Posted on: Friday, July 18, 2003

North Shore race offers high stakes

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

Many of the world's best paddleboarders are on O'ahu this week for a chance to build their stamina and their wallets.

After one year in Australia, the Hennessey's International Paddleboard Championship will be staged on O'ahu's North Shore for the first time tomorrow. The 8 1/2 — mile course will travel from Turtle Bay to Waimea Bay.

An $11,000 prize purse will be distributed among the various division winners. It is the most money offered for a paddleboard race in Hawai'i.

"It's considered a short race, but it's also going to be an intense race because of the competition," said race director Dolan Eversole. "And a lot of people will walk away with money, so that's bringing a lot of interest as well."

Race officials purposely scheduled the event for this week — eight days before the Quiksilveredition Moloka'i to O'ahu Paddleboard Race. The 32-mile Moloka'i race is considered one of the most grueling and prestigious events in the sport.

"Normally, you don't do another race the week before a big race like Moloka'i," Eversole said. "That's why the course (for tomorrow's race) is somewhat short — we didn't want to tax people too much."

Many competitors will enter both races. Australian Jamie Mitchell, the defending champion of the Moloka'i race, is considered the favorite both this week and next.

He has been training on O'ahu's North Shore for the past five weeks, and took a "side trip" to Hermosa Beach, Calif., last week to win the United States National Championship race.

"If I stayed in Australia, I'd just be training," said Mitchell, 26. "One of the reasons I like to come to Hawai'i early is to enter all the races."

Mitchell has won three races in Hawai'i over the last month. He said the Hennessey's race is a "perfect set up" for Moloka'i.

"If there wasn't a race, my training would probably take me on a similar course," he said. "It's a good distance to get ready for Moloka'i."

Around 200 paddleboarders are expected to enter tomorrow, including competitors from Australia, Japan, France, Brazil, New Zealand, California and Hawai'i.

Competitors can race in either the open class (for paddleboards of any length) or the stock class (for identical 12-foot paddleboards). Paddleboards are streamlined surfboards powered only by arm strokes.