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The M2O has just announced two big things, firstly registration is open from March 1st and secondly, we have already written about it: The Foilers will be moved to a different date and according to the PR below, the race course will also be changed. The topic of the race course already came up last year. The start and finish line was a challenge for the participants: The start is a flat water start in the lee of Molokai and the finish line at Port Lock in Honolulu is at the end of a 500m stretch with offshore winds. There was much debate as to whether the finish line should remain at the China Wall or whether the SUP Foilers should finish the course like all other paddlers. It was decided to leave the foilers on the same course, but the wingers finished the course out to sea.

Since things are changing this year and the foil race will be a separate race, it only makes sense to adjust the race course to accommodate the foil racers. The course hasn’t been officially announced yet, but chances are the start line will be a little more favorable for downwind starts and the finish line will be moved another 5 miles towards Honolulu to finish off Diamond Head. We are now waiting for the official news to be released and are excited to see what comes of it.

This is the offical PR:

HONOLULU, HI (February 29, 2024) – Molokaʻi-2-Oʻahu Paddleboard World Championships (M2O) will return to the shores of Moloka’i this summer to celebrate the 25th edition of the race. The event will feature an international field of traditional paddleboarders (Prone), stand-up paddleboarders (SUP), and FOIL divisions.  

Online registration for the July 28^th Prone and SUP Paddleboard divisions opens tomorrow Friday, March 1^st at 8 am HT (Hawaii Time) and closes Sunday, March 17th at 11:59 HT. 

The FOIL divisions of the M2O will be showcased on a separate day and a new course.  Registration will open March 15^th for the Sunday July 21^strace. Look for more info and announcements on the FOIL divisions in the next week. 

The M2O is a 32-mile race across the Ka’iwi Channel that connects the Hawaiian Islands of Moloka’i and O’ahu.  The prestigious race attracts over 250 of the world’s best paddlers from 25+ countries to attempt the ultimate paddling feat — the crossing of one of the world’s most unpredictable bodies of water.

In response to the high demand for race entries, a registration window will be used to allocate entries for the international field of athletes with previous M2O race experience and new athletes interested in racing M2O for the first time. Allocation of entries for both categories will be done on a first come basis with the start list posting by April 1^st.  All entries received after this window or outside of a potential sell out during the registration window will be placed on a waitlist. 

 “All of us are ready to celebrate the 25^th edition of the race.  It’s been quite a journey to get back to channel racing and we are all looking to 2024 to help define what is possible with the growth of FOIL and the amazing young athletes permeating the ranks across all our divisions,” said Shannon Delaney, Executive Director of the M2O. “Last year we crowned all new world champions and with a shift to 2 separate days of racing the event can capture more stories and footage form the channel and more opportunities to engage with local community of Moloka’i.”  

Solo and team competitors are encouraged to review all information prior to registering with detailed information available on the official event website Molokai2Oahu.com. Athletes can link directly from the site to registration.

The Virtual Edition 5.0 will open early April.

That was the first race after the pandemic.

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Athletes to Watch at 24th Moloka‘i-2-O‘ahu Paddleboard World Championships  Pro surfers Luke Shepardson, Courtney Conlogue, Jamie Sterling, and Albee Layer, along with actor Trevor Donovan among this year’s international field of paddlers. Australians likely to dominate the prone paddleboard race. SUP will see racers from Japan, Italy, and Hawai’i going head-to-head as Kai Lenny sets his sights on another championship crossing of the Ka‘iwi Channel in SUP Foil.  
After a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the 24th edition of the Moloka‘i-2-O‘ahu Paddleboard World Championships (M2O), presented by the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority through the Signature Events Program returns to the Ka‘iwi Channel with a sold-out international field on Sunday, July 30, 2023. Only 250 men and women qualify to compete in the 32-mile downwind challenge, competing in the disciplines of prone paddleboard, stand-up paddleboard (SUP), SUP Foil and Foil Wing.

A complete start list is available at Molokai2Oahu.com. Live satellite tracking of athletes and results will be available at Molokai2Oahu.com.

“We are so excited by the response and momentum for our return to racing this year,” said Mike Takahashi, the race director and founder of the event. “Over half of the athletes entered are first time entrants, mostly in the prone category, which is a testament to the renewed growth in the sport. The Foil divisions have offered M2O new opportunities with many of our SUP athletes crossing over. The wind is up and with a rising tide and small south swell at the finish we could see some epic performances.”

Prone Paddleboard Race
Prone paddleboarding is experiencing a resurgence at this year’s M2O. Leading the men’s field is Australian Stewart McLachlan, 35, who has won M2O four times in the stock category.

McLachlan will challenge countryman Campbell Guthrie, 24, in this year’s unlimited paddleboard category, where athletes paddle longer, sleeker vessels compared to a stock paddleboard. Guthrie was the 2019 runner up in the stock category at M2O.

The 2021 Catalina Classic winner, 27-year-old Scott Clausen from Surfside, California enters the unlimited race. This will be Clausen’s first attempt at M2O.

At the age of 60, Mick DiBetta (AUS), M2O champion from 1997, will compete in his 23^rdM2O in the unlimited category. Matt Sack, an esteemed North Shore lifeguard, is the only athlete to compete solo every year the race has been held.

McLachlan’s move to unlimited division leaves the stock paddleboard field open for emerging talents. Top performances at M2O have been recorded by Australian Callum Sutton, 22, and Kyle Smith, 40, from California.

The majority of men’s stock race is comprised of first timers to M2O like Toa Pere. The 14-year-old comes from a family of excellent paddleboards, and Pere has been excelling in Hawaii’s downwind races like the M2O Bluewater Classic. In the women’s races, Australian Lizzie Welborn is the lone competitor in the unlimited category. If conditions are favorable, the 24-year-old’s race against the clock will be fueled by her experience as a three-time M2O competitor and the possibility of breaking countrywoman Harriet Brown’s record for 4 hours, 50 minutes, 58 seconds.  Welborn finished second to Brown in her past three races at M2O.

In the stock race, Liz Hunter, Allison Schillinger and Katrina Madill are the odds-on favorites. This year’s race will be the first attempt at M2O for all three athletes. Hunter, 36, from Imperial Beach, California arrives as a three-time champion at the Catalina Classic.

Stand Up Paddleboard Race
SUP phenom Mo Freitas, 26, from Hawai’i returns to M2O in the unlimited category after a podium finish in the 2019 stock race. Yusuke Hyogo from Japan and Italy’s Tommaso Pampinella will challenge for top honors. Kosuke had a dominating win at the recent Moloka‘i Holokai, which crosses the Pailolo Channel between the islands of Moloka‘i and Maui. 

Seasoned M2O athlete and hailing from Hawai‘i Kiyomi Sheppard, 50, will take her board for a joy ride as she will paddle unchallenged in the stock SUP race.  

SUP Foil
Maui’s Kai Lenny, 30, leads the men’s field in the foil discipline after dominating the 2018 and 2019 editions of M2O. Australian James Casey, 30, the reigning M2O SUP champion, will cross over to foil, competing against the 2019 foil runner up Jeffrey Spencer, 22, from Hawai‘i.

Adding to the foil race are the top three finishers from the recent Moloka‘i Holokai. Kane De Wilde, 22, bested Andrew Gibbons, 24, by just 37 seconds in the 27-mile race. Edoardo Tanas, 22, from Italy finished third, just seconds behind Gibbons.

In the women’s foil race, Annie Reickert, 22, returns to defend her title from 2019, Reickert will be up against M2O SUP champion Andrea Moller who knows the channel well. Included in this mix is Olivia Pana, 32, from France and youngster Gabriella Bella, 19, from Hawai‘i who each finished second and third respectively in this year’s Moloka‘i Holokai. Bella is also coming off a commanding win this past weekend at the Gorge Downwind Champs in Oregon.

Wing Foil
The Wing Foil race is a new discipline to M2O this year with eighteen Foilers, a larger field than the entire Foil field in 2019.  Zane Schweitzer, 32, returns to the channel in a new category after years of racing experience in the Ka‘iwi channel on SUP.  The winged race features teenagers Finn Spencer, 19, and Bobo Gallagher, 14.  

The women’s Wing Foil division will be led by 46-year-old Nani Dalene. Dalane is coming off a solid performance at the Moloka‘i Holokai and a win at the M2O Bluewater Classic last summer.  

Race Day Schedule – Sunday July 30, 2023

Start: Kepuhi Beach Area, Moloka‘i
7:30 a.m.           Solo and Team Paddleboard (Prone) Start
8:00 a.m.           Solo and Team SUP Start
9:30 a.m.           Solo and Team Foil and Wing Start
* All start times are subject to change

Finish: Maunalua Bay Beach Park, Oahu
10:00 a.m.           Event Expo Opens
11:30 a.m.           Top finishers expected at finish.

About the Moloka‘i-2-O‘ahu Paddleboard World Championships
Founded in 1997, M2O has grown from a grassroots challenge for the legendary lifeguards of O‘ahu to the premiere event in the sport of paddleboarding. The race annually crowns world champions in the two disciplines of traditional (prone) and stand-up (SUP) paddleboarding. In 2018, a hydrofoil division was added to welcome the evolution of technology in the SUP. Connecting the islands of Moloka‘i and O‘ahu, the 32-mile race crosses the Ka‘iwi Channel, also known as the Moloka‘i Channel and Channel of Bones. Men and women from more than 20 countries will face strong currents as they navigate the fastest downwind route over one of the most beautiful and powerful channels in the world. Athletes rid mid-channel waves that can crest more than 12 feet and carry paddlers hundreds of meters. M2O starts in Kepuhi Bay on the northwest shore of Moloka‘i and finishes in Maunalua Bay on the southeast shore of O‘ahu. The annual race is a deeply personal experience, challenging every paddler’s physical and mental endurance. Every finisher experiences an individual championship.
 
M2O is proudly presented by the Hawai’i Tourism Authority with additional support from Spartan, Duke’s Waikiki, Kona Brewing Company, Futures Fins, Pauwela Beverage Company, dryrobe®, Talis Crew, Surftech, Bark Paddleboards, Ocean Paddler, DotVison, and Fin Film Company.

Sadly on the weekend we got news that the M2O has once again been cancelled and will only be held virtual. This is now the 3rd year without one of the most important paddle races in the sport. We are now again looking forward to virtually racing on the weekend of the 24th and there might be some sort of a downwind race on O’ahu as the main reason for the cancellation at this time was the concern about Molokai and it vulnerability with the pandemic and large crowds in general. Here is the official statement:

Aloha M2O Athletes,

We appreciate the recent emails inquiring about the status of this year’s Moloka’i 2 O’ahu Paddleboard World Championships and for your incredible support of the race. 

We can’t wait to get back into the channel and crown new M2O World Champions.   We had hoped that the July race date would be unaffected by COVID allowing all of us to return to the Moloka’i and get back to the challenging conditions and allure of the channel after being sidelined since 2020.  Sadly, we are announcing the cancellation of the 2022  Moloka’i 2 O’ahu Paddleboard World Championships.

Initially, we were excited to see several restrictions lifted earlier this year for Hawaii and our international athletes while exploring necessary precautions and safety measures to mitigate the risk and navigate our return to the channel.  However, the island of Moloka’i is still vulnerable to Covid with limited medical resources and flights to Oahu currently only meeting immediate community needs. The Molokai community has opened it’s door to welcome a safe return in 2023 for the 24th annual 32 mile Moloka’i 2 O’ahu World Championships.

We never thought we would not be gathering together on the shores of Moloka’i for 2022, but respect the limitations that protect the island we love. 

The M2O team has shifted gears and currently exploring a long downwind race on the July 24th “Save the Date” weekend on Oahu.   We will share more info within the next few weeks.

Virtual Option
The M2O 3.0 Virtual Edition will happen again this year and will be centered around the weekend of July 24. Registration for the 16 mile Virtual will launch at same time as the Downwind Championships on Oahu. 

Refunds/TransfersA big mahalo to those athletes who have reached out regarding their 2022 entries that have been carried over from our first cancellation.  An email will be sent to athletes who transferred their 2021 entry to 2022 with options for a partial refund or 2023 transfer.
 We wish all of you strength and sound mind as we all continue to navigate these new waters.  We hope you will consider joining us in Hawaii for a challenging downwind run at the end of July or for the Virtual 3.0 Edition. 

Until then we urge you to stay connected to your paddling community and continue to get out on the water!    Mahalo,Team M2O

Memories from a different world back in 2019:

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