HONOLULU - May 18, 2008 - Tahiti's Lewis Laughlin trumped a record field of 133 paddlers in the 32-mile Epic Kayaks Molokai World Championships today, repeating his victory of last year but under vastly different conditions to prove he's a paddling force to be reckoned with. Feeling right at home in light to moderate trade-winds and a small wind swell of two feet, Laughlin, 37, finished 19 minutes outside of the race record in a time of 3 hours, 40 minutes and 26 seconds. The 6'2" Tahitian looked comfortable and relaxed at the finish despite having survived a strong charge home that saw the top four finishers all cross the line within a period of two minutes. The record time of 3:21:26 was set by Australian Dean Gardner in 1997.

The National Weather Service forecast for the Kaiwi Channel still says that there will be a 10kt breeze coming from the east - with some tiny waves...  But it looks as though it's going to be a hot, long paddle (for the back markers at any rate).

Herman Chalupsky claims that the real reason he aims to finish first at any race is to ensure that there's no one ahead of him in line at the pub.

Herman pips brother Oscar in Dubai - 2007 (Pic: Alain Jaques)

There's no doubt that Hawaii is one of the most beautiful places on earth to paddle; and I can't wait to experience for myself the crossing from Molokai to Oahu across the Kaiwi Channel.  Here are some personal impressions of the trip so far...

The view from my hotel room...

Picture this: as I write this, I'm lying on a recliner on the deck of a house on the beach at North Shore, Oahu, about 500m from the famous Pipeline surfing spot...

Surfski.info editor working hard in Hawaii...

Ask anyone about the Molokai World Championships, and a topic of conversation sure to come up is the infamous "China Walls". 

Dawid Mocke ramps a wave at China Walls (Pic: Vince Bechet)

Well another May rolls around. It seems this same time last year was only three weeks ago and a bunch of us were telling ourselves that the winds were going to be up for the race this year.

Well that was last year and the winds weren't up, in fact even the swell was going the wrong way.

Tim Jacobs in Durban - 2007 (Pic: Gameplan Media)

[Editor: Steve Woods has been in Hawaii for a couple of weeks now and sent this update through to us - apologies for taking so long to post it!  Blame the delay on the long flights and the extreme effect of the 12 hour jetlag!]

Steve Woods, Hawaii 2008

Thanks to the efficiency and helpfulness of the US Consulate in Cape Town, I'm finally all systems go for Molokai...  I was beginning to think that I wouldn't have travel documents...

Oh, and here's some more info on the race...!

Latest entry list, closing date, ski container to Molokai, check it out!