Moloka’i 2 O’ahu Paddleboard World Championship

Paddling has been a part of Hawaiian heritage since early Polynesians navigated thousands of miles of open ocean guided by nothing more than currents, wind, and stars. Double-hulled sailing canoes were used to cover longer distances and single-hull outrigger canoes covered shorter, inter-island distances. With the introduction of surfing in the late 18th century, paddleboarding soon became a mode of local ocean transportation. Established in 1997, the Moloka’i 2 O’ahu Paddleboard World Championships every summer is the world’s most challenging paddleboard race across the Molokai Channel (aka Ka’iwi Channel). The Ka’iwi Channel has a reputation as one of the world’s most treacherous* bodies of water, with open ocean swells across 26 miles and waters plunging to a depth of 2,300 feet through the narrow channel between the islands of Molokai and Oahu. Free to spectators. More info: Molokai 2 Oahu Paddleboard World Championships and Molokai 2 Oahu | Facebook

2023 Moloka’i 2 O’ahu Paddleboard World Championship

• Molokaʻi race start:  5:30AM-9:30AM Kaluakoi Beach Area
• Oʻahu race finish: 10AM-4PM, Maunalua Bay Beach Park in Hawaiʻi Kai

* The tragic loss of Hawaiian big-wave rider and waterman Eddie Aikau in the Ka’iwi Channel during the 1978 Polynesian voyage of the Hokule’a sailing canoe added to the mystique and revered power of the channel. After gale force winds and 30-foot swells disabled the Hokule’a, Aikau left the ship on his rescue paddleboard to seek help for his stranded crewmates. His body and board were never found.

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