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When Ironman Charlie Verco raced to the rescue of Coogee shark victim 35-year-old Leah Stewart, bringing her to shore through bloody waters, he had been training for a world paddleboarding championship in Hawaii that traverses a 52-kilometre “channel of bones”.
On Monday (AEST), Verco will defend his three-time world championship paddleboard title again. If successful, he will join the elite of the sport who have won the Moloka’i to O’ahu Paddleboard World Championships four times since it began 27 years ago.
Speaking from Hawaii on Friday, Verco, 25, said the course from Moloka’i Island to O’ahu Island through the Ka’iwi channel was in some of the world’s most dangerous and deepest waters, which are rich in marine life including sharks, giant turtles and flying fish.
“It is the most formidable crossing in the world,” said Verco, who grew up in Bondi. “It has got a big history behind it. People have lost their lives because of how dangerous the water can get.”
Only the other day, Verco was sitting on his board with his legs dangling when he realised another paddleboarder had left the water after seeing a tiger shark nearby eating a seal.
Verco, a full-time Ironman who graduated from Sydney University with degrees in advanced maths and computer science, said he had always been cautious about sharks when doing paddles in the open ocean. Over the years, he had slowly learnt to be comfortable on the water alone.
Not so much now, though. “Since that day with Leah, I’ve not really done any paddles on my own.” He was more afraid in Australia because of the number of shark sightings. “There is an active risk at the moment.”
Verco rescued Stewart on June 13; after being pulled from the water, she was treated on the beach and flown to hospital. He has since spoken to Stewart, a school teacher, by phone, and exchanged messages, and hoped to meet her in person. Right now, Verco said, he understood she needed time with her family to recover.
On Monday, Verco, wearing the No.1 bib, will compete against 133 paddlers from around the world. They range in age and categories, from Australia’s Sutherland siblings Austin, 13, and Lucy, 16, to 69-year-old American Brad Feldman.
During the race, Verco will switch from kneeling to paddling lying face-down, depending on conditions.
Because of the risks, every paddler will be accompanied by a support boat. Verco’s brother George will be diving in and out of the water to bring food. His father, Jamie, who was in the water with him at Coogee in June, will be on a boat with a captain, Keoke, to navigate.
Even with that many people in the water, Verco said the size of the swell and crossing meant one moment a paddleboarder could be surrounded by other competitors and the next moment be alone.
If all failed, they use the clouds over O’ahu as their guide.
Verco’s fastest crossing was four hours and 26 minutes. But in last year’s bad conditions, he came in just under five hours.
On Friday, the swell was larger than usual, and a hurricane was sitting offshore. “It’s churned up a lot of swell, so it’s made the ocean extra bumpy at the moment,” he said.
Last week, Verco won the historic Cline Mann paddleboarding race, breaking the record set years ago by five minutes.
That has made him feel confident. Verco’s academic success was mostly an asset, he said, though sometimes it led him to overanalyse.
But it did give the mindset to focus on minute details for extensive periods of time.
“You are not doing a flat-out paddle where you’re just going as hard as you can … You’re constantly analysing the water, and every single second making decisions about where to point the nose of your board, where to have your weight on the board,” he said.
It was important not to go into autopilot mode. “You might miss a quick decision that could have gotten you a couple of extra seconds ahead.”
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Julie Power is a senior reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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