Oahu Delivers - Hennessey Race

[keala]

heres a pic my buddy took of the blessing before the start of the race.
184 paddlers.  it was awesome.




coming out of the channel at turtle bay was kind of scary/chaotic.  one guy got hit by a wave and lost his board on the reef.   



fun race w/great people.  good times. 

[Admin]

coming out of the channel at turtle bay was kind of scary/chaotic.  one guy got hit by a wave and lost his board on the reef.   

Yeah, getting out to the start was cause for some raised eyebrows on the beach.  To explain a bit, the launch is in a beautiful lava bay with a sand beach.  There are lava spurs that dot the water on the right and an exposed shelf on the left, so you have about a 30 foot gap to go out through.  There was a waist to occassionally shoulder high crumbly wind swell that was intermitently breaking on the reef in the gap.   What makes this all interesting is that it was a group launch (stand up and prone together) of 184 people (all excited to get out and find a good spot on the start line).  On the beach I think we were all looking at that little gap and wondering, "how are gonna get all of this...through there".  One of those 16 foot boards gets pushed sideways by a crumbler in front of a group and...

I heard that there was a few incidents, but my group skated out pretty smoothly.

Keala-congrats on your finish!!  Anyone who did that event knows that it was actually a really tough grind, and it felt like more than 8.5 miles to me.  Even though there was swell at the beginning, I could not buy a glide to save my life for the first mile or so.  Did you mean that there were actually 7 women in unlimited?  It seems like a lot of stand up paddlers are not showing on the results.

[keala]

thanks. 

i made it out ok too.  thank goodness the wave is softer than it looked.  there was a girl behind me on an SUP who flipped and couldn't right her board, and she was stuck right in the impact zone of the waves, in front of that reef.  i felt so bad, i wanted to help but if i got caught inside with my board i would be more of a hazard than help.   ugh, i hope she made it out ok.

i tried riding some waves, i just ended up falling a lot. lol.  i saw on guy on SUP get a loooong wave coming around kawela.  that was awesome.

ya there were 7 women in unlimited.  there is an abridged results list and an unabridged one.  the former just lists the top finishers, the latter all 184 of us.  here is the unabridged list: http://www.hennesseyspaddleboarding.com/2008/results.php

[Admin]

Jen Trout sent this over.  Thanks Jen!

C4 put together a nice vid of the event that shows the fun of the route out to the start in detail.  Also, here's a still that gives a good view of the gap from a particpant's persective. 

[greatdane]

Hey Rand,
What direction were the swells at this race?  Were you guys getting hit on the starbird beam the whole way?  Can't quite tell on the video.  Also, do you know what make of board Guy Pere was paddling?
Thanks

[Admin]

Hey Rand,
What direction were the swells at this race?  Were you guys getting hit on the starbird beam the whole way?  Can't quite tell on the video.

Side/Side on trades.  At the start there was a light but nice wind.  It never really got to that level where it was really moving you.  On the other hand, it wasn't fighting us or batting us around much either.  Then it got lighter,  I think anyone who entered this thing would agree that it was a lot of work; not one of those woohooo, I'm gliding runs.  Someone in that vid called the water "sticky", and that sums it up pretty well.  Coming in to Sunset was fun but tricky.  There was a tiny wind swell that was just feeling the reef.  It wasn't breaking, but it would grab you, and glide you in at an angle.  Some people had chosen to get inside earlier to avoid that entirely.  They were paddling parallel to shore just inside the reef.  This made it so you had people gliding at others at nearly right angles.  As you know, there is a limited amount of control on these big race boards when they are gliding.  You can turn them, but it isn't going to happen quickly.  I had some good early glides in there and made up some ground, but ate it on a tiny swell where I was too angled and the swell swung in a bit and caught my nose rail.  After Sunset the wind was light, but moving pretty much straight down the shoreline, with occasional light offshore gusts.  This was actually my best portion of the run as the line was pretty direct and I stayed tight to shore with combed water and just enough wind to lightly push me.  There was no wind in Waimea. 

Also, do you know what make of board Guy Pere was paddling?

Blane mentioned in another thread that it was a Joe Bark.  I am not sure of the model, but maybe someone else can give better details on that.

I'm looking pretty pleased about something, in traffic, rounding the mark at Sunset:

[Kaweeka]

Just a thought on a course change.  Since just past Kawela you lose the good trade wind push (assuming they are blowing . . .) instead draw a line from just off the start to Mokuleia. 

Schedule a race for the first weekend (maybe in the spring) that has 20 to 30 mph trades - the result is a course that feels like you are paddling down a staircase . It is 15 miles but with the fun factor it does not seem that long !

Now to find that perfect distance board and start training . . .  To join the back of the pack doing the fun run

[greatdane]

Thanks Rand,  seeing the shot of Sharks Cove on the video brought back some great memories... I lived across the street on Pupukea Drive (behind FoodLand) for 6 months in 1993.  Spent a lot of time swimming between Sharks Cove and Waimea.  One of the best summers of my life.

[ralph3810]

That must have been just an amzaing race!! What a pitty that i was not there it would have been awesome.

@ Chan talking about real estate - I am looking for some Oahu real estate. I want to move there and i want to get a great offer ... maybe I can attend the next race then 

[Chan]

Oahu is wonderful. If you find the right place, we want first dibs on your sofa. Travel, work, and a missing race board have slowed me down a bit, but in a few months I'll have my new SIC rocket, less work, and will have all Spring to prepare for the 2009 Hennessey series.  In the meantime, we should have some classic north shore winter surf to enjoy.  Where are you currently living?