A gamble in training paid off with a win for Scott Gamble.

Only a few hours after completing a tough canoe-paddling practice with his teammates at the Outrigger Canoe Club, Gamble had the fastest time in the Hawai'i Paddleboard Championships yesterday.

Gamble won the popular stand-up paddle (SUP) division with a time of 1 hour, 15 minutes, 26 seconds. The nine-mile course started at Maunalua Bay and finished at Kuhio Beach, Waikiki.

"Had to wake up early for (canoe) practice this morning, and once that was over, I came out and did this," said Gamble, 33. "I got lucky. The tide was still coming up, so there were a lot of (wave) bumps to ride."

More than 150 competitors participated in the race, majority of them in the SUP division.

Matthew DuBrule was the first finisher in the traditional paddleboard division with a time of 1:22:27.

In the traditional paddleboard division, competitors either lie prone or kneel on the board and use only their arms to paddle. In the SUP division, competitors stand on the board and use a canoe-style paddle.

Gamble and his Outrigger teammates are in the midst of training for the Moloka'i Hoe in October, so he said he rarely gets to practice on his SUP board.

"But there's a lot of cross over," he said. "The stroke we have for six-man (canoes) is quick and short, similar to how the stand-up stroke is, especially in the surf."

Aaron Napoleon placed second with a time of 1:17:01, and Scott Trudon was third in 1:18:27.

Andrea Moller of Maui was the first female to finish in the SUP division with a time of 1:28:29.

Like Gamble, Moller is in training for long-distance canoe paddling. She is a member of the champion Team Bradley crew.

"We didn't have a (canoe) race this weekend, so I thought this would be a good one to enter," Moller said. "The outrigger (canoe) paddling and stand-up is like training for each other."

The field for the traditional paddleboard division was limited due to a conflicting race in California this weekend. That was a reason why DuBrule opted to enter.

"A lot of the big boys are in Catalina right now," said DuBrule, a Waikiki lifeguard. "That was kind of incentive to come out and do this race, see where I could finish. Plus, it's the Duke race, and everybody wants to be a part of that."

Yesterday's race was part of the Duke's OceanFest — a week-long series of ocean sports events staged in honor of Duke Kahanamoku.

DuBrule placed fifth overall, behind the top four SUP finishers.

"I was in the bumps all the way over here, so I wasn't even looking around to see who was near me," DuBrule said. "I'm totally surprised I won."

Kaeo'okalani Abbey placed second in the traditional paddleboard division in 1:24:53.

World champion Kanesa Duncan was the first female to finish on a traditional paddleboard with a time of 1:31:11.

"This is one of the best races of the year," she said. "It's always a good turnout, so there's lots of competition around you. And the conditions were good the whole way today. It was a perfect race to kind of maintain your conditioning and competitiveness."