M2O predictions

It's that time of year again - M2O is happening on Sunday and I'm keen to hear opinions on who might come out tops.

My personal prediction is:
Connor, Travis and Kai and not necessarily in that order.

I'm not to clued up on the womens side but Andrea and Sonni look set for podium.

I think Kai is a real contender this year - it's the one race where he hasn't really shined (as in won) except perhaps for setting the fastest time ever on a 23" wide 14' board and being within spitting distance of Connor and Kalama at the time. He will be more determined than ever to show he can do it.

Both Connor and Travis look deadly in their dominance of the races they have entered prior to M2O so it's going to be a close one for sure. I'd imagine the three will stick together so as to not allow the others to get a more favourable line, but being three it could well be that if one is dropped he will seek out a chance line and score like Travis did in 2013.

Lots of other battles down the field, our own charger Ethan Koopmans was close to the winner (Kody Kerbox) in the M2M in the 14' class and he will be a good contender in the solo 14 as Kody is doing Team with his dad and Ethan reckons he's got Kiwi Armie Armstrongs number - but Travis Baptiste seems to have one up on everyone in that category.

We also have Chris Bertish entering in the unlimited - he's sort of on honeymoon, movie/book promo tour and thought he'd fit it in - after completing a 24hr African record run 4 weeks ago he should be recouperated and the 53km's should seem like a walk in the park.....

Wind looks straight out of NE which looks very square on the right shoulder - hopefully tide and swell is accommodating - best of luck to all the competitors.

Don't rule out DK..

Dave Kalama hasn't been training he's been traveling a lot this year

I've got my money on
1st Andrea Mollar = if there is wind (Andrea has been in fine form this summer)
2nd Devin Blish = if there is wind (Devin is just a freak of nature)
3rd ? Cathy Shipman = if there is wind (Kathy has the Glide from hell will mow anybody down)

if no wind Terrine or Penelope 1st or 2nd (Penelope is also looking very strong for the Kai'wi Channel could be major upset to some of the girls)

Sonni as not been looking strong. Sad, Sonni looked so strong last year maybe a bit burnt out I hope I'm wrong.

3 Man SUP Team
1st Mark Raaphorst, Chris Pagdilao, iRONPHIL.
2nd ?
3rd ?

In the Men's who cares it'll be Connor or Travis
3rd Jeremy Riggs = if there is wind

I'll be focusing on going solo next year on the new custom 18fter

Forecast is looking 8-10ft of south swell light winds, if so it will be brutal out there, STOKED I'm doing teams it's going to be BULK FUN. Then I'll be getting flyblown at the finish line "Yes Please Mr Wizard" after putting your body through that it needs a good drink.

Yeah Matt Nottage FTW. Terrene do make it the daily double.

1st - travis
2nd - Connor
3rd - Kai
4th - rigs
5th - Matty
Beau top 10:

Doubt very much the 14's will feature in lighter winds....when Kai got close to the Unl in 2012 (9minutes behind winner) it was a record year. You need bumps to steer a 14' and in the M2O you need to pull right on everything you find....

M2O Rule Updates and HighlightsAloha Paddlers and Escort Boat Captains,

Please review the following updated 2015 RULES AND REGULATIONS:

NEW - In the event of a large south swell, a buoy will be placed off the reef at Portlock Point. All paddlers must keep the buoy to their right. There will be a 20 minute penalty if athlete does not round the buoy. The final call on the Portlock buoy will be made at the mandatory pre-race dinner Saturday night at 5:30 at the KaluaKoi lawn. These decisions are made for the safety of the race. No exceptions.

NEW - Regarding athlete changes and solo feeds. The escort boat must be in neutral. NO APPROACH to boat by paddlers with propeller/engine facing the athlete. At NO time during the race can an athlete touch his escort boat.This applies to ALL solo athletes preparing for feed or bottle exchanges. Relay changes are made in the water and never from the boat. This rule is in place for both safety and a no tolerance rule for intentional wake riding. VIOLATION will be a 10 minute penalty for each infraction observed or documented.

Any assistance from boats other than passing of food or liquids will result in automatic disqualification. If you are feeding direct from the boat the boat must be in neutral and not moving forward. Paddler can paddle to boat, grab food and continue. After the food exchange, the boat must remain stationary until the paddler is 50 yards away. At no time can the paddler hold onto the boat for any forward advantage.

ANY PADDLER that has not rounded Kawaihoa Point after 8 hours will agree to be picked up by their escort boat and brought to the finish line. Anyone that drops out of the race must have their escort boat notify the head official boat on VHF 72.

GPS PICK UP RACE MORNING 5:30 am pick up.
All athletes are required to pick up GPS trackers race morning at race start - pool area at KaluaKoi. The DotVision team will be there to distribute the units. All units will be powered on and labeled for each athlete / team. The units must be on all escort boats and in full view (straight line to satellites). Easiest thing to do is loop on race gear or boat console. NO NEED to turn on or check. This will be done race morning.

RACE PRAYER Pule is at 6:30 am. Due to potential high surf at start event will have prayer early allowing all paddlers and boats to have ample time to load in.

Highlights of all RULES that apply to immediate DQ or penalty as noted.

EACH PADDLER/TEAM entry is required to have an escort boat. Entry will be immediately DQ'd if they do not have an escort boat. Only exceptions is if boat breaks down within China Walls and finish. Boat must still call in any breakdowns. Final say is at the discretion of safety team.

Paddlers must stay with their escort boat at all times, even in the event of the boat having a mechanical failure. Any attempt to complete the race without an escort boat will result in an automatic disqualification.

ALL ESCORT BOATS need to be behind the paddler's nose at all times. Escort boats may not be ahead of paddler. ONLY exceptions are when actively setting up for water changes (RELAYS) and water exchanges.

ALL PADDLERS ARE REQUIRED TO WEAR THE OFFICIAL RACE JERSEY. A 10 minute penalty will be applied to athlete(s) or team not wearing the jersey. There are plenty of jerseys available. Please advise if any athlete or team needs an extra jersey.

Teams may only use ONE board.

You may switch boards in the event of an equipment failure; however you may not change equipment class. In the event of equipment failure, the broken equipment must be presented to race officials to verify the failure, and a time penalty may be assessed.

No drafting after the first 15 minutes of the race. Drafting is defined as being in the wake of a craft or fellow paddler for more than 1 minute in any 5 minute span. A ten minute penalty will be applied with each infraction.

Double hull “standamarans” are not recognized boards in the race. Athlete will not be disqualified. They will however, not be considered for any awards categories and noted in results as such.


PLEASE REVIEW ALL RACE RULES on the website along with valuable information for race week. www.molokai2oahu.com/register/rules/

Any questions please contact info@molokai2oahu.com

Travel Safe!

If it is light winds etc I don't think the 14's can beat the unlimiteds outright, especially now that SIC have the V3 17'4" out there with lower rocker, finer piercing nose, thinned out tail.........
The rudder is such an advantage in those sorts of races, especially for chasing and staying on small bumps.
A lot of people think that the 17'4" etc need 25kn + to work but that's just not true. They work in very mild conditions too if you use the rudder correctly to stay on the little bumps.
In totally flat conditions then yes, a high rocker 17' board is hard work as we found out at the M2M + M4M.
We'll see on Sunday I suppose!! I'll be at port lock with some cold coronas as promised to Downwinder. ;)

No mention of Scott Gamble. Is he not racing?

Just 10hrs till the start..

Blinker Buoy shots by Ed Wheeler this is where the paddlers will be coming in after 32 miles of paddling

For those not following it on sup racer.. It's between Travis and Kai..

"More updates from Travis Grant’s boat: Trav looking solid and comfortable. Lead over Kai Lenny is around 400 metres (1,300 feet). Travis is surfing the bumps really well, even though there’s not many of them to find. Trav’s team can’t see any other paddlers except for Kai, and the GPS confirms it’s now a two-horse race for the title."

And for the women...

"Update on the women’s race: Defending champ Sonni Honscheid is still out in front, however first time Molokai competitor Annabel Anderson is virtually dead even. Annabel is a good mile to the north of Sonni so it’s hard to get an exact head-to-head position update, but on the GPS tracker it looks like it’s a dead heat. Annabel’s north line may hurt her at the end though, Sonni seems to be on a more direct route to the finish line. But either way this is a massive performance from the New Zealander: She’s on a 14 footer while Sonni is on her 17’4 unlimited."

SupRacer is doing an excellent job with their live updates.. Thanks Chris.

just talk to DC on travs boat 2 mile out trav way in front yeww so stoked for trav now NSPDC have a great unlimited board great effort full team Dale Chapman and Alain Teurguetil great board carnt wait to get mine nsp better start gearing up production