Charlie Verco in front in Moloka’i to O’ahu Paddleboard World Championships
Updated ,first published
Charlie Verco, the 25-year-old Australian paddleboard champion who saved Leah Stewart after a shark attack in Coogee in June, broke the world record in a 52-kilometre race in shark-infested waters off Honolulu.
This is his fourth consecutive win at the paddleboarding championship. “Amazing, incredible, incredible. He broke the world record,” his father, Jamie Verco, said of the result a minute after Verco crossed the finish line.
Despite the massive swell caused by the hurricane, Verco broke her own world record by finishing the Moloka’i to O’ahu Paddleboard World Championships in four hours and 17 minutes, knocking three minutes off her own record.
Speaking at the finish line, Verco said he was very excited. “This is the best I’ve ever felt finishing a race,” he said.
Early in the race, Verco spotted a seven-foot hammerhead shark cruising the surface.
“Little hammerheads are so cute,” he said.
Later conditions improved and he was able to gain speed in the surf.
With just an hour left in what Verco calls the world’s toughest crossing, Verco spoke to father Jamie and brother George in a nearby boat, and they made the call to go forward.
Before setting out, Verco told his father to be careful of sharks that might follow him in the 52-kilometer “Bone Canal” as it is known. During the race, his brother George jumped into the water to swim to feed Charlie.
On Friday, Verco said the route from Moloka’i Island to O’ahu, via the Ka’iwi Channel, is in some of the world’s most dangerous and deepest waters that are rich with marine life, including sharks, giant turtles and flying fish.
“This is the toughest transition in the world,” said Verco, who grew up in Bondi. “There is a big history behind it. People lost their lives because the water became dangerous.”
Julie Power is senior reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect with: X or email.
