Kids propel
Kaneohe to victoryThe canoe club holds off
Lokahi in the Hui Wa'a opener
It was fitting that an event dedicated to keiki was won by keiki.
The Kaneohe Canoe Club celebrated its 30th anniversary by dedicating the first regatta of the Na Ohana O Na Hui Wa'a season to na keiki. The club's youth crews propelled Kaneohe to a huge victory at Keehi Lagoon yesterday, winning nine races and earning 52 of Kaneohe's 83 points. Lokahi finished second in the AAA division (18-plus crews) with 70 points.
Kaneohe's blistering start made it a tough day for the other clubs despite beautiful conditions. A downwind in the final leg of races helped set five records.
In the AA division (9-17 crews), Koa Kai used a late charge to slip by Ka Mo'i with 43 points. Koa Kai broke a 38-38 tie and set a record in the men's open 4 race, the second-to-last event, with a time of 3 minutes, 54.23 seconds. The previous record of 3:54.81 was set last year by Ka Mo'i, which ended the day with 38 points. The North Shore won the A division (6-8 crews) with a first- , second- and third-place finish for a total of 10 points.
"It was a good showing. I wasn't shocked about it," Kaneohe coach Clint Anderson said. "We talked about it before the race. They did well. We can get better every race. We can get stronger. Everybody did what they could. The next race is going to be a lot of adjustments by the other clubs."
It would be hard to improve the Kaneohe youth. The Kaneohe boys-12 crew picked up the club's first win and set the pace for the regatta. Kaneohe won five of the next six races for 34 points. Kaneohe could have won by an even greater margin had it not been for a disqualification in the girls-15 event. The crew reached the finish line first but was disqualified for turning into the wrong flag. But the DQ did nothing to diminish the dominating overall performance of the kids. In 19 youth events, Kaneohe claimed victories in nine and scored in three other events.
"The kids did real awesome today," Anderson said. "They finished strong. A good showing. The adults are coming around, too. They're coming out strong, that's a plus for us."
But not strong enough to catch the Lokahi women.
Lokahi dominated the women's events, winning five (Novice A, freshmen, sophomore, senior, open 4) and placing second in the Novice B race to close a huge gap in the afternoon. But it wasn't enough to catch Kaneohe.
"Our women were very good," Lokahi coach Robert Viernes said. "We needed the men to score a little bit more points. We have to work on more combinations."
Lokahi cut Kaneohe's lead to 10 (68-58) with seven races to go, but Kaneohe added 15 points late to seal the deal. Two first-place finishes from the mixed masters and senior mixed masters crews ensured the host club a win in its own regatta.
Anderson said yesterday's amazing performance by the youth established the standard for the regatta season. He hopes to qualify crews in all the youth divisions for the state races in August.
"We just want to pick it up a notch and push harder," he said. "But we'll take it one race at a time."