said. "I've always felt like one of the race organizers anyway."

Chalupsky reckons there are five South Africans who should contend, including himself.  The others are Pretorius, Bevan Manson, Hank McGregor and Dawid Mocke.   "I would say you're looking at five of the top seven right there," Chalupsky said.

Traditional dancers at the race blessing ceremony - note wind and surf conditions (Photo: Mike Long)

The expected flat conditions may suit several other competitors however, including Lewis Laughlin (Tahiti) and Ash Nesbit (Aus).  Nine time winner Dean Gardiner (Aus) is not likely to perform - his known preference is for big downwind conditions.

Hawaiian Hopes

The Hawaiian contingent including Stuart Gaessner, Steve Kelly, Sean Monahan, Geordan Purdy and Mark Sandvold also prefers downwind conditions.  "If it's a super-big ocean, our ability to surf would give us a chance to be up there, possibly win," Sandvold said. "But if there's a headwind and it's a flat ocean, those other guys will run away from us."

The last Hawai'i paddler to win the surf ski division was Kalai Handley in 1978.

Rebranding the sport - "Ocean Kayak Racing"?

Although this year's Molokai World Championships has received more publicity than ever before, the race - and the sport - remains a relatively unknown niche interest in the world of paddling.  Some paddlers are calling for the sport to be renamed - "surf ski" conjures up a confusing image - is it surfing?  Is it skiing?

"Do a search on Google for 'surfski' and you get about 66,000 hits," said Oscar Chalupsky. "Do a search for 'kayak' and you get over 23 million.  Go figure."

Tell someone you paddle a surf ski and you spend the next ten minutes explaining what that is.  Mention the word kayak, and it's instantly recognisable.  If we renamed the sport "Ocean Kayak Racing" that would describe in an instant what we do.  And that would make it a lot easier to approach the sponsors that the sport so badly needs to take it to the next level.

The race website is at www.molokaiworldchampionships.com

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed