Team Naish Makes Their Mark At The 2014 Maui Paddleboard Race

July 20, 2014 – While everybody had their eyes on next weekend’s Molokai2Oahu event, this weekend it was the traditional M2O warm-up event, the Maui Paddleboard Race. Team Naish was ready and willing to conquer the challenging conditions brought on by Hurricane Wali the night before, resulting in remarkable Top 3 honors throughout their Divisions!

This race was the classic Maliko Downwind Run that paddlers know and love, but after a week of great conditions the ocean didn’t exactly play along today. The race was almost called off entirely as Maliko Gulch became a messy twist of mud and downed trees and the ocean swell was running solid in almost every direction. Instead, organizers delayed the start to 2pm and over 100 hearty souls placed themselves on the start line to get their insides moving.

Big swell after big swell as peaking all over the place, and the wind was swirling with constant rain made visibility a bit of a problem. Despite the craziness of it all, there were some amazing bumps on offer and Team Naish took advantage.

Congratulations to Naish’s Manca Notar for finishing 2^nd in the F01-29 Division & 3rd Overall in the 14’ Women’s Class on her Naish Javelin LE; Karla Gilbert for her 2^nd place finish in the 14’ F30-45 Division on her Naish Javelin LE; Kody Kerbox for taking 2^nd in the M01-29 Division & 4^th Overall in the Unlimited Class on his 17’ Naish Unlimited; and Yoshiaki Nagamasu for his 4^th place finish in the 14’ M30-45 Division on his Naish Javelin LE.

Way to stick it out and make your mark on the podium Naish! Best of luck in next weekend’s Molokai2Oahu race!

Photos: Marko Notar