For a few paddlers, the Third Annual Expedia.com Kaua‘i World Challenge is not about winning, instead, it’s just having a good time. Laurie Denton of ‘Oma‘o will paddle in the mixed surfski relay division, with partner Steven Lovell of Newport
For a few paddlers, the Third Annual Expedia.com Kaua‘i World Challenge is not about winning, instead, it’s just having a good time.
Laurie Denton of ‘Oma‘o will paddle in the mixed surfski relay division, with partner Steven Lovell of Newport Beach, Calif.
Her husband, Ken Denton, will paddle in the relay division, with partner Andy Gerber of Florida.
“We’re just in it for the fun,” said Laurie Denton, 46, who works part-time as a massage therapist, and also for her husband in a small carpentry business.
They will compete on surfskis, which are “super hybrid racing kayaks,” very easy to tip over. They’re looking forward to rubbing shoulders with elite athletes coming from the United States, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, and other places.
There’s the elite, Olympic-caliber athletes who will compete, “and then there’s us,” she said.
Under the format, they’ll switch paddlers at transition points including Hanama‘ulu Beach Park, Kalapaki, and Po‘ipu, after starting at Wailua, before ending at Salt Pond Beach Park. The legs are five, five, 12 and 12 miles, respectively. Each person will paddle around 17 miles, she said.
Laurie Denton, who has been a crew member on several Molokai-to-Oahu Wahine O Ke Kai outrigger canoe races, including a member of a winning master’s division crew one year, has been paddling for over 20 years. She started surfskiing a few years ago, “because it’s more fun” than paddling an outrigger canoe, she said.
“It’s just a fun thing to do. We kind of know we’re not going to win,” she said. “You do it to participate.”
The relay format makes it “fun and interesting,” she added. People not in it to win basically team up with people they like to paddle with, she explained.
Last year, the conditions made the race challenging, and during this Saturday’s event conditions can change even from one leg to another, she said.
Ocean conditions will also dictate whether or not she participates in any of the warmup events beginning from today, Wednesday, May 4, at Wailua, she said.
“We’re just going to have a good time.” Experts consider the Kaua‘i World Challenge the most exciting open ocean outrigger canoe and surf-ski relay race in the world. It’s also the most lucrative contest with a total purse of $20,000 in gifts and cash.
Sponsored in part by the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority, the event is organized by the Kaua‘i Hoe Wa‘a, which is affiliated with the YMCA.
Kaua‘i’s Kai Bartlett presently holds the title for the event, but the challengers are lining up and have him in their sites.
The main event commences on Saturday at 9 a.m., from the Wailua Beach to Hanamaulu, where there will be a crew change, then on to Duke’s Restaurant, where another change will occur, then on to Po‘ipu and the Sheraton Beach for another change.
The final push goes from Po‘ipu to Salt Pond where there will be a huge after-event party including a hearty lunch, volumes of Steinlager beer, Starbucks, Jamba Juice, live bands, and special guest entertainers.
For more information, contact Tom Bartlett at TBartlett@radissonkauai.com or places1@verizon.net, or call 826-5503 or 245-1955, or fax at 826-5506.
- Associate Editor, Paul C. Curtis contributed to this report.
