Keeping Score
WHEN I arrived in Hawaii some 18 years ago, it was early on a Monday morning in late September. Still bleary-eyed from an island-hopping flight that included stops in Kwajalein and Majuro, I vaguely remember being driven to a friend's home on McGrew Point for coffee. Paddling has been
salvation for KaneaiakalaAfter catching up on news of mutual friends throughout the Pacific, my host left me with my suitcases and a newspaper. The first section I grabbed was sports; the first story I read was about Na Wahine O Ke Kai.
The women's outrigger canoe race from Molokai to Oahu had been completed just the day before. It was only the second time the event had been run.
"Wow," was my first impression. "What brave women. What athletes."
Nothing has changed that initial feeling in those 18 years since then. This Sunday, Na Wahine O Ke Kai -- The Women of the Sea -- will again begin their brave journey across the channel.
It is the culmination of thousands of hours of training and racing for hundreds of women ... this is the ultimate race for them.
It is the eighth crossing for Tammy Kanoa Kaneaiakala, who will be competing for one of the favorites. Hui Nalu won several of the major long distances races this season, including Dad Center and Catalina.
WHILE many turn to paddling as an excellent way to combine fitness with the outdoors, it is more than that to Kaneaiakala. In many ways, it has been her salvation.
Her husband, Cliff, an outstanding athlete at Kaiser High, died in a motorcycle accident in 1991. The couple had been married for less than two years; their daughter, Rhani, was 10 months old.
"I was totally devastated," said Kaneaiakala. "Cliff was such a totally good guy. It was so hard to go on.
"But I found myself through sports. I went back to paddling, started coaching. Sports took me away from all the devastation."
Sports had been Kaneaiakala's life while at Kaiser High. She earned 12 varsity letters, competing for the Cougars in four sports (volleyball, basketball, softball and track).
Basketball paid for her college education. Although recruited by Washington and several California schools, the "island girl had to stay home," she said, playing for what was then Hawaii Pacific College.
Her first love is still basketball. But she has found joy in coaching and paddling canoes.
The past two regatta seasons, Kaneaiakala coached Waimanalo Canoe Club's crews while also paddling in the senior women's crew for Hui Nalu in Hawaii Kai.
"We worked around her schedule," said Waimanalo's Mahealani Carlbom. "She's a terrific coach and we all have the utmost respect for her. She's strict but she'll also tell you why you are doing certain drills. We love her."
KANEAIAKALA also coaches volleyball and basketball at Kailua High and St. John Vianney School, and her daughter's basketball team. In her "spare" time, she plays for Nalu in the Women's Island Soccer Association.
"Sports is life," she said. "And I couldn't do it all without my in-laws (Clifford Sr. and Jill Kaneaiakala). They have been so supportive of me. It keeps their son alive in me."
Kaneaiakala said she isn't sure how Hui Nalu will fare Sunday but her crew has seen dolphins during the three races they've won this season. "That's our sign," she said.
Here's hoping there are dolphins for Hui Nalu on Sunday. And a safe crossing for all the crews.
Cindy Luis is a Star-Bulletin sportswriter.
Her column appears weekly.