AYUMI NAKANISHI / ANAKANISH@STARBULLETIN.COM Dawson Jones, pictured with wife Dussy and daughters Kailani and Moanalani, is among the top contenders in the upcoming Molokai-to-Oahu paddleboard race.

Hawaii's top paddleboarder
challenges for the sport's
most prestigious crown

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By Brandon Lee
Special to the Star-Bulletin

DAWSON Jones is a world-class paddleboarder -- though he may not possess the prototypical resume. He is not twenty-something, he's not a lifeguard ... most of all, he's not Australian.

The 36-year-old Pupukea resident is a husband and a father to two young daughters. He flies full-time as a pilot for Hawaiian Airlines.

Paddleboarding since 16 and recognized as the dominant competitor in Hawaii the last six years, Jones is considered among the elite of the 80 entrants expected to participate this Sunday in the 6th annual Quiksilveredition Molokai to Oahu Paddleboard Race.

Considered the world championship of paddleboard racing, the event is a grueling, 32-mile crossing of the unpredictable Kaiwi Channel with what amounts to a streamlined surfboard designed to ride open-ocean swells.

"Nothing even comes close," said Jones, when comparing the Quiksilveredition to other paddleboard races here and abroad. "There's some that are the same distance. But the Molokai Channel, it's famous around the world for its roughness. ... It's not just paddler against paddler (in this race); with the Molokai, you have the channel, too.

AYUMI NAKANISHI / ANAKANISH@STARBULLETIN.COM Dawson Jones is primed for Sunday's paddleboard challenge.

"This is the biggest race in the world for paddleboarding, as far as difficulty and prestige."

The prestige associated with the race and the honor of representing Hawaii are big reasons why Jones is entering it for the fifth time (he missed one year due to injury), despite considerations of retirement from the sport earlier this year.

Jones has yet to win the Quiksilveredition, but has established almost all other Hawaiian course records. He finished as the runner-up in 1997 and 2000, and placed third in 1998.

"I'd like to win it, definitely," said Jones, who helped co-found the race and run it during its infancy. "If I could win this race, it would complete, pretty much, my whole paddleboarding career."

Lifeguard Sean Monahan, victorious in 1999 and 2000, is the only Hawaii paddleboarder so far to step into the winner's circle. He is not competing this year due to injury.

The race record of 5 hours, 22 minutes, 48 seconds was established in the inaugural event of 1997 by Australia's Mick Dibetta. The defending champion, Aaron Bitmead, also hails from Down Under.

Both are back to compete this year, and along with two more of their countrymen, are considered favorites to take the 2002 Unlimited (open) division title. All are members of Australia's world-renowned lifeguard fraternity, and Dibetta (39) is the only one older than 27.

"I kind of wanted to retire this year, but there's not enough young Hawaii guys that are going to provide the competition that we need to go up against these Australian guys who have all showed up," Jones said. "I want Hawaii to win this race and be dominant. ... Hawaii needs to dominate in our channels."

The international field also includes athletes from California, France and Japan. A favorable tradewind to help the competitors battle a current running in the opposite direction and multi-directional swells is forecasted for Sunday.

The race starts in the water off Molokai's Papohaku Roadstead and finishes at Maunalua Bay in Hawaii Kai. Jones says that since most of the top athletes are in about the same physical shape, the key will be penetrating the near-shore vicinity of Oahu's southeastern tip in an area where the current is not real strong.

While he hopes this year may be his turn to taste victory, Jones says that good practice sessions, and the support of family and friends, have convinced him to compete in this event well into the future.

Jones' wife, Dussy -- an accomplished canoe paddler and surfer, herself -- and daughters Moana, 3, and Kai, 2, will be there to cheer him on come race day. The Quiksilveredition may involve a solo crossing for him, but paddleboarding is not a solitary sport for Jones.

And that is exactly where her husband's edge over the young bucks of the sport may lie, according to Dussy Jones. Like her husband, she believes that being a family man does not preclude becoming a world champion.

"I think he's going to do really well," Dussy Jones said, "because he knows the course, he knows what it takes to get ready for the course, and he has the stability and mentality to reach his goals.

"(Paddleboarding) keeps us all healthy and strong and well, and I think having the kids, too, will make him want to finish, (thinking) I'm doing it for Moana and Kai and my wife."

Paddleboarding What: 6th annual Quiksilveredition Molokai to Oahu Paddleboard Race When: Sunday at 7:30 a.m., with first finishers expected around 12:30 p.m. Who: Field of 80 international competitors from Hawaii, Australia, California, France and Japan. Where: 32-mile race across the Kaiwi Channel starts at Papohaku Roadstead, Molokai, and finishes at Maunalua Bay, Oahu. How: Men and women spread across five different divisions, including open (boards usually averaging 16 feet in length), stockboard (12 feet) and team competitions.