ESPN Surfing

Courtesy Quiksilver

A lot's been made of Kelly Slater and his nine world titles, and with good reason, but when it comes to utterly dominating their chosen sport, Aussie Jamie Mitchell has to rank right up there. In 1999, after being strong-armed by a friend, Jamie found his way from the quiet surf town of Coffs Harbor to the hallowed shores of Hawaii for his first 32-mile Molokai to Oahu Paddleboard Race. Competing with his friend, the two won the team division. They returned the following year, and again took top honors in the team division. In 2001 Jamie competed in his first solo attempt, and as to be expected, won that. In fact, he's taken the top step on the podium ever since. After a 10-year stranglehold on the Molokai race, without question or argument, it's more than safe to say that nobody has ever been so dominant on a paddleboard. But not only can Jamie paddle, he can flat out surf...and the bigger the waves the better. We caught up with him earlier this month while he was on the Gold Coast, hoping and praying that the Quiksilver Ku Ikaika Challenge in Makaha would come to fruition, or the Maverick's Contest would get the green light. So far neither one has run, which leads me to believe that Jamie's been forced to occupy his time in some other grueling, torturous fashion, but we'll let him tell you about it:

Is the rush of winning a paddleboard race comparable to catching a bomb at Maverick's or Jaws or Todos?
Yeah, it's comparable. Obviously the initial rush of paddling into a 20-footer gets you going more than anything in the world, or at least for me. That initial ten seconds, paddling in, getting air down the face, sticking it, and running out of it, there's nothing that can compare to that. But then with the paddleboard, it's an overwhelming sense of accomplishment when you get to shore. You've had to put four or five months of blood, sweat and tears into training, and actually finishing across the line you get a real sense of accomplishment, a really good buzz out of that. And that I think that lasts a lot longer. They're different highs, obviously, but they both have their merits. Paddling into big waves is more of a short, sharp rush, whereas winning on a paddleboard is longer and more sustained. Molokai takes five hours, so yeah, you've got a long time to think about it and go through a variety of experiences.

When you're halfway through the Molokai Channel, what's going through your head?
Lately now with the iPods I'm just cranking out music. But in the previous years, there's a lot of apprehension going through your head. You're wondering if you took the right line, if you're on the right course. And then if it's a close race you're sort of focused on the people around you and what they're doing. Every race is different. Like this year I probably had the best race I've ever had. I don't want to say it was easy, but I never really went through a mental stage where I felt like I was in trouble or really hurting. I felt quite good the whole way, so I was just focused on my music, catching bumps to carry me along, and getting across as quick as I could. But in previous years where I hit the wall or bonked, everything goes through your mind. From wanting to jump in the boat and quit to how much further to go, your mind really can play games on you. I've heard people say they think of back when they were kids and all sorts of things just pop into your head. It all changes though. It varies from year to year, but the last few years have been pretty focused on what I'm doing in the moment. And with the iPod you can just sort of zone out and take your mind off a lot of the things that are going on.

Courtesy Quiksilver

Mid Molokai Channel, 16 miles down, 16 to go.

How and when did you get into the whole waterman thing?
As a kid my parents took me to "nippers," which is like the junior lifeguard program. I had really bad asthma when I was little and the doctors told them I needed to do some swimming, that that would help. I was in and out of the hospital a lot as a kid. I started to swim, and that helped, then it just kind of progressed from there. I started to surf when I was maybe seven or eight. Then I really got into the lifeguard/clubbie thing in my teens and into my early 20s. Obviously I still surfed, but was kind of doing that whenever, it was the paddling that I was spending a lot of time on. Then, yeah, hmmm, I guess it was back in '99, I went to Hawaii for the long-distance Molokai race. From the first time I went I sort of got hooked on Hawaii and the whole culture and all the stuff they were doing over there. It just progressed from there. Every year I was spending more and more time there, then about four years ago I just decided I might as well spend the whole winter there. I spent three months on Oahu, surfed some bigger waves and have been doing it ever since. You try and progress every year, surf different spots, different waves, bigger waves, and you just kind of keep evolving over there.

You've definitely been making more and more of a name for yourself with you surfing, does it get in the way of your paddling?
Not really. Obviously the big-wave thing's always a challenge, but the paddling definitely helps. I've been able to draw on some things I've learned paddling and apply it to the big-wave thing, which has helped in certain situations. But even when I'm paddling and training a lot, I still surf. I've always surfed. I've never been afraid of big waves or anything like that, it's always come natural. The difference for us in Australia, or at least where I grew up, a big wave is like 10 feet and it never really gets any bigger than that. I grew up in Coffs Harbor, which is about halfway between the Gold Coast and Sydney. And we get good waves there, but nothing enormous. For some reason I remember always being into big waves. I got this Eddie Aikau videotape when I was a kid and just remember watching it over and over, seeing Waimea and thinking, "that'd be cool." The first thing was just getting to Hawaii, then I got there in '99 for the paddleboard race. Then I saw there might be an opportunity there for someone if they really wanted it. I tried to make it happen. I put all my energy into that dream and that's what's happening now. I met a lot of good people, made a lot of really great friends, got a lot of encouragement and support along the way, and it's just sort of happened, you know.

Well, it's workin'.
Yeah, it's sort of working. It's a lot of hard work, and it's pretty expensive and all that sort of stuff, but when you pull it off it's pretty awesome.

What kinds of things are you getting involved with on the surfing side?
Right now I'm just sort of on stand-by for a lot of things, actually. Me and my tow partner have a couple tow events that we're waiting for, I'm an alternate at the Maverick's paddle-in event, and also the big-wave stand-up event that's on at Makaha, so yeah all those things are on stand-by and I guess we're just waiting for Mother Nature to play her part. Other than that, just trying to keep fit, healthy, and keep the dream alive.

Tony Harrington

Jamie, having a go at Maverick's during the massive December '07 swell.

You're at home in Australia right now, right? What have you been getting up to? Yeah, I'm on the Gold Coast right now. It's summertime, about half a foot, and onshore—perfect training for some 30-footers. Besides it being flat right now, I've just been trying to surf more than anything. I don't really paddle my paddleboard after Molokai's done. I jump off my paddleboard, and don't usually get back on it until March. I've been on the stand-up a lot, trying to get that down, and it's a pretty good workout. I haven't been doing a whole lot, but I'll be jumping in the pool coming up, do some swimming, get back into it. For now though, I'm just trying to stay healthy.

Lets talk equipment, from stand-up boards to paddleboards to your normal surfboard, how much time and energy do you dedicate to making sure everything's dialed in?
It's funny, I'm actually not much of a gadget guy. I don't really look too much into or make too much of an effort to get really involved in my equipment. To break down rails and foils in millimeters or something like that, I'd rather jump on the board and see how it feels. If it feels good it works. I've just never been one of those guys. Of course, when my partner and I are towing we pay a lot of attention to making sure our ropes, and foot-straps and ski is dialed in. That's for sure. But when it comes to my paddleboards it's kind of like, "Gimme a board that works and I'll paddle it." I'm not like one of those guys who'll get 20 different boards and pick the fastest one. That can almost have an adverse affect, where you may not know what board to paddle in a race. For me, once I get a board I'll paddle it, and if I like it that's the one I'll use. I've had the same board for the last two years, but I'll be getting a new one this year.

Before we go, got any good stories to share?
Lets see, last year on the Gold Coast I was paddling from Snapper to Seaway, which is about a 25-mile paddle, and it started to rain and storm pretty bad, so bad that I kind of lost my way and didn't know where I was going. I overshot where I was supposed to come in by about six miles, and ended up on South Straddie Island. I was pretty much lost. Nobody knew where I was, my parents got called, they all figured I'd drowned or been eaten by a shark. I was missing for about three hours. A helicopter eventually found me walking down the beach with my paddleboard. I was alright, I knew I was alright, but I was worried about what everybody else was thinking. It was definitely one of the scariest experiences for everyone. And surfing, again, last year, my partner and I went to California for that big December swell. At Maverick's we had to jam through the rocks one time to get away from the whitewater, which got the heart going. And then to see my mate cop a 30-footer on the head at Todos, that was definitely heavy. It's one of the scariest things I've seen. But then once you're back on the boat, dry and warm, it makes you appreciate everything a lot more, that's for sure.

Courtesy Quiksilver

Winner's head gear.

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