KEN IGE / KIGE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Outrigger won the 55 mix race yesterday at the OCHRA regatta. From front to back: Mike Clifford, Pokii Vaughan, Anne Bowey, John Finney, Maureen Kilcoyne and Patty Mowat.
Lanikai seizes
second winThe canoe club holds off
a late charge in the
afternoon by Kailua
Only three regattas into the Oahu Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association season, it appears that a trio of clubs has risen above the rest and may battle among each other for wins the rest of the way.
At the Father's Day Regatta yesterday sponsored by Leeward Kai Canoe Club at Nanakuli Beach Park, Lanikai totaled 74 points and a regatta-high nine race wins, and won the overall title -- just as it did at the season opener two weeks ago.
After picking up the victory last week, Kailua made a run at its Windward-Side neighbor down the stretch of the 37-race regatta, but finished five points back (69) and in second place. Another strong contender, the Ala Wai-based Hui Lanakila, took third (66) after runner-up showings the first two races.
"We're very happy about (winning again)," said Lanikai head coach Bob Puakea, a recognized father-figure in the sport who's returned for the first time to the club he led, for about a decade, before a break that began in 1997. "The last (regatta), we worked hard for it but ended up fourth for that one. But, see, it's better, (for) coming back again. It worked well for us."
Hui Nalu finished fourth this time with 53 points, and Outrigger, fifth, with 52. Anuenue (13 points) won the A division for smaller clubs (17 crews or less) by just a single point over host Leeward Kai (12) and two over Waikiki Surf Club (11).
As it did in winning the season opener, Lanikai jumped out to a sizeable lead after the first half of the regatta -- the youth and novice races. It was nearly perfect in the boys' division, winning five (12-and-under, 13-and-under, 14-and-under, 15-and-under and 16-and-under) of six races.
Add a victory in the girls' 13-and-under, and Lanikai already had by the midpoint: six of its wins and 41 of its points; eight points on the nearest club, Outrigger (33); and 16 on Kailua and 23 on Hui Lanakila.
"The second (regatta) we did some (youth-lineup) changes to see if we needed improvement; it didn't help," Puakea said. "Now we kind of put them back again, to build back the club's confidence, and I think it's working."
Even with Lanikai winning two men's open division races -- including a second straight victory in the prestigious senior battle (by Kekoa Bruhn, James Bustamante, David Daniels, John Foti, Kalani Irvine and Mike Judd) -- Kailua and Hui Lanakila closed the gap during the adult competition.
Hui Lanakila finished with six race wins in the last 19 races and seven overall -- second highest for the day.
Kailua finished with four in the last 19 and five total, but managed to knot the score with Lanikai at 61 with only seven races remaining.
"We were struggling, trying to keep up for most of the day," Kailua head coach Jimmy Bruhn said. "Lanikai was strong today...Lanikai's tough, everybody's tough. But I'm pretty satisfied.
"Our men's program is doing pretty good, our women's program is doing really good, and we just got to work on our kids. We're just trying to feel our way around as the year goes on. It's fun, everybody's close (in ability)."
As proof of its women's success, Kailua won two (sophomore and junior) of five open division races, and placed second in two others, including the prestigious 1 1/2-mile senior race. The Hui Nalu senior crew of Julie Aio, Gail Kaaialii, Patsy Vasquez, Lorey Bode, Taryn Dean and Denise Darval-Chang, crossed about a half-minute faster, in 12 minutes, 51.8 seconds, for their third straight win.
But Kailua could do no better than finish second twice in the last seven races, while Lanikai managed a win and also a runner-up finish. In the race that Lanikai won (40-mixed), Kailua finished fifth with no points, while Lanikai received five -- the eventual winning margin.
"We hope to keep the trend going," Puakea said. "But everything is wait-and-see on race day."
OHCRA resumes competition next Sunday with a regatta at Waimanalo Beach. Na Ohana O Na Hui Waa, Oahu's other paddling association, will also hold a regatta the same day, at Keehi Lagoon.
