FIELD NOTES: MOLOKAI WITHIN

Achievement is personal. For one athlete, it is a world record. For another, it is the attempt itself.

The Molokai 2 Oahu Foil & Paddleboard World Championship makes room for all of it. The race has one finish line, but no single definition of winning. The Kaʻiwi Channel works every paddler toward the same question: How far are you willing to push yourself to cross the channel?

The answer is not always written in the result. It is in the years spent knowing an ocean that never stays the same. In choosing the thing that scares you. In finding that next stroke after the channel has taken everything. So seasick that you're left to finish without the food, water, or strength you expected to have. And still wanting another chance.

At the finish, the answers start to arrive. There is embrace and high fives. Torched limbs and blank stares from bloodshot eyes. Relief that looks like joy, and joy that looks like exhaustion. The race ends but the crossing stays within.

Here, Test Pilots & our friends at FLORENCE HQ defined the race in their own words.

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CHARLIE VERCO - Australia
Test Pilot. First Overall Prone Unlimited. New world record: 4:18:03

Photo: Mike Ito/M2O

"You've always got something to work on, something to improve."

"I fell in love with paddleboarding in Australia when I was about six years old through the Nippers program. I loved being able to go in the ocean and get to race against your mates and see yourself improve. I loved that there was a skill aspect alongside a fitness and a strength aspect. I loved that there was an always-changing challenge with the ocean, just because the ocean is never the same. So you've always got something to work on, something to improve. That carried across into this once I watched Jamie Mitchell's Decade of Dominance documentary. I thought the idea of catching runs for six hours seemed like fun, which was pretty naive of me. But I just kept falling in love with it every time I came over here. It's so special to be able to paddle with people who love the ocean as much as I do."

TOA PERE - Hawaii
Test Pilot. Second Men's Prone Stock. First in the 19U division.

Photo: Mike Ito/M2O

"It really shows how much you've got left."

"I've had the love since an early age. I just love the sport so much - the hardship, feeling so free on a bump, flying down the face, the people, the community. There's so much that ties into the love for the sport, and that's what keeps me coming back every year. The Kaʻiwi Channel definitely lived up to the reputation today. We were stoked there was so much wind, but it was grueling and punishing. The hardest miles for me were the finish-line miles. Those last two miles, when you're going into that headwind after the Kaʻiwi Channel has already taken everything from you, you have to dig deep and find what you've got inside and push to the end. I left it all out there and gave it my best shot. I did a lot better than last year. I had a tough battle with Harrison Stone that I'm definitely going to remember for the rest of my life."

ALLY SCHILLINGER - Hawaii
Women's Test Pilot. First Women's Prone Stock.

Photo: John Hook/M2O

"You feel so small but powerful at the same time."

"Paddling is such a cool way to connect with the ocean and push yourself. It's a combination of swimming, surfing, and sailing. It's a way you can be part of something so much bigger than yourself. I remember looking at pictures and videos of this race and being so intimidated and scared, and to me, that's why. What better reason to do it? To really push yourself and see what you're made of. You get to go into a body of water that is so humbling and you feel so small but powerful at the same time. This year it was pretty much the best conditions you could ask for. It was just a matter of trying to get yourself through the chaos and find some peace, and stay in that peace and that rhythm, and work with the ocean. Turning China Walls and getting that blast of headwind was the hardest couple of miles for me. After mile 30, the last two were just pain - pain cave. But having the finish line in sight, and having your family members in sight, is the thing that gets you through those miles. I think that's what makes everyone such good friends. We all get to experience that together and play in this beautiful earth and ocean that we have."

NATHAN FLORENCE - Hawaii
Test Pilot. First Molokai to Oahu Channel Crossing.

"It's the reading of the wind, the waves and the energy of the ocean."

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TONY WODARCK & PAT O'CONNELL - California
FLORENCE HQ. Prone Stock relay team. Tony's First M2O crossing.

Photo: Johnny Prehn/M2O

"The competition is with myself."

"Molokai was always on the bucket list. We don't get water like that in California. Our best downwinder day is nothing compared to the Kaʻiwi Channel. It was absolutely insane. I was definitely out of my comfort zone, but I quickly got into a groove and realized, this is the most fun thing ever. About three hours in, I got really seasick. I was worried I was going to get seasick from the boat, but I got seasick actually paddling. There was just so much water moving. I was throwing up everywhere, and I couldn't keep anything down. I had to do the entire race with no carbs, no electrolytes, no water. I just raw-dogged the whole thing. Luckily, I felt pretty trained up, and Pat paddled like a maniac. Together, we were able to get across the channel. The paddle community is insane. Paddling is all about encouraging each other and doing something amazing together." - Tony Wodarck

Photo: Mike Ito/M2O

"Everybody can suck it up one day of the year, do something, and suffer."

"The channel is a huge accomplishment and challenge for everyone, but specifically for me, this doesn't really fit into my normal daily routine. But I think everybody can suck it up one day of the year, do something, and suffer. More than anything, I'm out here because I love the camaraderie - the watermen, the waterwomen, everybody getting after some sort of thing they're trying to get through. This was my second time doing the channel. It's a life experience. There are going to be moments out there where we'll be questioning why we're doing this. But when we get back, there's a cold beer on the beach and my family. It's all worth it." - Pat O'Connell

KAYLA & CHRIS COSCINO - California
FLORENCE HQ. Father / Daughter Prone Stock relay team. Chris' first Molokai to Oahu channel crossing.

Photo: Mike Ito/M2O

"We got to share the experience together."

"There are so many reasons to paddle the Molokai 2 Oahu race. For me, it was mainly to challenge myself while getting to experience different waters and the beauty of being in both Molokai and Oahu. This year, I convinced my dad it would be a good idea for him to do it with me, so we got to share the experience together. The Kaʻiwi definitely lived up to its reputation this year. Last year, I got off easy, with small waves and light wind. This year was the opposite, which was exciting to get thrown into the best of it. I had a long section from about mile 27 to 31, where you're approaching Portlock and start getting reverb and backwash. You don't feel like you're moving forward, and you realize you're probably not going to catch any more bumps for the rest of the race. Luckily, since I was on a team with my dad, once I rounded the corner into Hawaii Kai, I got to hand it off to him to paddle the last - and arguably worst - upwind miles. Thanks, Dad." - Kayla Coscino

"I think I'm addicted to accomplishment."

"I have always enjoyed the paddling aspect of surfing, for how it made me feel. It is like distance running, but on water. I think I'm addicted to accomplishment. Why not this race? Being invited to do this with Kayla gave me that once-in-a-lifetime chance. To be lucky enough to jump into record-breaking conditions will probably never happen again. Where else can you be a neophyte at a sport and line up at the start with the world record-breaking athlete? The hardest miles were the ones between 1 and 33.8. For races like this, it's hard and takes real commitment. There is a respect passed from paddler to paddler for taking the challenge by the reins, no matter what your life experiences are. All share in a celebration of what it means to be alive." - Chris Coscino

NATHAN FOX - California
Test Pilot. Second Molokai to Oahu Channel Crossing.

Photo: Johnny Prehn/M2O

"You just have to keep focused on the ocean."

"I knew it would be big water, but coming from California, I don't think you can really understand what that kind of raw open ocean feels like until you're actually out there. The hardest section for me is always the last seven or eight miles. There are still bumps around, but you're dealing with a ton of reverb from the swell bouncing off Oʻahu and coming back at you. Everything just feels slow and sticky. My eyes were absolutely torched by the finish. It definitely makes you question everything. But you just have to keep focused on the ocean and try to make it to the end. That's what makes it so rewarding. Everyone has a ton of respect for what it takes to get across a channel like that and just make it to the finish."

M2O is unlike any other ocean race. The course may be fixed, but the variables are endless. No two crossings have ever been the same, and no two participants have ever carried home the same experience.

Whether it's for the glory or simply for the sheer will to discover what waits on the other side, we're glad that Florence equipment has become a small part of how some of them get there. Those who have crossed know the bond a channel creates. Against nature. Against each other. Together.

Paddlers gearing up at FLORENCE Waikiki. Photo: Mike Ito/M2O

Paddlers gearing up at FLORENCE Waikiki. Photo: Mike Ito/M2O

Anticipating the channel. Photo: Mike Ito/M2O

Guy & Toa Pere. Photo: Mike Ito/M2O

Paddlers circle up the morning of the race. Photo: Mike Ito/M2O

Ideal wind & conditions at the starting line for the Prone race. Photo: Mike Ito/M2O

Mile 1 of 32. Photo: Mike Ito/M2O

Kai Lenny & Nathan Florence assess the windless conditions at the start the foil race. Photo: John Hook/M2O

Charlie Verco. Photo: Mike Ito/M2O

Toa Pere. Photo: Mike Ito/M2O

The foil race faced calm winds mid channel. Photo: John Hook/M2O

Kanesa Duncan Seraphin. First Women's Prone Unlimited. Photo: Mike Ito/M2O

Charlie Verco. Photo: Mike Ito/M2O

Charlie Verco. Photo: John Hook/M2O

Charlie Verco, world record finish. Photo: Johnny Prehn/M2O

Harrison Stone (1st Prone Stock) & Toa Pere (2nd Prone Stock) finished 19 seconds apart. Photo: Johnny Prehn/M2O

Women's Prone Stock Winner, Ally Schillinger. Photo: Johnny Prehn/M2O

Kanesa Duncan Seraphin, Women's Prone Unlimited Winner. Photo: Johnny Prehn/M2O

Toa Pere. Photo: Johnny Prehn/M2O

Men's Foil Winner, Edo Tanas. Photo: John Hook/M2O

Men's Foil Winner, Edo Tanas. Photo: John Hook/M2O

The foil race came in through pumping swell on the South Shore. Photo: John Hook/M2O

Women's Foil Winner, Annie Reickert. Photo: John Hook/M2O

Post 42 miles of foiling in near calm conditions. Photo: John Hook/M2O

Nathan Florence & Toa Pere. Photo: Johnny Prehn/M2O

Awards night at Outrigger Canoe Club in Waikiki. Photo: Johnny Prehn/M2O