Charlie Verco from North Bondi SLSC has capped an incredible 12 months of competitive surf sports and lifesaving achievements by setting a new record finishing time to claim his fourth consecutive Molokai to Oahu Paddleboard World Championship in Hawaii.
Just six weeks after the Australian Ironman helped rescue a swimmer at Coogee Beach following a shark incident, Verco crossed the infamous ‘Channel of Bones’ in a time of 4 hours 17 minutes and 53 seconds – nearly three minutes quicker than the previous record holder; fellow Ironman, Matt Bevilacqua, set back in 2019.
The win is the final chapter in a huge few weeks in North America; he also took out the Hawaiian Paddleboard Championships and the historic Cline Mann race where he broke a record that had stood for 25 years.
Several SLSNSW members also achieved incredible results – notable among them Stewart Mclachlan and Harrison Stone, both of Manly LSC, who finished in second and third place behind Verco.
Both comprehensively took out their categories, with Stone now a back-to-back 12ft Stock Champion.
Warilla Barrack Point SLSC’s Max Miller and Kobe Sims finished first in the Two-Person Mixed Male Team category, while Mollymook SLSC’s Lewis Betts and Freshwater SLSC’s Harry Hickey finished on the podium behind Verco in the Unlimited Solo Paddleboard category.
In all, 91 athletes from Australia, the US, Canada, Japan and France battled cyclone-powered swell and contradictory currents to cross 52km from Molokai Island to Oahu Island – widely regarded as one of the most challenging and treacherous bodies of water in the world.
Photos: Johnny Prehn
Monday 27 July 2026