Adverse weather conditions forced postponement of the Dad Center Women's Long Distance Race, leaving some 350 disappointed paddlers with two choices yesterday morning: participate in a "fun" relay race across Kailua Bay or wait until Saturday's rescheduled event. Rough weather
stalls paddlersThe 22-mile race begins off Kailua Beach and finishes off host Outrigger Canoe Club. High winds and choppy waves were among the reasons cited by officials, who said several escort boats were unable to reach Kailua from Honolulu because of rough conditions.
"It is not worth risking life and equipment," said OCC distance coach Tom Teague. "One of the canoes in the men's race (Saturday) broke its outrigger. And conditions were worse today than Saturday."
Most clubs chose to participate in the relay race across Kailua Bay, a six-mile out-and-back course with crew changes off Kailua Beach.
PADDLERS GOLDEN: At Suva, Fiji, Hawaii outrigger canoe paddlers earned 38 medals, including 18 gold, to finished first at the 8th World Sprints Championships.
Tahiti was second with 10 golds followed by New Zealand with 6, Wallis & Futuna and New Caledonia with two each and host Fiji with one. Also competing were crews from France, American and Western Samoa, Canada, Australia, the Cook Islands, Italy, Palau, California and Washington state.
Hawaii's Patricia Earnes won both of her 500-meter races, the senior (35-over) and senior masters (45-over) events.
In one of the closest finals of the week-long competition, Hawaii II edged out Hawaii I in the women's open 500 meter race by 14/100ths of a second. The six-women crews were made up of paddlers from various Hawaii clubs competing.
SEASIDERS ROLL: Jeremy Yorgason, Sam Akinaka and Scott Langeland scored two goals each to lead Brigham Young-Hawaii to a 9-0 win over Navy-Hawaii in a men's exhibition soccer match Saturday in Laie.
The Seasiders, under first-year coach Bob Barry, open their regular season Saturday against visiting Western Baptist of Oregon.