Karel Tresnak Jr. of Kailua has been called a world champion of solo canoe paddling and he proved it again last weekend.

Tresnak won the one-person canoe division of the North Sea Outrigger Canoe and Surfski Championships at Knokke, Belgium.

The race featured more than 50 of Europe's best paddlers.

"They call it the biggest race in Europe," Tresnak said. "There were guys from England, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, all over the place. I was kind of surprised at how much the sport is growing there."

Tresnak — a seven-time winner of the Moloka'i-to-O'ahu solo championship race — was actually invited to the event by race officials so he could conduct a pre-race clinic. Tresnak said he shared tips on wave-riding and stroke techniques.

"There were maybe 75 to 100 people, so there was a lot of interest," he said.

Then Tresnak went out and proved his worth by dominating the race. He finished the 20-kilometer course in just under two hours, and was 10 minutes ahead of the runner-up.

Most of the European paddlers train on kayaks or surfskis, so one-person canoes — or OC-1s — are relatively new.

"A lot of them are still learning the sport, but they all have paddling backgrounds," Tresnak said. "Some of them are former Olympians, so it's probably a matter of time before they get the hang of it."

Tresnak said the course featured a combination of strong winds and currents.

"The conditions were crazy," he said. "It was like 40-knot winds blowing straight down the coast. And the current is super strong. It was brutal going upwind, but coming back down was fun."

In any case, Tresnak said the race provided a positive outlook for the sport of one-person canoe paddling. He said several of the European paddlers inquired about ordering canoes from Hawai'i-based shapers.

"A lot of things there are different from here," Tresnak said. "But the fact that so many people there are interested in it is good for the sport and good for Hawai'i."

PADDLEBOARD RACE SET FOR TOMORROW

The Hennessey's International Paddleboard Championships is scheduled to run tomorrow on O'ahu's North Shore.

The 7-mile course will start at Turtle Bay around 11 a.m., and finish at Waimea Bay.

Australia's Jamie Mitchell is the defending champion.

More than 200 competitors are expected to participate, including more than 100 in the stand-up paddle division.