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Keeping Score
EVER have one of those days where everything seemed to go wrong? That's what last Monday was like. When things go
wrong, go paddleThe computer at work crashed... several times within 15 minutes. A glitch in a graphic caused us to lose several lines at the end of Dave Reardon's column in the final edition.
The email program didn't work and the system that allows us to access wire and local photos wasn't operating.
The Love Bug virus paled in comparison.
There was just one thing to do: go paddle.
How can one stay mad at the world when there's a sea turtle off to the right and a full moon is beginning to peak out from behind Rabbit Island, just waiting to brighten up the night sky?
Ten years is a long time to put a love on hold. I don't know where the time went in my outrigger canoe racing life.
The last time I looked, I was in the junior masters division (35-and-older).
This season, I'll be with what we all used to jokingly refer to as the "old ladies.''
I don't know which makes me feel older. That my son is graduating from eighth grade next week or that I'm eligible for senior masters (45-older).
How could I sleep through an entire decade?
But despite the cobwebs on the paddle and the (major) extra pounds that are being wedged into the canoe, Waimanalo Canoe Club has welcomed me with open arms.
I had never met most of the women the first day I came down to the club site near Pa Honu, Eve Anderson's home made famous by television shows such as Hawaii 5-0 and Magnum, P.I.
It didn't matter.
What matters is that paddlers share a love of being out on the ocean and a love of competing for the fun of it.
The sport has always been one big ohana, one that transcends social and economic barriers.
There are some things that one doesn't forget over time. How to ride a bike. How to roller skate.
How to paddle.
A few weeks ago, we took out the double-hull canoe. Draped across the iako were maile lei, still smelling sweet a few days after the blessing of the club's new koa canoe.
There are no better smelling salts than a blend of sea spray and the fragrance of maile to revive someone who is tiring from a hard workout.
THEY knew I was hooked when I wrote the check for a new paddle and took home the sweetbread fund-raising tickets.
Sunday marks a return to racing. It was a little surprising to be asked if I'd be available for the race after just a three weeks.
Can handle? We'll see.
But I am happy that it will be the distance race in honor of the late Kala Kukea, an outstanding waterman and fire rescue captain who passed away in 1996 .
The Kukea Ironman Challenge is dedicated to the longtime Hui Nalu paddler and coach who left a legacy of sportsmanship, on and off the water.
The seven-mile course begins on Maunalua Bay with the turnaround point within sight of the Wailupe fire station, where Kukea worked.
(Entries are still being accepted for Sunday's races in one- and six-person canoes. For information, call 521-6439).
Where our crew finishes won't matter. Just being out there is what counts.
Coming home has never felt so good.
Cindy Luis is Star-Bulletin sports editor.
Her column appears weekly.