Sunday, August 5, 2001
[ PADDLING ]
Hawaiian no ka oi HANALEI, Kauai >> The Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association's state title left Oahu for the first time in more than 15 years.
The Maui canoe club wins its
first state title with a third-place
finish in the final raceBy Grace Wen
gwen@starbulletin.comOvercast morning skies gave way to brilliant sunshine yesterday afternoon at Hanalei Bay as the Hawaiian Canoe Club of Maui captured its first state championship in dramatic fashion.
With the regatta still undecided going into the final race of the day -- the Men's Master 35 -- Hawaiian edged Hoopili for third place by 54/100ths of a second with a time of 7:42.21. Hui Lanakila won the race.
The third-place finish put Hawaiian in first place overall in the AAA division with 315 points. Lanikai Canoe Club, last year's winner, finished second in the race and overall with 303 points. Outrigger Canoe Club was third with 301 points. Kailua finished a distant fourth with 241 points.
For most of the day, the battle was among Hawaiian, Lanikai and Outrigger. Lanikai won more races overall (8-5) but qualified fewer crews (30) than Hawaiian (34).
"It was a total team effort," Hawaiian coach Diane Ho said. "We strategized everything we needed to do and did everything we set out to do.
"It's a huge achievement when we do something like this (because) we don't have the same (size) talent pool to draw from."
Ho said that racing on Kauai neutralized the playing field and that conditions on Hanalei Bay were near perfect. Currents and wind did not factor much in the race. Neither did lane assignment, as crews were winning from all over the course.Hawaiian's youth crews scored more than half the club's points, earning 166 points and setting the table for its adults in that last race.
"We were all kind of cringing on the beach (before the race)," steersman and head youth coach Kauhane Luuwai said. "We knew we had to be within two or three places of Outrigger and Lanikai."
It was the first medal in the Masters division in the history of the club, Luuwai said. "I've paddled for 21 years and it's only the second medal I've won," he said.For much of the day it was Outrigger that battled Hawaiian for first place. Through 24 events, Outrigger trailed Hawaiian by 30 points. Outrigger's youth crews dominated their age divisions and kept the club in contention for the championship. The Girls 15 and 18 and Boys 15, 16 and 18 placed first and earned Outrigger 75 points. The crew members of the Girls 15 have stayed together and won consecutive championships.
"Our youth teams have been pretty solid all year," said Paula Crabb, Outrigger's junior racing chair. "Our Girls 15 has won consecutive state championships since their younger years. We were counting on them and they pulled through.
"We came into the regatta wanting our crews that were consistent to be consistent."
Outrigger's crews were, but so were Lanikai's -- especially late in the day, as Lanikai crept to within three points of Outrigger and 13 points of the lead. Wins in the Mixed Masters and Mixed Men and Women (events 33 and 34) almost allowed Lanikai to sneak in for the win.
But Lanikai, which qualified two fewer crews than the 32 it did last year, was missing its usual punch from its women's crews.
"We had a good run," Lanikai coach John Foti said. "A lot of our strength was at the end of the day. Our kids were solid, but in the middle of the day we were a little flat. We hurt with our Wahine not qualifying."Hawaiian, on the other hand, had success spread throughout the day.
"We were balanced this year," Ho said. "Our kids program has been dominant for years. If we did nothing else, our adults got some respect too."
Kahana Canoe Club of Maui finished first in the AA division, while Healani Canoe Club of Oahu won the single-A division.