Friday, July 31, 1998
Power Steering
Led by steersman
By Cindy Luis
Iwa Bush, the unbeaten
Lokahi senior women
look to win 'states'Star-Bulletin
An outrigger canoe steersman's job is more than just steering. It's a little bit of coaching, a little bit of psychology and a little bit of cheerleading.
There's also a lot of on-the-water thinking. How to correct a paddler's stroke. How to up a stroke count or get the crew to stretch it out.
From her seat in the back of the canoe, Iwa Bush is looking at the whole picture. But always framed in her vision is the final flag and that imaginary finish line.
Bush and her Lokahi Canoe Club senior women's crew have broken that phantom tape first all regatta season long in Hui Wa' a competition. Tomorrow, they put their 8-0 record on the starting line at Keehi Lagoon in the 46th annual Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association's state championship.
"Actually, we have no expectations," said Bush, who expects to steer in the freshman and senior races. "Our hopes are that we'll be competitive. We'll just get in there and do it.
"We've worked all season for this. Every regatta race, that's what I yell: 'Paddle like you're in states.'
"The motivation is knowing that the competition is out there. We haven't gone against some of the big guns this year: Outrigger, Healani, the crew from Kona (Kaiola). But we're not going in blind. We want to race against them and see how we do."
Fifty clubs from the state's six paddling associations will compete in 31 events tomorrow. Seven are vying for the AAA "Big Club" title: three-time defending champion Outrigger, pre-race favorite Lanikai, Kailua, Hui Nalu, Hawaiian, Malama Ula and Lokahi. Fifteen clubs are entered in the AA Division (8-14 crews) and 28 in the A Division (1-7 crews).
Lanikai, looking for its first overall title since 1966, and Windward Oahu rival Kailua have the most crews entered with 26. Hawaiian, from Maui, has 25.
By Cindy Ellen Russell, Star-Bulletin
Crew steersman Iwa Bush is one of the reasons
the crew is undefeated.
No club from Hui Wa' a has ever won the state title. Lokahi head coach Mike Cushnie doesn't expect that to change this year."We're rebuilding," said Cushnie, who has 18 crews entered. "We did well in our association, but we've got a lot of novice paddlers racing. We have a few very competitive crews, but this is not one of our strong overall groups.
"We could have dropped (to the AA Division) by dropping a couple of our crews, but who ever remembers who won the Double-A title? It's a reward for our paddlers to compete in the state race."
The Lokahi senior women placed third last year on Hilo Bay.
"It's an honor to be there," said Ginger Lockette, who sits five in the Lokahi senior women's crew. "I don't think we have huge expectations. The senior race is where all the big players are and it will be a very interesting race.
"A top-four finish would be good. I'd be ecstatic with anything higher."
There are 12 canoes entered in the 112-mile senior women's race. Lokahi will be in Lane 2, which traditionally runs well. Outrigger, which won the gold at the Oahu Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association championship, is in Lane 12.
"I think the perception is our association is less competitive (than OHCRA)," said Mikala Hetland, the senior stroke. "We want to prove that idea wrong."
"The pressure on us is to be competitive," added Jennifer Thompson-Tuzon, who sits No. 2. "There is a certain amount of expectations on us after being undefeated this year"
If they have an edge, it could be in Bush, a veteran of seven women's Molokai-to-Oahu races.
"Iwa is a legend," Lockette said. "The best thing about her is her analytical abilities, the way she can convey them. She looks at what the crew is doing as a whole. She can tell what needs to be improved and, in the middle of the race, she can make the changes. Plus she's a very strong paddler, too."
"Iwa's a very good steersman," said Cushnie, Bush's longtime boyfriend. "She's small, she's strong, she's good. She's one of our master paddlers."
The trick is to get the crew to blend. Lokahi's senior women are a mixed plate of experience and occupations. There's an insurance agent (Di Flores), an ecologist (Susan Colburn), a physical therapist (Lockette), even a photo stylist (Bush).
"Everyone in the crew has a job," Bush said. "No one job is harder than the other. It takes six to cross the line and everyone works hard.
"One person doesn't stand out more than the others . . . except when the steersman hits the flag. Then everyone notices that."
And everyone will notice if a certain steersman crosses the line first. Again.
HCRA state championship
When: 8 a.m. tomorrow
