Gerry Lopez is a legend of stand up paddling. The guy has been at the forefront of the sports development, shaping both the lifestyle paddling provides, and the equipment we use to participate in it.

With only the Molokai to Oahu endurance race on this weekend, Gerry tells an eerie story of what it’s like to be in the middle of the Ka’iwi Channel between the islands of Molokai and Oahu.

“It’s pretty awesome and when you get out there at some point, I think everyone in this event is just awe struck by the magnitude of not only what they’re attempting, but where they are. I mean you’ve got; out in the middle of that channel you’ve got 600 fathoms of water under you. It’s dark, and there’s gotta be ‘big stuff’ around.”

“The energy out there, Hawaiians call it ‘Mana’. You can really really feel it out in the middle of that Ka'iwi Channel.” The Molokai to Oahu (M2O) is always an epic tale of hardship, endurance and determination, as paddlers battle their way across the Ka'iwi channel between Molokai and Oahu. The channel is pretty hairy as far as passages go. Winds are always strong, in excess of 30 knots at times. Combine that with the large swell and hungry pack of paddlers behind you, you get one of the best races in the world.

This years fleet includes a stack of Aussie paddlers, we wish them all the luck in the world as they battle across the Ka’iwi Channel.

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