2017 Maui Jim Molokai Challenge
"Molokai" You just have to utter that name, and everyone in the surfski community knows what you're talking about: the 53km open ocean crossing from Molokai to Oahu across the Kaiwi Channel. One of the oldest surfski races in the world, it was long regarded as the surfski world championships; and in the 2017 race only three of the past 43 year's winners weren't back to tackle the challenge once more.
The Kaiwi Channel has a reputation for massive downwind conditions; with a fetch of several thousand km, the NE trades can produce ferocious swell. In 2017, however, the winds didn't arrive on the day and the paddlers faced a challenge of a different kind: heat, a head-on current, a slow heaving, seasickness inducing swell...! (Those were the conditions I faced in 2008 - and it was one of the toughest days of my life.)
This video was released 6 months ago - but is well worth taking the time to review. And with the Maui Jim Molokai Challenge coming up on Sunday, May 27, 2018, it's a great reminder to make your bookings and to keep on training hard... And train for flat water, just in case.