Oahu, Hawaii - Debate is raging in Hawaii ahead of the Molokai Challenge surfski ultra-marathon this weekend at which Oscar Chalupsky is aiming to win a 13th title, as weather forecasts point to the winds and swell drying up just before the scheduled start at 11am local time on Sunday 19 May.

Durban – Surfski icon Oscar Chalupsky is planning to extend his own record in the tough Molokai Challenge in Hawaii on 19 May by winning his 13th title in the 52km crossing, and in the process explode the myth that athletes cannot remain competitive as they get older.

Australia’s largest outrigger event, Gatorade Battle of the Paddles, will take place on Hamilton Island from 14 – 18 June 2012, with an impressive prize pool worth $90,000... and surfski is included as a discipline for the first time.

This video just popped up on Youtube - it's a team Epic Kayaks clip put together to celebrate their achievements (first double; first, second and fifth singles)...  Some nice footage, showing what the conditions were like on the day.

Fresh from his win at the Hekili Great Barrier Reef Ocean Challenge on Sunday, I caught up with Dean on his recent fantastic effort in Hawaii:

Palm Cove, Cairns. Dean Gardener, fresh from his incredible 4th placing in this year’s Moloka’i Challenge took line honors in Sunday’s 40km downwind epic between Northern Queensland’s Palm Cove and Port Douglas, in sweet South Easterly downwind conditions.

Covering the distance of 52km from Kaluakoi resort on the beautiful island of Molokai across the open water of the Kaiwi Channel to Hawaii Kai Town Center on the island of Oahu, this is Molokai, arguably the most prestigious single event in surfski paddling.

“Oscar Chalupsky ... Without doubt the single most impressive human performance in a sporting arena, that I have witnessed,” said Matt Bouman.  “I salute you for it.” 

Yep, it’s that time of year again when all eyes turn to the long range forecast for the Kaiwi Channel.  Will it be the raging open ocean downwind mayhem that made this race famous, or a hot, oily-calm killer?  It’s a massive challenge either way.

The Aussies showed up in force, but where were the South Africans? Hank McGregor, Lightie Pretorius and the Chalupsky brothers, who'd combined to win 15 Molo titles, were no-shows, as was perennial top-dog Dawid Mocke. In fact, the field featured just one Springbok of note.