Judd, Lussiaa battle winds to relay victory

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

Fitting for an event called the Rhino Coastal Relay, the team of Mike Judd and Thibert Lussiaa put their heads down and charged hard to victory yesterday.

Above: Mike Judd took over the second leg of the Rhino Coastal Relay from partner Thibert Lussiaa 50 yards behind, but rallied for 200-yard victory. Below: Lauren Spalding, who teammed with Noe Sawyer, also took over the lead of the women's division in the second leg of the race. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

Irregular wind patterns and tiny waves made for a slow course — the leaders came in about 30 minutes later than expected.

"It was pretty much paddling with the wind in your face the whole way," Lussiaa said. "There were a couple of small (waves), but it was mostly about strength, mental and physical."

Ultimately, no team could match the one-two combination of Judd and Lussiaa. The second place tandem, Maui Kjeldsen and Bill Pratt, came in at 4:48:52, almost a mile behind Judd and Lussiaa.

The course was separated into four legs. Each paddler in the elite two-person division had to paddle two legs (there was also a four-person division).

As proof of the dominance of Judd and Lussiaa, the only drama came during the first leg, from Kailua Bay to Lanikai Beach.

Paddling against the stiff winds, Lussiaa finished the opening leg in second place, behind Walter Guild.

"I was just hoping to stay in the top three," Lussiaa explained. "I wanted to conserve myself for my other leg, and I knew (Judd) would pull it off if I could stay up near the leaders."

True to form, Judd took the lead during the second leg from Lanikai Beach to Makai Pier and never relented. He started the leg with a 50-yard deficit, and ended it with a 200-yard lead.

"Thibert set the stage with that first leg," Judd said. "He put me in a good position."

The third leg from Makai Pier to Hawai'i Kai featured choppy seas, but Lussiaa was able to maintain the advantage throughout.

"It was tough because there was so much slop," he said. "All you could do was put your head down and paddle hard as you could."

Judd used the same theory during the final leg from Hawai'i Kai to Magic Island to turn the final margin into a rout.

"It helped to have that big lead at the end," Judd said. "There was no pressure and on a day like this, it's easier to hold the lead than catch up."

Judd, 27, paddles for the Lanikai Canoe Club. Lussiaa, 31, is a member of Kai 'Opua on the Big Island. They were once teammates at Kai 'Opua before Judd moved to O'ahu a few years ago.

Kjeldsen and Pratt are teammates on the world champion Team New Zealand/Hawai'i. Despite moving into second place during the second leg of the race, they could never make up ground on the leaders over the final three hours.

"Hats off to (Judd and Lussiaa) because they paddled a hell of a race," Pratt said. "I know I felt good and felt like I had some good runs, but I wasn't even closing the gap."

John Foti and Pat Von placed third at 4:51:26; Guild and Nate Hendricks were fourth at 4:51:43; Raven Aipa and Jim Foti finished fifth at 4:55:21.

The women's division featured an equally impressive winning performance.

Lauren Spalding and Noe Sawyer took the lead during the second leg, and then simply took off from the rest of the women's field. They finished with a winning time of 5:12:57, which also placed them 12th overall.

The second place team of Ann Farrell and Katie Slocumb came in over 31 minutes later at 5:44:21.

Spalding, a member of the Hawaiian Canoe Club on Maui, gave her team the lead for good during the second leg.

"I just hammered," she said. "There wasn't much else you could do."

Sawyer, who is from Kaua'i, said it helped that they stayed on a course closer to the shoreline, somewhat avoiding the stronger winds outside.

"I think we had a good course, right on the surf line," she said.

Sawyer increased the lead during the third leg, and by the final leg, Spalding had no competition in sight.

"I wasn't trying to take risks," she said. "I just wanted to keep going as fast as I could and not get eaten by any waves."

Final results

One-person canoe

Open men: 1, Thibert Lussiaa/Mike Judd, 4:42:05. 2, Maui Kjeldsen/Bill Pratt, 4:48:52. 3, John Foti/Pat Von, 4:51:26. 4, Walter Guild/Nate Hendricks, 4:51:43. 5, Raven Aipa/Jim Foti, 4:55:21. 6, Bill Balding/Mike Pedersen, 4:57:07. 7, Tapa Worthington/Manny Kulukulualani, 4:57:10. 8, Peter Olson/Mark Rigg, 4:59:44. 9, Mike Hangai/Kevin Thompson, 5:03:06. 10, Kealii Martin/George Leslie, 5:07:33. Open women: 1, Lauren Spalding/Noe Sawyer, 5:12:57. 2, Ann Farrell/Katie Slocumb, 5:44:21. 3, Theresa Gerry/Vi Coito, 5:46:23. Men age 40-over: 1, Sam Alama/Todd Hart, 5:12:06.

Two-person canoe

Open men: 1, Thomas Damon/Wyatt Jones/Jeff Brown/R. Harrison, 4:50:54. Mixed: 1, Sean Keenan/Leighton Miyachi/Carol Jackson/Jen Davis, 5:26:53.

One-person surfski

Open men: 1, Sam Lemmo/Uriah Dombrowski, 6:16:54. Open women: 1, Jennifer Thompson/Kanesa Duncan, 5:27:54.