Tough. Really tough.

For the more than 70 paddlers making the trek across the Kaiwi Channel on Sunday, there was very little help when it came to wind and swells. Conditions for the 38th Maui Jim Molokai Challenge & Surfski World Championship were anything but decent, but, as defending champion Clint Robinson said after finishing second Sunday, "It was as good as you could wish for, considering what they said it was going to be."

Light winds and gentle bumps created little drama for the competitors across the 30-plus miles from Kaluakoi, Molokai, to the waters of Kuapa, Hawaii Kai. The drama came when Robinson’s surfski was impeded by an escort boat under the Kalanianaole Highway bridge, eventually leading to 2009 champ Hank McGregor pulling away for a 23-second win over Robinson and earning $2,000. The 36-year-old South African, also the defending Canoe Marathon World Champion, finished the course in 3 hours, 35 minutes, 17 seconds.

"Going into the race, we knew it was going to be super tough," McGregor said. "The pace was hard, with about six, seven guys in the running. I was able to pull away to the front and relax.

"With about 1K to go, hitting the flat water, that’s when I knew I had it."

The conditions were similar to ’09, when McGregor and Robinson battled for the lead for more than two hours before Robinson cramped up and finished 18th.

The 42-year-old Robinson was gracious in taking second (worth $1,250) Sunday, saying that his impeded progress with about 100 meters to go likely wasn’t done on purpose but "was disappointing in that it had an effect on the outcome.

"At the end of the day, it was a tough race," the Australian said. "I enjoy coming to Hawaii for this. The field is small, but it is good quality."

It also seems ageless. Venerable Oscar Chalupsky, a 12-time winner of this race, was 11th Sunday at age 51. And the South African did it without a rudder for all but the first mile.

"A schoolboy mistake, not making sure everything was proper," the founder of Epic Kayaks said. "I went for a long paddle Thursday and it was fine. But today the rudder went flat about an hour in. I tried to fix it a little, but … "

Chalupsky said he didn’t encounter any aquatic creatures — "I wish I had some to tow me," he said — but the OC-1 relay team of Anna Mathisen, Lindsey Shank and Coral Darbishier said they had a number of porpoises as escorts. It was the first time the event included relay teams for OC-1, prone paddleboard and stand-up paddleboard.

"It was a good warm-up for next week’s solo race," Mathisen said of Sunday’s PA’A Hawaii Kaiwi Channel Solo World Championship for OC-1 and OC-2.

The trio comprised the only female OC-1 relay team, finishing in 4:32:23. The top two male OC-1 relay teams shared an escort boat and finished in a virtual tie at 4:04:50.

The teams were Aaron Napoleon, Matt Dubrule and Kai Bartlett, and Kekoa Cramer, Wil Reichenstein and Felipe Gomes.

New Zealand’s Rachel Clark was the top female in surfski, at 4:33:02.

Complete results are available at pseresults.com.