Stand-up paddling (SUP) made it back to its island home of Waikiki, Hawaii, this past weekend. The inaugural Rainbow Sandals Gerry Lopez Battle of the Paddle Hawaii, presented by Quiksilver Waterman Collection took place on June 13 and 14. It was Danny Ching, a mainlander from Redondo Beach, California, that overcame the home-field disadvantage to walk away a winner. Ching took first in both the 5-mile elite race on Saturday, and the 10-mile distance race on Sunday.
Saturday’s elite race was a 5-mile slugfest between Ching and Australian paddler, Travis Grant. The two men were side-by-side for 19 buoy turns and two 75-yard beach sprints before the final stretch for the finish. The hour and a half battle was decided by just 13 seconds. On Sunday Ching put forth a heroic effort, fighting through the fatigue to win the 10-mile Downwinder.
“I didn’t expect that at all,” Ching said of his clean sweep. “I was hoping to win one of the days, but luckily it panned out.”
In the women’s division, San Clemente’s Candice Appleby took the Elite battle with her time of 1:35:25. Second was Australian Shakira Westdorp. In the distance race, Maui’s Andrea Moller took top honors.
The Battle of the Paddle also featured exhibits, booths, clinics for children, relays for families, fun races and plenty of SUP sampling. There were spirit-moving cultural ceremonies, impassioned volunteers and priceless ocean-based programs like Na Kama Kai. But beneath it all, there was the pure and simple fun that Waikiki has famously offered the world for centuries. In some ingenious way, Gerry Lopez, Jay “Sparky” Longley, and the families of Rainbow Sandals and Quiksilver Waterman Collection tied together all the best elements of the stand-up paddle lifestyle and presented them in an exciting, easy to grasp, 21st century framework. They gave away a total prize purse for the weekend of $25,000.
ELITE RACE – MEN’S TOP 10:
1 1:22:42.3 – Danny Ching (Redondo Beach, CA)
2 1:22:55.1 – Travis Grant (Queensland, Australia)
3 1:26:30.8 – Aaron Napolean (Waianae, HI)
4 1:27:00.6 – Jamie Mitchell (Queensland, Australia)
5 1:27:20.6 – Byron Kurt
6 1:27:23.1 – Scott Gamble
7 1:27:26.1 – Slater Trout (Maui, HI)
8 1:27:32.7 – Conner Baxter (Maui, HI)
9 1:28:39.0 – Matt Becker
10 1:28:47.4 – Sepa K. Napolean
ELITE RACE – WOMEN’S TOP 5
1 1:35:25.3 – Candice Appleby (San Clemente, CA/Honolulu, HI)
2 1:36:35.2 – Shakira Westdorp (Queensland, Australia)
3 1:37:51.6 – Brandi Baksic (San Clemente, CA)
4 1:41:30.2 – Jenny Kalmbach (Big Island, HI)
5 1:41:50.9 – Morgan Hoesterey (Oahu, HI)
HAWAII KAI DISTANCE RACE
1ST MEN: Danny Ching
1ST WOMEN: Andrea Moller