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Friday, May 26, 2000

Challengers
plentiful for
Molokai race

Sunday's 32-mile Kaiwi Channel
crossing is considered the single
kayak and canoe world
championship event

Starbucks OceanFest Challenge
set for tomorrow

By Linda Aragon
Special to the Star-Bulletin

Expect a good battle.

The 32-mile Molokai Challenge -- across the Kaiwi Channel from Molokai to Oahu --may turn out to have heated contests in all divisions.

South African kayaker Oscar Chalupsky, an eight-time Molokai winner, will try to beat last year's champ, Dean Gardiner of Australia.

Kelly Fey, the reigning six-time Molokai champion on a surf ski, has retired her kayak for this year to chase after the victory on a solo-canoe. She will go up against 1998 winner Cheryl Villegas.

With Fey out of the way, the women's kayak race will be a battle between local racer Maile Chong and Tahiti's Nicole Montel.

Then there is the race that many people will be watching. Will last year's canoe champ, Karel Tresnak Jr. be able to stay ahead of the large pack of men chasing after his title?

Tresnak, 19, will be up against John Foti, who placed second in the state championships earlier this month. Tresnak will also get competition from Kai Bartlett, Andrew Penny and Kealii Paiaina.

Tresnak is often considered the least experienced among racers who have several Molokai crossings under their belts. But it can be argued that he gained the needed experience after crossing the finish line more than a mile in the lead last year.

Since the Molokai Challenge is considered the world championship of open ocean canoe and kayaking, this race usually brings out the best contenders to win the distinction of Molokai champion.

The title is almost all the racers win. The prize money is minimal compared with the average cost of entering the race, which can run up to $600.

Winners receive $1,000 for first place, $750 for second and $500 for third. Returning champions get an extra $1,000 as an incentive to keep coming back to defend their title.

"That's an important aspect to keep up our international status," said Karen Kiefer, president of the Kanaka I Kai Ka racing association.

About 90 paddlers are registered. This is the first time in the race's 24-year history that the field is evenly split between canoe and kayak participants.

---

Starbucks Oceanfest will
present big challenge

By Linda Aragon
Special to the Star-Bulletin

While the competition is away, the other paddlers are given a place to play.

More than 100 canoe paddlers, kayakers, and paddleboarders are expected to race in tomorrow's 12-mile Starbucks OceanFest Challenge from Hawaii Kai to Aloha Tower.

The race is a new event that offers cash awards for the top three finishers in several categories.

The race is not a part of the Kanaka I Ka i Ka racing season, which is sponsoring the Molokai Challenge on Sunday.

"The intent for Starbucks was really an alternative for people not doing Molokai," said Sherri Rigg, spokesperson for Starbucks.

Starbucks had been a former sponsor of the Molokai solo canoe and kayak race until this year. "We still wanted to be involved with the paddling community," she said. "So we decided, let's do a fun event, something that doesn't take away from Molokai."

Rigg had received criticism for holding this race just a day before the biggest event of the solo-canoe and kayak racing season. People had complained that the prize money might lure paddlers away from the Molokai race. She said this race appeals to a different type of paddler.

"One is a 32 mile race that you train for months to do. The other is a 12-mile Hawaii Kai downhill run that some people do twice a week," she said. "We were really hoping the elite paddlers would do Molokai. This leaves the rest of the folks the chance to get the prize money."