Polihale in the middle of the day can be pretty desolate. Lots of people arrive closer to sunset and those who camp on the beach typically pack up and head out before the midday sun scorches the sand. But that
Polihale in the middle of the day can be pretty desolate. Lots of people arrive closer to sunset and those who camp on the beach typically pack up and head out before the midday sun scorches the sand. But that was just the opposite Sunday when all Na Pali Race paddlers identified the Westside beach as their midday destination after a 17-mile trip along the pristine coast.
A few months back I had thought about giving the race a shot. It was probably a good thing that notion was a fleeting one because the same word kept popping out of every racer’s mouth after crossing the finish line: Brutal. Each seemed to be telling the same story of flying through the first four to five miles and then having the ocean pull the old not-so-fast routine.
“The wind looking so steady from the east persuaded a direct line to Milolii, and so Wes (daSilva) and I did just that,” said Dylan Thomas, who was the overall race winner on his surfski in a time of 2 hours, 18 minutes, 59.8 seconds. “What a thrill ride, and this was just three miles in. Wes put some distance on me in this portion and then just as I thought it would be a sleigh ride west, the wind died.”
For their sake, I had hoped it was a gradual descent that allowed for at least some mental and physical recalibrating. That wasn’t the case.
“Not like a slow fizzling death, but more like a ‘someone turned the lights out’ death,” Thomas said. “Immediately the counter current slammed into us. Instantly a feeling of wet cement came across us and it felt as if we were digging our way down the Na Pali.”
Ultimately, Thomas was able to dig just a bit faster than anyone else and hit the beach a mere 80 seconds before Jessie Palumbo (2:20:19.4), who won the outrigger canoe category. daSilva (2:23:30.1) then made his way to the finish line with his surfski in third overall.
“It was was an awesome feeling coming into the beach first and being greeted by cheers and smiles,” said Thomas, who operates Surfski Kauai in Hanalei. “Probably as good as it felt for the very last competitor when he or she crossed the line. A feeling of total accomplishment, mixed with joy and fatigue.”
I wouldn’t have recognized fatigue as one of his attributes, because Thomas was at the water’s edge for much of the afternoon with others to help all the incoming finishers get their outriggers, paddleboards or surfskis up over the small fortress of sand and safely onto the beach. There were cheers for all the finishers as they (sometimes) ran or (usually) walked slowly through the multi-colored flags and to the official finish line at the check-in table.
As expected, most of the early finishers were either on surfskis or outriggers. While many were proclaiming how difficult the majority of the race was for them, they were also discussing how tough it must be for the stand-up paddlers, most of whom would still be out on the water for quite a while.
When the stand-ups did arrive, it was Andrew Logreco (3:12:25.2) as the first man to Polihale, followed by Armie Armstrong (3:17:38.1) and Thomas Maximus (3:30:55.6). Penelope Strickland (3:39:05.5) won the women’s stand-up division, followed by Laura Birse (4:26:43.1) and Nicole Madosik (4:51:38.0).
In the grueling stock paddleboard division, Jackson Maynard (3:20:21.9) took home the top prize, followed swiftly by three-time champion Hogan Kania (3:20:51.1) and Kurt Lager (3:26:02.6).
The OC-1 men’s division was won by Palumbo with Danny Sherd (2:24:44.2) and Sebastian Romero (2:32:23.5) rounding out the top three. The women’s OC-1 was claimed by Lauren Denton (2:43:49.3) with Alana Goo (2:55:20.5) in second and Margie Goodno (3:45:06.5) in third.
Event organizer Evan Valiere participated for the first time and opted for the prone paddle, finishing in just over 4 hours, 18 minutes. He had more than 150 participants for this year’s race and it seems to be continuing to grow. Josh Comstock finished third in the surfski division and said it is “probably the best race in the state.” Thomas, who lobbied for the surfski division in the first place, plans to persuade more people to join up in the coming years.
“Events like this allow us to feel part of an Ohana and enjoy the beauty of family, friends, competition and this wonderful Garden Isle,” he said.
As a fundraiser for the Na Pali Coast Ohana, the race raised $2,850 for the organization.
CORRECTION: In Sunday’s column, I mistakenly stated that the points earned by Brianna Cope for her third-place finish at the US Open of Surfing Women’s Pro Junior would go toward her World Qualifying Series ranking. As a Junior event, those points do not affect her WQS standing and Cope remains ranked 14th in the world.
Three 6-Star women’s WQS events will take place this month, starting with Saturday’s Supergirl Pro in Oceanside, California.
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David Simon can be reached at dsimon@thegardenisland.com.
