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Monday, May 15, 2000

Solo paddlers struggle
in calm Ewa waters

By Linda Aragon
Special to the Star-Bulletin

At times it felt like they were paddling fo' evah instead of to Ewa in yesterday's Kanaka I Kai Ka Quiksilver State Championships for canoes and kayaks.

Lack of winds and surf on the new long course from Hawaii Kai to Ewa Beach Park led to a long, hot paddle for the nearly 135 racers entered.

"I thought it was hot and hard," said 54-year-old kayaker Bob Richeleau. "I vote for last year's course."

Difficulty in obtaining a permit to finish at Waikiki Beach and time-limit constraints forced organizers to change the course. It didn't change the outcome in the long-distance results.

Karel Tresnak Jr. continued his winning streak, finishing first in the 21-mile canoe long course division with a time of 2 hours, 18 minutes, and 56 seconds.

Tresnak also won last week's Kaiwi Channel Relay and last month's 18-mile Oahu Championships.

John Foti chased Tresnak the entire course to finish second in 2:19:36.

"I was doing better than I thought I would be at the Diamond Head buoy," Foti said. "He (Tresnak) out-surfed me in Maunalua Bay."

Foti began catching up to Tresnak when the two split off to take opposite courses near Honolulu Harbor. Foti ran on the inside as Tresnak took a course far off-shore.

"I thought I had a truer line (to the finish)," Foti said. "But I think the inside had more turbulence."

Foti was hoping higher winds and more surf toward the finish would enable him to close the gap. But light tradewinds and marginal surf at the end didn't provide any extra push.

The top racers did not win without a dogfight in the other divisions as well.

Nalu Kukea, the winner in the kayak long course, held off Billy Robello the whole way to finish in 2:13:06. It was the fastest time overall. Robello was a close second at 2:13:57.

The top women's long-course kayaker was Maile Chong at 2:35:06. Kelly Fey, switching from kayaks to canoes this season, won the women's long-course canoe division in 2:51:47.

A group of men from Tahiti who arrived yesterday morning dominated the 11-mile short course from Magic Island to Ewa. Tahitian kayaker Eric Deane took first in 1:21, followed by teammate Fabrice Mova in second.

Before the race, many kayakers felt the Tahitians would do well if conditions were flat. They were right.

"It was a good race," Mova said. "Not too much waves."

Christy Borton won the kayak short-course women's division in 1:30:02.

"There were a lot of good bumps," she said. "It was fun."

Hawaii's Pat Von and Greg Edwards finished their season undefeated in the two-man canoe division in 2:21.

The field included competitors from the neighbor islands, New Zealand and Tahiti.