Saturday, May 19, 2001

Finish line should favor
local paddlers

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By Linda Aragon
Special to the Star-Bulletin

He's only 20 years old, but Karel Tresnak Jr. has already come of age when it comes to crossing the Molokai Channel.

Tresnak is going for his third consecutive win in tomorrow's Eyecatcher World Championship Molokai-to-Oahu solo canoe/kayak race.

The 32-mile race begins at 8:30 a.m. off Kaluakoi and finishes at the Hawaii Kai Towne Center marina.

"There's definitely a lot of pressure, especially the third time in a row,'' Tresnak said. "A lot of guys would kill to be in this position. I'm going to go out there and do my best and try to get it."

There are new faces among the favorites this year. Mike Judd and Aaron Napoleon have turned in consistent top-three finishes all season in the OC-1 division.

In the kayaks, the local paddlers may have a shot at winning this year.

Australian Dean Gardiner, the four-time Molokai champ is returning. But nine-time winner Oscar Chalupsky of South Africa is not.

The race association's directors believe there'll be impressive finishes from local racers such as Wyatt Jones and Kala Judd. The men's kayak race is the division with the most international competitors. Racers from Tahiti, Australia and Japan are entered.

The women's kayak division is wide open. Among the prerace favorites are Hawaii's Nicole Wilcox Pedersen, Megan Harrington and Christy Borton.

Current record holder Kelly Fey is favored to defend her title in the OC-1 division.

"Expect the first place finishers to come in under 41/2 hours,'' said Judd.

More than 70 racers are entered in what is considered the roughest solo course for paddlers.

"It's a tricky place," Tresnak said. "There's so many different elements in the channel. You're always learning something else every time you do it. Even if you take the same route, with the same current, all of a sudden something's different.

"It's definitely the most challenging.''

With trade winds expected to blow 15 to 25 mph in the channel, and a good 2- to 4-foot swell predicted, the winner of this downwind run is usually the best at connecting the bumps of the ocean swells.

While Tresnak is the favorite in surfing conditions, Mike Judd has been nipping at his heels. Judd, 26, moved to Oahu from Kona more than a year ago. After recovering from shoulder surgery last year, he has been refining his surfing skills to come back this season to tie with Tresnak for five victories each in the Kanaka I Kai Ka long course events.

On top of that, he has been on the winning team of both the Catalina and Kaiwi Channel relays.

"In Kona it's a lake," Judd said. "You'll never improve your surfing skills in Kona, like you will here. On Oahu there's a higher level of competition and an exposure of more extreme ocean conditions. Moving here has definitely taken my paddling to another level."

"I'll be happy if I come in the top five,'' said Judd. "My goal is to do my best and hopefully to cross first.

"(Racing in the channel), you have this feeling of accomplishment that can't compare to anything else. It's not like winning a coastal race.

"You feel like you conquered something,"

Iolani School senior Daniel Tsukayama, 18, is making his first crossing. He is youngest competitor in the event where the age range goes through 50-plus.

"I'm pretty nervous," Takayama said. "I'm just going to do what I've been doing all along and treat it like a long paddle. I'll just be happy if I finish."