On July 26th, 2009,  I attempted to cross the revered Kaiwi channel and I had no idea what to expect.  The best advice that I had been given was that the channel was to be respected and to go into the race with no expectations.  As long as I paddled to the best of my ability and enjoyed my time out there than that would be good enough. The winds were blowing from the East, which favored the stand-up paddlers, and there were 8-10ft open ocean swells. It was the first Molokai race this year that had been blessed with good conditions.

 

It was a busy scene when I arrived to the beach the morning of the race. Paddlers were shuttling their gear to their escort boats, prepping their equipment and shaking off their pre-race jitters. After the opening ceremony and prayer I rushed to get everything finished in time. Ten minutes to go and I was still fiddling with my music set-up, putting on my gloves and lathering on the final layer of sunscreen. I was surprisingly less nervous than I had imagined being as we waited to start. All the training and preparations had come down to this – I hit the play button on my Ipod and off we went.

 

Ekolu Kalama was to my right as we started but passed in front of me and headed south of me. Most of the other paddlers followed in a similar direction but I opted to head more North. There were only a handful of us on that high line and it wasn’t until the end of the race that I realized how important that course line had been.

 

The crossing was exciting. I actually had a really fun time. There were moments that I got frustrated at myself for missing a wave but other than that I enjoyed being out there. All my strength training and conditioning paid off and my body felt strong the entire race. I was surprised when at the 4hr mark my support crew told me I had only 9 miles to go. 9 miles?! I couldn’t believe I was already so close to the finish – and I was stoked on the time I was making. Realizing that I had a chance at finishing in 6hrs I pushed on.

 

It was interesting not being able to see my competition. I knew Andrea Moller was ahead of me because I had seen her take off at the start and follow Ekolu and the others on the more southern course. Six miles out from the finish I started to notice an escort boat and paddler about a mile to the left of me. I caught a glimpse of a white jersey (given to the solo paddlers) and started thinking that maybe it was Andrea. My crew checked with binoculars and confirmed that it was her. It was a phenomenal feeling when it hit me that I had a chance of winning.

 

As we neared Portlock Point I was in the lead and set my sights on the finish line. Coming around China Walls I could start to see the surf. I knew there was a big south swell hitting and I had the option of cutting close to the wall and surfing a wave in but I opted for the safe route and headed toward the channel makers. It was a slower route because of the headwind but I pushed through. I could see the finish line, the event tents and the spectators but it took awhile fighting that wind to get to it. I just kept thinking, “you did it, you did it” and before I knew it, I was there. I had successfully paddled from Molokai to Oahu and was the first female solo stand-up paddler to finish in the official time.

 

Crossing the finish line was…. well, I can’t describe exactly what it felt like. For 8 months this race had taken over my life. I thought about it, dreamt about it, lost sleep over it, trained for it…and in 6hrs and 18minutes it was over. It’s been a week and I still don’t think it has fully set in.

 

Thanks to Sparky, Pat and Barrett at Rainbow Sandals for putting on a fabulous event. Thanks to Watermans Sunscreen for keeping me protected throughout the race. And thank you to all those who supported me, believed in me and helped me along the way.

Pura Vida,

Jenny Kalmbach