Quit yer Bitchin.....re. Molokai

Just my 2c here as moderator...

Apologies for not getting off my arse and writing a balanced report - the one written by Oscar's publicist was all I had and so I posted that anyway. Even if it was written from one particular point of view (which the writer was employed to do) at least it had the salient facts. If I'd written it, the facts would have come out in a different order!

But there we go.

Hats off to Clint - clearly a superb champion who paddled a superb race. I'd love to have seen Sean Rice win on debut and I'd have been ecstatic to see the Big O win in thundering downwind conditions at my age! But of course I have a slight South African bias!

As for downwinders v flatties...

I'm in the downwind camp - being in the right location (Cape Town), I get to do it a lot and I love it for so many reasons. It's just such fun - but I like that experience and technique gives me the edge over folks who don't do as much of it.

But I'd better be prepared to paddle in flat conditions too, because the wind simply doesn't always blow in the right place or time or direction.

So I think that races like Cape Point are still wonderful, classic events even though it's usually flat. Same with races in the Med like the EuroChallenge. Talk to the guys (Dawid, Jasper, Sean) who were there this year and they all said they had a blast, never mind that it was flat.

Flat races also have the advantage in that the conditions lead the flatties (like the sprint and marathon kayakers whom we want to lure into our sport) into believing they have a chance against the downwinders on the open ocean!!! Good Thing!

But when it comes to Molokai, I feel let down when it isn't a roaring downwind with 25kt and massive wind swell. To me that's what Molokai is all about - it's the great granddaddy of ocean races - but specifically downwind ocean races. When I did it in 2008, it sure was a challenge, but not the challenge that I trained for (silly me). We had ghastly hot, flat, sloppy conditions and it was the single toughest paddle I've ever done. Horrible!

Molokai should be a downwinder. But look at the weather this week - it's been hot and flat since Saturday. The trade winds only come back next week. That's life.

Just a sidebar - Oscar Chalupsky doesn't only do downwind paddling; he spends a significant proportion of his time practising technique on flat water. And he really is incredibly generous with his time when it comes to encouraging anyone and everyone on the water. Great stuff.

Whew!! I clicked back to read the thread got popped over to page 2 of it and thought you had waved your magic wand and zapped the first page due to inappropriate content!!

This thread is too fun to lose!! KC - waiting for your next post!!

I'm still trying to find any sort of article where someone was actually genuinely "bitchin" about the conditions...

kayakchampeen wrote: (BTW) if anyone wants to buy me a plane ticket to these aforementioned downwind Meccas I will gladly accept the challenge of giving it a shot in the monster stuff.

Careful what you wish for KC! (only kidding) I'm taking KC's comment out of context only to push the safety idea. I've seen a lot of tourists take gas at maliko. And the channels are even worse. A good friend of mine is seat 2 in this pic, years ago, big swell and wind in the kaiwi. We've done maliko in some crazy big stuff, but the channels are on another scale.

kayakchampeen wrote: And I do stand by my comments that there are people who 2 types of folks who enjoy ski racing: Surfski people first and foremost, who could just as easily do some other extreme ocean sport like kitesurfing in lieu of adrenaline-fueled downwind racing, and then there are "Paddlers" who happen to paddle a surfski, for whom paddling is the lifelong avocation and the ski is one more discipline to try to master. I guess my prejudices here are obvious but they are not gospel and are just the ruminations of a guy on a forum. I wondered, out of curiosity, who considered themselves to be which, and why?

Probably more in the first camp, but the challenges and rewards in ski are pushing me into camp 2. I'm learning the value of drilling. My personal DW records are falling, along with effort. I'm also learning a lot by focusing on new lines. I'm 52, so I gotta use my brains more each year.

On the subject of downwinding requiring any less toughness or fitness than flat water, headwind or cross chop, I'd be careful there.

DW is a mean interval workout.

The ocean is a cruel temptress. When you get the hull speed up, she always offers another faster path just within, yet beyond, your reach. I say beyond, because if you get too tired...

I've been fascinated by this outrigger pic for years... Do you know if there's a way to get a large print of it ?

hey hiro,

I remember years ago I got hold of the owner of the pic and asked if I could use it on surfski.info. he came up with a whole bunch of conditions and i didn't bother in the end. I just did a google image search and the image has been used in a million places on the web.

But some of them have a watermark that says sfphotography.com. I dropped them an email to see if they own/sell the image. If they come back to me I'll let you know.

cheers
rob

robin.mousley wrote:
But some of them have a watermark that says sfphotography.com.

Take a closer look at the bottom right, looks like something hasbeen crudely edited out with blue.

kayakchampeen wrote: Time to stir the pot a bit folks

kc mate you are platwater poofter. Real men and red-bloodied sheilas like nothing better than to go out in 5m breaking swells and 50 kt winds

Carcharadon you are one funny guy! I see this is your first post so either you are a lurker who thought it necessary to create an account for the purpose of this jab, or a forum member under the guise of a new identity. In either case I can take it as well as I dish it out. The 50knt winds claim is just plain outrageous, likely an exaggeration to get my goat, or you simply don't understand wind speeds. Nobody can even hang onto a wing paddle at 50knt. If you have documentation of this I'd love to see it.
It sounds like you may have neglected to read the entire thread, and responded to my initial post, which is OK but misguided nonetheless.
Lastly, although I have some experience in distance racing in sprint. I cut my teeth as a Slalom and Wildwater racer, and competed in multiple World Cups and Worlds in whitewater, which is so far removed from "flatwater" I can't even begin to describe how far off base you are.
Flatwater Poofter eh? I suppose Kenny Wallace, Martin Kenny, Clint and others might take umbrage with that description...LOL If your post is in jest then good on ya, I suppose I deserve a bit of comeuppance. Welcome to the forum.

Thanks Robin, I also saw this pic published on many a website, but it's always a low quality file, never found one I could print as a large poster.

Hi Rob, Hiro, according to my copy of the book "Moloka'i - O'ahu Through the Years" by Peter Caldwell, that image is copyright of Shane Tegarden of www.stphotography.com not "SF".

This photo in the book is the largest known quality image in print that I know of 12" x 8" so I guess for personal use you could scan or photograph it and place on your wall at home. Or, you could contact Shane at his website, the print is not listed as available but wouldn't hurt to ask.

For interest sake, the photo was taken in 2001 ten miles off East O'ahu. Crew was from the front, Kawika Dang, Ryan Gazman, Jeff Shafter, Robert Brede, Chris Franco and Kawika Williams.

I'll refer readers to a gale on day three of the 1979 South African surf ski marathon, which I participated in. Winds reached 82 kph(44 knots). Fortunately it was at our backs. The pic is from Scope magazine and shows Arnold Mphambukeli alone, as we all were.

That is awesome! Scarey stuff. RESPECT! Especially in those old skis.

Nice pic - I did not know Scope published any photos without strategically positioned 'stars'. Cheers

Thanks Rambo, I already found Shane Tegarden's website before, but you're right : it wouldn't hurt to ask.