Baxter to bid for history in Molokai-to-Oahu race

Connor Baxter of Kula has some serious goals, and the ability to accomplish them.

Actively involved in windsurfing, surfing --- including tow-in events --- and paddleboarding since a very young age, the 14-year-old King Kekaulike sophomore-to-be has already checked off hefty accomplishments on his ''to-do'' list.

Baxter has three windsurfing world championships under his belt, and in April added an age-division title in the 23-mile Maui-to-Molokai Challenge paddleboard race.

On Sunday, Baxter will compete in the stand-up division of the Rainbow Sandals Molokai-to-Oahu Paddleboard Race, a 32-mile event that takes competitors across the Kaiwi Channel and is considered to be the sport's world championship.

According to race director Mike Takahashi, if Baxter completes the event, he will be become the youngest to do so as a solo competitor in paddleboarding, and likely would be the youngest using any type of watercraft.

''I'm dedicating this race to my grandfather Norm Baxter who passed away about two years ago and my grandma Love Dean, who also passed away,'' Connor Baxter said. ''My grandpa was a great sportsman and would be really proud of me. I know if he was here, he'd give me a big hug for just trying.''

Baxter said taking part as a solo competitor instead of in a two-person team has long been a goal.

''Ever since I was real young I would hear about people doing it solo, and I've been inspired to do it,'' he said. ''My first goal is just to make it. It's one of the toughest races that you can do. And secondly, I'm shooting for a time around the seven-hour mark.''

Last year, Jamie Mitchell won the solo division for a seventh straight time, in 4 hours, 57 minutes, 14 seconds.

''You paddle continuously and get a pace going until you reach a swell and then ride it for as long as you can and use it to catch your breath, stay hydrated,'' Baxter said. ''Of course, (swells) don't last forever, I wish they did. But when they stop, you start paddling again. The goal is to catch as many swells as you can.''

Two 15-year-old Mauians --- Zane Schweitzer and Kody Kerbox --- are entered in Sunday's race from Kaluakoi to Hawaii Kai as a stand-up team.

''This will be my first year doing the event, though I've been in my dad's (paddleboarder Buzzy Kerbox) escort boat many times,'' Kody Kerbox said. ''I think our goal is to hit the six-hour mark. Been training hard, doing a lot of coast runs, surfing and staying active. We'll run, get super tired and then get on the board and paddle so that we're paddling exhausted. The training for the event should be the hardest part.''

Even though Takahashi said thinking about the safety of the youths participating in the race is ''nerve-racking,'' he is encouraged by the enthusiasm for the sport.

''It's great. There's a whole bunch of youngsters on Oahu, too, that are coming out,'' Takahashi said. ''It's nice to see young blood out there and not just old dinosaurs, so to speak. A lot of new faces. We also have a lot of 20-somethings coming out so that bodes well for the future.''

For the past month, Baxter has been working on his conditioning by paddling the 9.5 miles from Maliko Gulch to Kahului Harbor daily.

''It's not just physical training,'' he said. ''There's a lot of mental preparation that needs to happen. Getting your mind strong, telling yourself that you'll never get up. It's a long time to be out there.''

Each paddler will be accompanied by an escort boat carrying food and water, first-aid supplies and shark repellant. Baxter's parents, Karen and Keith, both accomplished windsurfers, will be on board.

''Completing this race is going to allow me to cross one more goal off my list,'' Connor Baxter said. ''It's going to be a great experience, and I think that after I do it, it's going to allow me to do a lot of other paddling events, even longer distances, around the world.''

After the Hawaii Paddleboard Championships, also known as ''Duke's Race,'' a 10-mile event from Oahu's Maunalua Bay to Waikiki on Aug. 29, Baxter will head to Holland to participate in the Stand Up Paddle 11-City Tour, a 136.4-mile event that runs Sept. 1-5.

Schweitzer will also take part in the 11-City Tour.

Last year, Maui resident Anne-Marie Reichman completed the excursion throughout the canals of Holland. This year she has invited 25 athletes to go on the journey with her.

''Connor is a very driven, very talented athlete,'' Reichman said. ''He's always pushing himself. I was hesitant at first, because he is so young, to have him come on this mission, which is very tough physically and mentally, but he told me, 'Anne-Marie, I'll prove I can do it.' And he has. First he did the Maui-to-Molokai crossing and now he's going to do the Molokai-to-Oahu solo. He's a great role model, someone who is so young and driven.''

Starr Begley is at sbegley@mauinews.com