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As Gardiner relinquished his precious lead, my time in the channel turned uglier still. While the first 16 miles were more of a one-sided whuppin’ than a graceful display of downwind paddling, I was sufficiently fit to make it halfway across in a respectable two hours. But as fatigue set in, my balance deteriorated and I swam more than I care to remember. Even more vexing were the constantly changing wave patterns and swirling currents that I encountered closer to Oahu. Roughly five miles from the cliffs on the southeast shore, the incoming swells collide with the refracted waves, turning the turbulent ocean into a turbo-charged washing machine. Head-high standing waves—the tops blown off by the cranking wind—made paddling a grim exercise in determination. My sole aim was to stay on the ski and finish. And I did, but it wasn’t pretty—my time of 5:05 put me 31st out of 60. I crossed the line just as Oscar finished his fifth beer.Standing in front of the press at the finish, the 40-year-old South African was overcome with emotion as he spoke about his historic 10th victory. “Given my responsibilities at home, it was difficult to prepare for this race. I had to dig deep to pull it out.” Then, as he tried to explain how it felt to win 20 years after his first race here in 1983, the man who had talked non-stop before the race suddenly ran out of words. He could only say that he was amazed that he had won his 10th title. He continued to field more questions from the reporters, but as he did, tears streamed down his cheeks.The cameras had stopped rolling by the time I pulled up to the dock. When I learned that Oscar had prevailed, I wobbled over to the big man, who was surprisingly subdued and said, “You did it, you fat bastard!”Oscar beamed, then shouted: “Where the hell have you been, you useless bum! Didn’t I teach you how to surf? Next year, you must get here two weeks earlier. You’ll definitely finish in the top 20.” Many hours and a bunch of beers later, I was almost ready to believe him. Molokai World Surf-Ski Championship 2003—Top 10 Results:1. Oscar Chalupsky (SA) 3:28:33 2. Dean Gardiner (Aus) 3:29:42 3. Clint Robinson (Aus) 3:30:33 4. Herman Chalupsky (SA) 3:30:59 5. Grant Kenny (Aus) 3:32:26 6. Darren Mercer (Aus) 3:44:04 7. Lewis Laughlin (Tahiti) 3:47:32 8. Jeff Lemarseny (Aus) 3:51:27 9. Greg Barton (USA) 3:55:47 10. Rod Taylor (Aus) 3:56:59
Another good source of information is a New Zealand paddle site:
www.surfski.co.nz (go to “Training
and Events” for information on the race)
Joe Glickman is the author of two new books, “To the Top: Reaching for America’s 50 State Summits” (2003, NorthWord Press) and “The Kayak Companion” (2003, Storey Books).
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