April, 2019 Maui to Molokai

What a race!? The conditions were about as good as any surfski race could ask for. The wind was lined up perfectly and blowing 25 knots, the weather was mild for Maui and a merciful layer of cloud cover had rolled in to shield racers from the punishing Hawaiian sun.

My race plan was simple. First, I wanted to hold back my excitement and keep the pace controlled for the first 5 minutes. Second, I wanted to lead as much of the race as possible so I could keep Dolan out of a comfortable surfing rhythm and hopefully force him to make mistakes. And third, I wanted to stay on his line in case he had local current knowledge that I didn’t know about.

I found Dolan in the start line and pulled up next to him. Before I knew it, the gun went off and the race was on. Despite my focus on Dolan, Borys Markin was the one who took off the line. Dolan and I were both intent to let him go and start at a controlled pace. With the wind blowing hard, the waves built almost immediately. We both found our rhythms, linking the waves and ramping up our speeds. We soon caught the charging Borys and in the next few minutes we distanced ourselves from him and the rest of the field. It looked like 2019 would once again be a two person match race.

Click on Link below for the rest of Austin’s Race Summary. Exciting! 

Race Summary Continued w/ PTX Partners Sponsor

Maui to Molokai Facebook w/Photos