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Twelve cliff-divers from around the world, including a Hawaii resident, will compete tomorrow for a $10,000 prize at Lanai's Kaunolu Point. Lanai to host
cliff-diving
competitionBy Helen Altonn
Star-BulletinAlthough people normally associate Acapulco, Mexico, with cliff diving, Lanai was the birthplace of the sport, said Dustin Webster of San Diego, last year's Red Bull Cliff Diving champion.
"The idea was Hawaiian warriors had to prove courage and honor, to pass the rites of bravery," said Webster, 32.
The Red Bull Cliff-Diving World Tour began with a qualifying round in Dubrovnik, Croatia, May 22, and another in Brontallo, Switzerland, July 26, he said.
Orlando Duque, a Hawaii resident originally from Colombia, won both qualifying events. The top 12 cliff-divers from the two events qualified for the Lanai plunge.
"Ten thousand dollars is on the line ... so spectators will get one hell of a show," Webster said.
A platform will be raised about 15 feet above the top of Kaunolu for an 85-foot dive, he said.
"The highest Olympic level is 33 feet. We're almost three times as high as any Olympian has ever dived."
The World High Dive Federation, sponsoring the event, is setting up floating bleachers for spectators. "It will give the audience an awesome view, right at the entry point," Webster said."
The divers will practice in the morning and the competition will begin about 12:40 p.m. It will continue about five hours with three rounds of diving.
The first round will show "more graceful, controlled dives," Webster said. The other two rounds will be the diver's choice.
"The object is to somersault and twist all the way to the water," he said. He always goes in feet first from that height, pointing out, "It's too much of a risk for breaking your arms."
Changing swells are a challenge, he said. "Traveling at 60 mph, you have to make split second decisions. Then all of a sudden the water moves out from underneath you. Three feet makes a difference."
The nice thing about Lanai is that it was very deep salt water, which spreads faster than fresh water "so entries generally will be soft," he said.
Webster said he became interested in cliff-diving when he was 12. His youngest son, 3, is "training right alongside of me all the time. I call him my 'crash test dummy.' He has no fear."
His 5-year-old stands by, ready to fix their broken bones, he said. His wife also is a cliff-diver, but isn't competitive, he said. "She decided it was time for someone in our family to grow up."
The Trilogy, a sailing catamaran, will take spectators to Lanai for the championship event from Maui's Lahaina Harbor.
It will leave at 9 a.m. and return at 6 p.m. Check-in for departure is at 8:45 a.m. The cost is $139 per person plus tax, including breakfast, lunch and snorkeling at a site off Lanai's coastline.
The catamaran also will pick up spectators on Lanai between 10:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. The rate is $35 for kamaainas and $95 for nonresidents. It includes beverages and snacks.
For more information, call Trilogy Excursions: (808) 661-4743.