Na Wahine O Ke Kai
traverses channel
for 25th time tomorrow
Na Wahine O Ke Kai -- a canoe race from Molokai to Oahu -- will celebrate its 25th anniversary tomorrow with a record-breaking 71 crews expected to compete.
But race director Hannie Anderson and some other paddlers will not celebrate the memory of the first race as much as a date four years prior, when women -- after two decades of being told they could not cross the often treacherous Kaiwi Channel -- got a chance to prove themselves.
"In 1954, it was a dream of six of us wahine from Waikiki Surf Club to do the race," said Anderson, who also directs the men's race, which started in 1952. "They (the U.S. Coast Guard, among others) wouldn't let us do it.
"I was saying to myself in '54 that they would never let us do it."
On Oct. 12, 1975, spearheaded by Donna Wolfe, two boats (Healani Canoe Club and Onipaa) of 18 women each noncompetitively crossed the 41-mile channel.
"Watching these young women do this (in 1975) was a dream come true," said Anderson, who has never participated on a crew because she was pregnant in '75 and running the event has kept her too busy for the six hours a day of training the race can require.
"It's a big commitment," said Anderson, who still paddles during regatta season. "I would have loved to have crossed it, but it was race director or race.
"It's not just throwing a race together."
During each year's race, Anderson travels to and from Molokai on an escort boat-- no matter how rough conditions get.
"Hannie has been the real backbone of this race," race secretary/treasurer Shelly Guilman said. "We enjoy working with her every year."
Guilman said the '75 crossing will be on her mind more than any other.
"That is when women went across for the first time -- so it was special."
Guilman is one of the few involved in the event who never steps foot on Molokai. "I stay here preparing for end-of-race activities."
Carlene Ornellas, also a part of the tight-knit race committee and a member of Kailua Canoe Club, will compete for Kai Opua in the 35-and-over masters (won by Surf Sport last year).
Kai Opua is the three-time defending champion in the open and 45-and-over masters divisions. Both crews will have a lot of fresh faces as they attempt to fourpeat. Members of both crews set the same goal of three in a row before at least temporarily retiring to spend more time with family and other responsibilities.
When the goal became a reality, so did the breakups. But the champs will not be lacking talent or old friends.
"We've done a lot of international races together," Ornellas said, "so we're pretty good friends.
"It's all about being on the water."
That may be. But that attitude takes a back seat to pure competitive spirit once the race starts. Kai Opua's open crew is expected to get plenty of competition from Outrigger Canoe Club and crews from Canada and Australia.
"It's hard to say who's going to be the favorite this year," Anderson said.
Ornellas said her crew expects Offshore Canoe Club, winner of 10 open titles, to give them a run for their money.
One winner is certain. Lanikai Canoe Club will be the only crew entered in the only other category, koa, won by Outrigger Canoe Club last year. The traditional wooden canoes have been replaced by the much more affordable and sturdy fiberglass ones for most involved in the sport.
"The koas are priceless," Anderson said. "When they break, people cry."
Na Wahine O Ke Kai
What: 25th annual Molokai to Oahu women's canoe race
When: Tomorrow
Start: 7:30 a.m. at Hale O Lono Harbor
Finish: Crews are expected to start arriving at about 1 p.m. at Hilton Hawaiian Village Pier
