Monday, May 18, 1998
Gardiner makes it
three straight
Australian edges Nalu Kukea
By Al Chase
to win the Molokai Challenge kayak
title for the sixth time
Star-BulletinThree paddlers defended their titles, with one setting a record and another winning for the straight fifth time. And a first-timer won, much to her amazement.
Those were the highlights of the 22nd annual Starbucks Molokai Challenge, a 32-mile test of endurance and navigational skills across the Ka'iwi (Molokai) Channel from the west end of Molokai to Oahu's Koko Marina.
The Pacific Ocean cooperated with eight- to 12-foot swells that allowed the paddlers to surf their craft. The tide was neutral and not a factor. However, the brisk tradewinds were evident in the channel and taxed the contestants after they rounded Portlock Point and headed for the finish line.
Dean Gardiner of Australia and Hawaii's Nalu Kukea waged a fierce battle from start to finish in the men's overall kayak division, considered the world championship of blue water kayak (surfski) racing. Mark Rigg and John Foti produced a similarly tight contest in the solo outrigger canoe division.
Gardiner won his third consecutive title and sixth overall with a time of three hours, 27 minutes, 15 seconds. Kukea, bidding to be the first men's kayak winner from Hawaii since 1978, was 54 seconds behind Gardiner in 3:28:09.
Rigg, propped against a palm tree, his face still crusted with salt, said, "It was back and forth as usual, just like every other race this year.
"At Portlock Point, he (Foti) caught a wave and passed me. About a minute later, I got a wave and that was the race."
In winning for the third consecutive year, Rigg bettered his 1997 record with a time of 4:06:22.
"There was more pressure than you can believe," he said. "I had a lot of apprehension. To win three in a row is always the hardest. But when you want something bad enough, you're nervous."
Hawaii's Kelly Fey overcame an early lead by Australia's Jasmin Kelly to capture her fifth consecutive women's kayak title in 4:09:53, 11:08 ahead of runner-up Nicole Montel of Tahiti.
Fey took the lead when Kelly veered toward Makapuu Point.
"I stayed more south, had a more direct course," Fey said. "The tide was flat and she may have been looking for the side wind.
"The wind was a factor. There were some gusts out there that caught the paddle and knocked the tops of the waves over. I really had to be on my toes."
Kona's Cheryl Villegas won the women's solo outrigger canoe division in 5:21:10.
"I was just hoping to finish, so winning is a huge bonus. I'm actually really surprised," Villegas said.
Villegas started outrigger canoe paddling five years ago. She had participated in three relay crossings of the channel, but said yesterday's race was a fitting end to her solo season.
Donna Kahakui, last year's women's solo outrigger canoe winner, had problems, but said that comes with the territory.
She was stung by a Portuguese man-of-war 15 minutes into the race, hit her head when she fell off her craft and had to receive medication from her escort boat when she had difficulty breathing about two hours into the race.
"I think she (Kahakui) was having a hard time. She was so far ahead of me, then all of a sudden I started walking up on her," Villegas said. "I fell off once and she passed me. Then I caught her again and managed to stay ahead of her after that."
Kukea caught Gardiner by surprise at the start of the men's kayak race, the featured event of the day.
"It was actually amazing. Nalu set the pace from the start and held it the whole way," Gardiner said. "He left the rest of the field for dead right from the start. He put 100 yards on everyone and wasn't looking back."
It took Gardiner more than two hours to catch Kukea, although he managed to keep him in sight the whole way.
"I figured Nalu was the one setting the pace. He knows the course as good as anyone out there," Gardiner, 33, said. "If he went, then I had to go. That's the way the race went.
"The crucial thing is to make sure you are covering your opposition while doing your own race.
"There was a point where I had to go beyond what I would normally do just to catch Nalu. He was paddling faster than I've ever seen anyone paddle this race."
"I felt good so I was going to go as hard as I could. The conditions couldn't have been better," Kukea said. "Dean is the best. That's why he wins these races."
Mark Buck was clocked in 4:30:59 in the kayak race to win the Kala Kukea Perpetual Trophy that goes to the top Hawaii finisher in the 50-and-over category.
Australia took the team title based on the performances of Gardiner, Brad Kane and Martin Kenny.
Up to the Challenge
Division winners in yesterday's Starbucks Molokai Challenge:
Men's open kayakDean Gardiner
