Thirty four or so surfski paddlers were privileged to take part in the Molokai Challenge last week...  Sitting here in cold rain-drenched Cape Town I could only imagine what it must have been like.  A couple of Molokai participants sent me some reminiscences of the race...

South Africa's 21 year old Clint Pretorius beat Oscar Chalupsky in a tight finish in the Molokai Challenge surf ski race.   The two men paddled neck and neck across the channel.  Finally, Clint chose a better, seaward line at China walls at Hawaii Kai and gained on Oscar who stayed close to the wall.  

Although Oscar charged hard towards the finish, Clint was just able to hold the 11 time winner off for his own first victory.

Given the importance of experience in the race (the average age of the top ten paddlers excluding Clint being 36), Clint's victory was even more impressive.

Full results below...

On Thursday, May 18, three days before the 32-mile (55km) surf ski and one-man canoe race from Kaluako'I Beach, Molokai to Koko Marina on Oahu, paddlers gathered at the Kona Brewing Company for the 30^th edition of the race considered the world surf ski championship

We've been trolling around YouTube and found a couple of Molokai videos.  Check them out!

Oscar Chalupsky reports from Hawaii:

Seven teams took part in the surfski section of the race.  South Africans featured in the first team home (Clint Pretorius/Eric Abbott) and the team that came second (Oscar Chalupsky/Ken Collins). 

(Clint's team mate, Eric Abbott is a 19 year old Hawaiian who paddles K1 and also is in the USA sprint team.)  

Ken Collins took the first leg and lead at the first change-over ahead of Eric Abbott and Joe Glickman...

For the last three years the Kaiwi Channel hasn’t come out to play – but she’s back with a vengeance for the 2010 edition of the Molokai Challenge.

"That last hour was really tough in the bump," said Karl Treacher. "I'll send you a video that shows just how technical it was."  Here's the video.

Could the Molokai record be broken this year?  "Yes," said Dean Gardiner a few minutes ago from Oahu, "In these conditions and with the quality of paddlers at the top end of the field I reckon there's a strong chance that the record will go."

In Sydney, preparation for Molokai s is now in full swing. Bridge to Beach was the last of the season's races in Sydney and the next thing on the cards is Molokai or the Durban World Cup.