Andrea Moller is a Brazilian-American competitive canoeist and surfer. She competes in every

outrigger An outrigger is a projecting structure on a boat, with specific meaning depending on types of vessel. Outriggers may also refer to legs on a wheeled vehicle that are folded out when it needs stabilization, for example on a crane that lifts ...

race large event, from one-man (OC1) to six-man (OC6) canoes as well as SUP long-distance races all year round. She is a professional

Paramedic A paramedic is a registered healthcare professional who works autonomously across a range of health and care settings and may specialise in clinical practice, as well as in education, leadership, and research. Not all ambulance personnel are p ...

and mother, on Maui where she lives. Moller was elected the "most important" Brazilian water woman by ''Go Outside'', a Brazilian sports magazine based in São Paulo, Brazil. It recognizes her performance during 2010 as a top female

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

Life and career

Andrea Moller was born in Brazil and was raised on the small island of Ilhabela,

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

. Growing up in her family's

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...

, she was exposed to ocean sports from the time she could walk and always had her family's full support to be the best competitive athlete that she could be. While in Brazil, she was a top medalist in swimming, biking and windsurfing. In 1998, she followed her dream and moved to Maui where she became a paramedic and professional water athlete. She dedicated her life to many water sports, focusing her biggest passion on surfing big waves, paddling outrigger canoes and SUP. She began paddling in 1999 to keep herself physically trained, took the sport seriously, and became internationally recognized as a proficient waterwoman.

Competitive sports

Outrigger canoe

As an OC paddler, she has won many titles, records and awards, including world recognized competitions of channel crossings like Maui to Molokai (Pailolo Channel), Molokai to Oahu (Ka’iwi channel) and the Tahitian Race . For the past six years, Andrea has been a part of the world's best women's paddler

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson (academic), Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interde ...

, Team Bradley, the seven-time winner (as of 2012) of Na Wahine O Ke Kai race, the challenging 42-mile channel crossing women's OC6 - six-man canoe race.

Stand-up paddling

Her SUP career started in 2005, when she crossed the Ka’iwi Channel competing amongst the men. She was part of the first female Stand Up team, together with Maria Souza to cross the grueling 32-mile Molokai to Oahu, Ka'iwi channel. Today Andrea holds the world record in winning & crossing this channel and achieved numerous titles in long distance competitions in Hawaii such as The Battle of the Paddle and Olukai Ho’olaule'a.

Surfing

Aside from all these ocean sports, Andrea Moller is a big wave surfer at heart. Charging 40-foot plus waves at Pe'ahi, also known as "

Jaws Jaws or Jaw may refer to: Anatomy * Jaw, an opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth ** Mandible, the lower jaw Arts, entertainment, and media * Jaws (James Bond), a character in ''The Spy Who Loved Me'' and ''Moonraker'' * ...

", is at the root of Andrea's passion and is the truest expression of her power as an athlete. Today, she's dedicated to

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...

the biggest waves on Maui and throughout the world. She has been tow-in surfing

since joining with Souza in 2004 to become the world's first female tow-in team. ( Maui Magazine November–December-2006 Big Wave Wahine) They became pioneering women as big-wave jet ski operators, making rescues in high surf conditions, while also surfing left and right waves. Andrea is the first woman to paddle in at Pe'ahi. In 2016, Moller won for "Women's Best Performance" at the WSL Big Wave Awards. In 2023, women competed in the surfing competition called “

The Eddie "The Eddie" is a big wave surfing tournament held at Waimea Bay on the north shore of Oahu, Hawaii. The tournament is named for native Hawaiian, champion big wave surfer, and life-saving Waimea Bay lifeguard, Eddie Aikau. Created in 1984 at nearb ...

” for the first time; Andrea was among them, and she was the first woman to ride a wave in that competition.

Ike Moana

Founder of “Ike Moana”, Andrea started the event in 2013 aiming to make it an annual event to give special needs kids the opportunity to spend a day with pro athletes and learn stand up paddling. It is the pre-race event for the Paddle Imua race, which is a fundraiser race for Camp Imua Family Services.

Titles

During 2013:
Solo 1st Place - Paddle Imua race, 9.5 mi, SUP (5/4/2013) Solo 1st Place - Olukai Ho’olaule’a, 8 mi, SUP (5/11/2013) Solo 2nd Place - Olukai Ho’olaule’a, 8 mi, OC 1 (5/12/2013) During 2012:
1st - Na Wahine O Ke Kai, 42 mi, Oc6 Team Bradley (09/23/2012) 2nd - M2O, Ka’iwi Channel, 32 mi SOLO SUP (07/29/2012) Triple Crown Overall Female Champion SUP: 1st – Triple Crown- 3rd leg: Pailolo Channel, Maui to Molokai 26 mi, SUP (07/14/2012) 1st – Triple Crown- 2nd leg: Ma'alaea to Kihei Boat ramp, 8 mi, SUP (07/08/2012) 1st – Triple Crown- first leg: Maliko to Kahului, 9.5 mi, SUP (07/01/2012) 1st - Naish International Paddle race, 9.5 mi, SUP (07/22/2012) 1st - Olukai Ho’olaule’a race, 8 mi, SUP (05/12/2012) 3rd - Olukai Ho’olaule’a race, 8 mi, OC 1 (05/13/2012) 1st - Paddle Imua race, 9.5 mi, SUP (05/05/2012) 1st - Quicksilver Waikiki Paddle Fest, long distance 10 mi, SUP (05/06/2012) 1st - Dukes Ocean Fest, 10 mi, SUP (08/25/2012) 1st - W2 Downwind - Brazil, 18 mi, SUP (10/13/2012) - During 2011:
- Solo: First place in the first leg of Maui Jim SUP Triple Crown - July 3/2011 - Solo: First place in the Olukai One-man (OC-1) Outrigger Canoe Race - May 15/2011
- Solo: First place in the Olukai SUP Race - 00:55:41 - May 14/2011
During 2010, she won 6 titles out of six races she entered. Five solo races and one team race:
- Solo: First place in the Battle of the Paddle Race, June 13/2011
- Solo: First place in the 5th Maui Annual Paddle Board Race - 1:22:11 - July 18/2010
- Solo: First place in the Molokai to Oahu Paddle Board Race - 6h even - July 25/2010
- Solo: First place in the Olukai One-man Outrigger Canoe Race - 00:53:25.6 - May 26/2010
- Solo: First place in the Olukai SUP Race - 00:57:50.6 - May 26/2010
- Team Bradley: First place in the Na Wahine O Ke Kai, International Molokai to Oahu Six-man Outrigger canoe Race - 5:54:13 - Sep 26th/2010

Equipment

She uses Quickblade paddles, SIC Stand Up Board and Kai Waa OC-1.

Films

“ Wave Chasers “ Travel Channel documentary by Warren Miller Production- Featuring two teams of wave chasers: Garett Macnamara & Kealii Mamala Andrea Möller & Maria Souza. “ Extreme Moms “ Documentary by Rebel Media - Featuring the first female team to tow surf massive waves like Peahi. Andrea Möller and Maria Souza: two mothers following the water woman dream. “ Osso Duro “ National TV Show by Multishow– Brazil Featuring six elite Brazilian athletes making a reality type show, challenging the tidal bore wave Pororoca in Amazon, Manaus, Brazil. “ A Vida La Fora “ National TV Show by Multishow– Brazil Featuring Andrea's lifestyle on Maui.

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moller, Andrea Living people Brazilian emigrants to the United States American female surfers American surfers American female canoeists Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women