The 9th race in the Kaua’i Hoe Wa’a race series kicked off Sunday, March 14th at Port Allen in 5-10 knot winds and calm seas for an approximately 9-mile run to the pier at Waimea Town, skirting the coast along surf breaks and then plowing on over heavy water.  A breeze sprang up by the finish, but it was barely noticeable as paddlers worked their way in.  Not much surfing to be had.  It looked like Luke Evslin caught the only ride, and that was before the race even started! As Ken Denton puts it, “That race starts with heavy up-wind, and it surfs halfway to Pakala’s, then it dies out….a cold front came through at the finish, killed the heat, put wind in your face, a brand new wind, gave us a short tight chop, small real fast tight chop, but there wasn‘t a lot of surfin’ goin’ on, it was pretty much paddling it out…that’s life.”

Still, the conditions left paddlers with tongues hanging as it proved to be a long, hard paddle in nearly windless conditions and flat water, taxing one’s strength and endurance.  Tony Zina, competitive as always, still managed to troll and snag an UKU!!!, the best tastin’ of all them deep water fish!  “And he didn’t finish all that badly either,” lauded Leroy Jumper, “..for catchin’ a fish!”  Meanwhile, a couple of intrepid souls attempted to cut through the breaks off of Salt Pond but got taken out, much to their chagrin.  As the jet ski zoomed in to the rescue, finding all safe and well, the field trudged onward to an always fun get-together at race end.  Overall winners on the Long Course were Luke Evslin for Open Men (1:13:46) and Elle Johnson for Open Women (1:25:45).  Congratulations to all for a good race, and mahalo from Kaua’i Hoe Wa’a to major sponsors YMCA and Steinlager.  For more photos….www.kauaiwatergirl.com.

Photo & report by Mavis Aiu

Kaua‘i World Challenge

YMCA Kaua‘i Hoe Wa‘a Assoc. presents the 8th Annual YMCA/Steinlager Kaua‘i World Challenge, May 6th thru 8th, 2010.

The last major race of the season will be the most fun race of the year, combining competitive paddling, plus the relay, and great post-race party at Salt Pond Beach Park, loads of cash prizes, $1000 worth of paddles from Makana Ali‘i, and much more!

We plan to have trailers at the end of the Molokai Relay to make it easier for you to participate, and hopefully there will be no shipping charges.

On May 6th is the warm-up race from Kalihiwai Bay to Haena Beach Park. This has typically been an exciting surf run, and gives recognition to the individual paddler.

The coastal relay takes place on Saturday offering challenging conditions along each of the four legs of the course. The first two legs generally favor the strong technical paddlers as the wind is usually coming at the ama side. The last two legs usually provide some great surfing. The scenery is certainly spectacular!

Visit www.kauaiworldchallenge for the latest information on accommodations and registration.
Tom Bartlett