Tough day in Maliko

The Maliko Downwind run is justifiably world famous–a challenging blast down an unforgiving coast in big wind and big swells. I’ve done my own lame version many times–I get to Kanaha beach park early in the morning, find no surf and decide to do an upwind/downwind. Paddle up the coast as far and fast as I can until the wind comes up and I can’t make headway, then turn out and ride the wind and swells back. the reason this is lame is that the wind, almost by definition, is just starting to get going when I turn and run downwind, and the wind swell hasn’t had time and fetch to build up.

When the folks that do serious downwinders go out they wait for the wind to peak and the swells to form. Today that meant 30+ knot gusts and 15+ foot swells. The kind of conditions that the Victory At Sea folks would have rejected as a little too dramatic. So this was actually my first official Maliko Downwinder, the first time I went all the way to the harbor, and the first time out in those conditions on the Penetrator 572.

Does this sound like a story with a happy ending?

I was with Randy Strone (?spelling?) who runs the Standup Zone, his wife Chantelle, Tracy Dudley who is also known as NoWorriesHawaii on the Zone, and the other Randy (whose last name I know but some pernicious mental block robs me of. He’s BoltUpright on the Zone). We paddled out of Maliko and turned left, and my troubles began. I simply couldn’t stand up on the Penetrator. I’d get to my feet in the howling wind and chop, give a couple of paddle strokes, be grabbed from behind by a head high swell, and the board would turn right and ditch me. I tried running back to the tail, dragging my paddle on one side or the other, staying in the middle and using the rudder. No help. I concluded it was simply my limited talent and settled down to paddle to the harbor 9.5 miles away on my knees. No big deal, the wind was shoving me along smartly and the board was catching swell after swell and running nicely.

After a while in the spindrift and monster swells I spotted the two Randy’s waiting for me. I paddled up and told them I was fine but couldn’t stand. We agreed to press on and I settled in to paddle. After a substantially longer interval I came upon them again waiting for me, and Randy suggested I try his F16 and he’d paddle the Penetrator. He headed off, wobbling a bit but being successful in the swells. I continued to struggle, but found I could stand for brief periods on the F16 and catch a few swells, but my progress was limited and I resorted once again to knee paddling.

A few miles later I found the Randys waiting for me again, we switched back but I found the Penetrator harder to handle than before. I finally reached the harbor and paddled in to the shore, finding the board hard to stand on even in the relatively flat water. Turns out the rudder was cocked a bit, and I had to paddle hard against it to make any headway. When I finally reached the beach i was surprised to find a big wrinkle in the bottom of the board, and a crack that water ran out of when I lifted the board from the water.

Turns out that when Randy2 (BoltUpright) was riding it he got inside a bit and was caught by a double-overhead breaking wave. My biggest nightmare on this run. He dove into the base of the wave, but the wave caught the board and pulled VERY hard on his leg, enough to completely straighten the coiled leash. We theorize that the board flipped and the wave broke on it, flexing the board against its carbon fiber frame. In fact the frame is probably what saved the board from being broken in half.

Randy is a very standup guy (pun intended) and both apologized profusely and offered to pay for repairs numerous times, but I won’t hear of that. He was quite happy using his own board and only tried the Penetrator because I wanted to see if the problem was the board or me. My responsibility. I also believe firmly that when we set foot into the open ocean, just as when I roll my racecar onto a track, that we assume all the risks to ourselves and our equipment. It’s simply too unforgiving and capricious an environment to hold anyone else responsible.

Anyway, it’s at Mark Raaphorst’s place getting fixed. The carbon fiber construction maintained the integrity of the board. But I think it’s clear that while this board is amazingly fast on the south side, even in strong wind and moderate swells, that it’s beyond my talents to control it in large swell on the North Side.

The F16 Randy was riding

This isn’t a black mark against the Penetrator. It’s horses for courses. Most people assumed it wouldn’t do well on a Maliko run, but I had to see for myself. There probably aren’t many places on the planet that toss up a run with such specific requirements. I think the efficient displacement hull was working against it. the board would catch a swell extremely quickly, but when it reached hull speed and started to transition to a plane, it became less stable. If I were better at paddling the Penetrator, and more experienced with a full-blown Maliko run, things would have been different. As it is, it’s just one more chapter in experiencing this great sport.