Clean Sweep by Team Vertra Sunscreen

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Contact:

Keoni Watson

Eric Abbott

(808) 551-9890

Vertra’s Paddlesports Marketing

www.vertra.com

Clean Sweep by Team Vertra Sunscreen

Honolulu, Hi (April 23, 2010) For the 2nd straight year, Team Vertra Suncare pulled out a clean sweep in last weekends Steinlager Molokai to Oahu outrigger canoe world championships. In classic channel conditions packing 10-20 knot winds fueling 10 foot seas, Vertra athletes Danny Ching from California and Lauren Bartlett from Maui, captured their respective world titles. Defending and 4-time event winner Kai Bartlett, also had a great day in the channel, surfing his way to a 4^th overall placing. To win this event, it takes months of physical training, dedication, and most importantly experience. This 32-mile open ocean channel between Molokai and Oahu, is one of the most dangerous stretches of waterways in the world and with conditions such as last weeks, It is very easy to loose perception and get blown off course. The course a paddler chooses is crucial to success in this race, so consequently local knowledge has always played a big role in success here.

Danny Ching made outrigger canoe history, becoming the first non-Hawaii born paddler to win the prestigious Molokai to Oahu world championships in one-man outrigger canoes. “It’s a great feeling of accomplishment,” Ching added. Ching is the success story, which embodies hard work and paying you dues. Ching who placed 2^nd in 2009 and 3^rd in 2008 has been working his way up the leader board year after year. This year he broke though and captured his first world title. The battle across the channel was not easily won however. From the moment he took an early lead, Ching knew he had three of Hawaii's best bearing down on him. “I just put my head down, and paddled like I know how to,” Ching commented. Even with the best training, successfully navigating Sunday's wild channel conditions proved to be a separate battle in itself, making this a truly impressive victory.

Lauren Bartlett who is no stranger to the Kaiwi channel, had the paddling race of her life. She won in a decisive fashion finishing the race in just over 4 hours and 13 minutes, completely smashing her old world record she set two years ago by more than seven minutes, and which was a full 10 minutes ahead of the next female competitor. The strong winds made for a fun crossing, but as Bartlett noted, “even with wind, it is still tough out there.” This was Bartlett’s 4th World Championship in a row and brings her total now to an astounding seven just in OC1 competition. "There really never was a question of if she would win, Dolan says, the question was how many of the male competitors she would take out this year" She was paddling her new Kai Wa’a Pegasus one-man canoe Sunday, but will go for her 2^nd title on a surfski later next month in the Epic World Surfski Championships.

Kai was a last minute entree, only deciding 4 days before the event to race. Bartlett admitted an injured shoulder has kept him from keeping his normal training and racing schedule this year, but with great conditions forecasted for the weekend, he realized sitting out was not an option. "You only get so many opportunities to cross that channel" he said, "I am stoked just to have the chance to do it, but I surprised myself with 4th! Man, that was a lot of fun out there!"

Although the one-man world championships have taken place, the next few weekends hold major paddling events in the Hawaiian Islands. Vertra’s athletes will be represented in the Maui to Molokai Channel race on April 25^th, the Kauai Challenge Relay on May 1, the Molokai to Oahu OC1 Relay on May 8^th, and the EPIC Surfski Molokai to Oahu world challenge on May 22^nd.

For any additional information regarding Vertra Sunscreen, dealer locations or the Vertra Paddlesports team, Contact: Eric Abbot at: wailupeabbott@gmail.com. Or visit us on facebook at www.facebook.com/vertrapaddlesports

Vertra Sunscreen embodies the characteristics of being a quality, innovative and stylish product. Our superior line of sun resistant products carries the full endorsement of the Hawaii Lifeguard Association in addition to all our products bare the Skin Caner Foundation Official Seal of Recommendation. We have developed, formulated, and manufactured a product with superior ingredients in a designer quality fashion…we would not settle for anything less!