The Maui Jim Molokai Challenge is a “challenge” no matter what the conditions – windy or calm, the heat and the distance make this a daunting race. So how do the paddlers prepare for the race? Here’s what you need to know about the race, with insights from some of this year’s competitors.
The Molokai Challenge is one of the oldest surfski races in the world, being run for the first time in 1977 across the Kaiwi Channel from Kaluakoi Beach on Molokai to the Manalua Beach Park on Oahu.
For the very latest NOAA forecast, click here.
The race is just over 53km long and paddlers face a number of obstacles:
The current NOAA forecast for the Kaiwi Channel (as at 24 May) says,
Sunday: East winds 15 knots. Wind waves 5 to 6 feet. Mixed swell northwest 4 feet and south 4 feet. Isolated showers.
The air temperature is forecast to be in the high 20sC/70sF. The water temperature is currently near 27C/80F… so it’s really, really hot. Those “isolated showers” might be extremely welcome.
The first challenge facing the paddlers will be to get through the surf before the start. The beach is fully exposed to the NW swell and shelves steeply so that there’s a fierce shore break. With swell that big, it can break further out as well.
The key to getting out safely is patience and to wait for a gap between the sets.
Assuming the forecast is correct, and the easterly wind blows at 15kt, there will be fast moving runs to catch. But the oncoming ocean swell will make the conditions bumpy, technical and tiring.
The current should be running with the paddlers for two thirds of the race and they should finish at the ebb without too fierce an opposing current (but the waters south of Oahu are notorious for behaving in an unexpected way...)
Defending champion (and current world champion) Cory "Chill" Hill said he doesn't change much for Molokai. "Just a longer race," he said, "Keep it simple".
He'll be paddling a full carbon Fenn Elite S.
he also shared some of his thoughts about racing, family life and the race itself with Tim Altman:
The highly experienced (and three-time winner) Clint Robinson isn’t expecting the records (set last year) to be broken.
Tim Altman spoke to him a few days ago about his expectations for the race, and Clint shared some insights about the race and some of the other competitors!
The 12-time winner of the race is notorious for using hardly any liquids during long distance races.
This year he’s paddling a Nelo 600 double with Seth Koppes.
His setup includes:
Oscar’s predictions for the race? Cory Hill, Pat Dolan, Hank McGregor, Clint Robinson, Mackenzie Hynard, Austin Keiffer, Michael Booth and Alastair Day.
Oscar's been staying on Big Island in the lead up to the race and posted some phenomenal footage of paddling in the channel between Big Island and Maui a few days ago:
The three-time Molokai champion is back to have another crack at the race - and is featured on this clip filmed by Aussie Jim Walker, catching a loooooong run back into the beach in Oahu.
South African, Durban-based Hayley Nixon is the current ICF Ocean Racing World Champion and won both the Double and Single Surfski Championships in South Africa in April in Cape Town.
Part of the Shaw and Partners Team, she paddles a Carbonology Sport Pulse surfski.
Arriving in Hawaii a week ago, she’s feeling at the top of her game for the race. Her preparations:
Tim Altman interviewed Hayley a few days ago on Oahu:
The New Zealander has plenty of experience in Hawaii:
She’s paddling an Epic V11 Elite, the black surfski weighs in at under 9.5kg/21lb.
In March this year, Rachel completely dominated the King and Queen of the Harbour race in demanding, technical downwind conditions in Auckland.
She said, “My training has been going well, I feel like I’m in the best shape I’ve been in so we shall see how it unfolds on Sunday!”
Her race preparation:
To prepare for the Hawaiian heat, Rachel spent sessions in a sauna at home in New Zealand. Having prepared inadequately for my own race back in 2008, I can attest to the importance of being acclimatized; the humidity adds to the stress of the high temperature.
Tasmanian Georgia Laird is tackling Molokai for the first time. She should be in contention, having won the 2018 Perth Doctor (beating Hayley Nixon). Tim Altman interviewed her and her coach, Naomi Flood.
No stranger to Molokai, Macca came 6th in the 2018 event. The 24-year-old is one of the younger paddlers who’ll be near the front of the race.
Macca is sponsored by Think Kayaks, the Think UNO his weapon of choice (and before I get a million queries, in this video clip of Macca riding a wave in Honolulu, he was trying out a Think Ion, but that's not his race boat!!)
Race prep:
“Cory, Hank and Clint; their experience is so great. Then Pat Dolan with his local experience.
“Austin Keiffer. Young and new blood of Josh Fenn and Nick Gale.
“Boothy, even though on the SUP program no doubt will be up front.
“Ali Day, coming off successful Australian Ironman season and have won the most Coolangatta golds ever will be there, especially if it’s flat or small, as he will grind for days.”
Kieffer lives in Sausalito, California and has been competing around the world in surfskis since 2016. Most notably he scored a podium place at the Perth Doctor in 2017. In 2018, he scored a 5th at the Irish Coast Paddling Championships, but injured his shoulder, scuppering his chances of another podium position at the 2018 Doctor.
He paddles the Fenn Elite S in full carbon lay-up. When I contacted him, he was scrambling to get a footplate problem repaired in time for the race. “Drawbacks of being the last Fenn athlete to arrive, I guess,” he laughed.
Austin Kieffer paddled the Maui to Molokai race earlier this year
His race day prep includes:
Austin said candidly that his money is on Cory Hill to win the race. “But,” he said, “I’m going to set myself up with the best possible chance, and for sure I’m gonna be on that podium!”
With eight km to go, Sean Rice decided to accelerate. “There were three of us at that point and I felt I could do a burn to get rid of one of them,” he said. To his surprise, both Cory Hill and Gordan Harbrecht dropped back. But the race wasn’t over yet…