marty_kenny

It was with some apprehension that I entered the waters off the island of
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Molokai for this year’s surf ski race to Oahu, a disrupted, short and less
than ideal preparation combined with and unconvincing wind left me
questioning my chances of having a strong race. I knew that if the wind at
least stayed as it was, or even better built during the course of the day, it
would help negate the impact of the last few weeks, I was on a fast,
comfortable and responsive boat that would perform brilliantly,
I knew that much, but I also knew that it would need the wind to do so.

With all that in mind I opted for a conservative start, I had a feeling that we would be
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on the water for somewhere between 3 ½ and 4 hrs, I also had a feeling that our
wind was eventually going to desert us. In a traditional trade wind scenario paddlers
will begin to feel its effects relatively close to the shores of Molokai and while I
wouldn’t call the wind this year a traditional trade wind I was happy to see that we had
a small but increasing swell soon after the start. The lead pack went out at a firm
and controlled pace and were soon riding the small swell on their long boats,
I opted to restrain myself a little more than usual, surfing what I could and staying
close to Dean Gardiner.

To digress just a little, in my mind I knew the PR2 could surf, and surf well, during testing it seemed so at home amongst the swell and wind chop of the Sunny Coast shoreline, a little like a Dolphin playing amongst the waves, it was agile and fast,but those few days of testing had been for the most part in conditions that were favourable, there had been good wind and white caps everywhere, nothing like what I was sitting in know.

Even though the conditions offered to us by the Kaiwi channel were well short of ideal
the PR2 was sliding through the water comfortably, I was surprised at the relative ease with which I was maintaining contact with the pack. The boat wasn’t supposed to
perform this well in these conditions, but there I was surfing along next to Paul Green,
who days earlier had given me a lesson in how to go fast in mild conditions,
Dean Gardiner was slightly ahead of us, but this guy is the best downwind paddler
on the water today anywhere in the world, he is on a boat renowned for its
world class all around performance, and me and my spec ski are still in contact.

As the day progressed and the assistance offered by the ocean started to fade I noticed that an equilibrium had fallen over the race for a short time, nobody seemed to me Marty-5

gaining or losing ground except for the two giants of the field,
Clint was out front and in control, Deano was flying through the pack, the rest of us, it almost seemed, where content with where we were, almost. What was on offer to ride became harder to catch but I found that I wasn’t missing the bumps I was chasing, the short light weight ski was still responsive to power and with absolute steering authority I was able to keep my efficiencies going. Slowly but surely the PR2 started to move
through the pack, what was noticeable to me was how comfortable I was, comfort is important in any case but anyone who has spent hours sitting on a surf ski were the opportunity to move and maintain comfort is limited at best will understand its importance. Being comfortable affords you the opportunity to concentrate on paddling, catching runners and maintaining sanity, when you get tired the little things start to become big things, one less thing to worry about.

So our wind died and with it the swell and chop, the race turned into a grind, the opportunity that would now be available to “surf” would be along China Wall and across the bay to the finish, I hoped. When Deano retired from the race I found myself in contention for a podium, I have to say that I hadn’t thought that possible earlier sitting somewhere around 17th of 18th in the field, I knew I would find my way through the pack but how far, given the conditions, was a question I couldn’t answer. Approaching Oahu is always a mind game, currents, reflecting waves, exhaustion and the feeling that you aren’t Marty-6

getting anywhere all start to drive you insane, being able to maintain moment and confidence is paramount, at this stage I was so excited by how our little boat was doing paddling hard just seemed natural. I knew that Brad Stokes and Paul Green weren’t far behind and in these mild condition would be powering, I wondered if they might now be starting to reduce the deficit and be closing the gap, but my confidence in the PR2 was know undeniable and the ski responded, pushing through the confused water along China Wall the PR2 once again felt at home in this water and I was able to start enjoying the race a little more. Catching waves across the bay I think I was playing a little too much and instead of taking a straighter course zig zagged to make the most of the steering control I had, I probably should have been paying a little more attention to the race as a fast finishing Brad Stokes crept up a little on me, forcing me to dig a little deeper across the flat shallow waters at the end of the race. Crossing the line at Molokai is always blissful regardless of your finishing place, but this year was incredibly satisfying, I was back on my Hayden, paddling a ski with my Dads name on it and feeling a little retro by doing it on a light weight spec ski, like we used to, to have the result we had, given all the variables to me speaks volumes of the PR2.

A huge thanks to the mob at Hayden, these guys are without a doubt the most experienced surf ski manufacturers in the world, the Hayden name has been on surf craft for nearly 50 years, thanks again for your continued support over the years.