[ PADDLING ]
The Hui Lanakila Canoe Club's, from left, Leighton Look, Sammy Alama, Steve Holbrook, Tomas Scholtman, Jim Hewitt and Fred Delos Santos passed the Kailua Canoe Club en route to victory in the 1-mile Men's 40 race yesterday.
Outrigger wins
first regatta
of the yearThe canoe club rallies to beat
Hui Lanakila at the Macfarlane
The Fourth of July always means one very special thing to the clubs of the Oahu Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association: the chance to surf against each other in the waves off Waikiki.
They gathered again yesterday for the 62nd annual Walter J. Macfarlane Memorial Regatta at Waikiki Beach -- the longest-running and only surf regatta in OHCRA competition.
And while Mother Nature doesn't always cooperate by providing good waves, she came through again this time. Wave faces ranged from 2 to 5 feet throughout the 37-race event.
"We look at this race as a very unique race; it's very special to us," said Anthony Hunt, the head coach of Outrigger Canoe Club, the host of the event. "There's a lot of emotion that gets involved in these races. And I think you'll find that for a lot of the paddlers in our club, this race means as much as, or more, than (the state championships)."
As proof, Outrigger's paddlers -- who had last won this event in 2002 -- rallied together to win the 2004 Macfarlane for their first regatta victory this year.
Boosted by a strong performance in the second half of the regatta from its adults, the Ala Wai-based club emerged from a tight points race during the first half and won convincingly, registering totals of 86 points and seven race victories.
"Last year, we had a stronger kids program, and the adults supported. This year it's more or less the reverse," Hunt said. "The main thing for us this year has been: Can we be in contention when the kids races are done?"
Hui Lanakila finished in second place with 66 points and shared regatta-high honors with eight race victories. Lanikai -- last year's winner -- took third with 63 points and eight wins, while Kailua placed fourth with 58.
With 23 points, Healani won a tight battle in the A division for the smaller clubs; Anuenue and Keahiakahoe tied for second with 22 each.
Hui Lanakila won the prestigious senior men's race and got to taste champagne out of the silver memorial trophy cup for the first time since joining OHCRA in 1977.
The crew of Manny Kulukulualani, Raven Aipa, Leighton Look, Andrew Penny, Thomas Schlotman and Mel Puu finished the 1 1/2-mile course in 10 minutes, 39.95 seconds, just ahead of second-place Outrigger (10:41.33). The two clubs battled on the same 4-foot set during the last quarter-mile of the race, but Hui Lanakila was able to keep a straighter line on the ride and nose out the win.
"It was just head down and pull," said Aipa of the homestretch. "We finally had a shot this year and we just got lucky. For a paddler in regattas, this is the ultimate goal -- to sip from that cup."
Rounding out a dominating performance from its open female paddlers, Outrigger's women also tasted champagne from a silver trophy after winning the prestigious 1 1/2-mile senior women's race.
The crew of Mahea Batlik, Mary Smolenski, Tracy Phillips, Jen Horner, Malia Kamisugi and steersman Walter Guild (crews could use any paddler -- man or woman -- to steer because of the surf) turned a two-boat-length advantage at the 1-mile turn into almost a half-minute victory (12:01.63 to 12:26.56) over runner-up Hui Lanakila.
"It really involves a lot of luck; we pulled good lanes (where the waves were breaking) for the conditions," Smolenski said. "But I think when one team does well, that builds on the excitement, and then you want to hopefully continue that little streak."
Same three dominate again: Another week of racing in Na Ohana O Na Hui Wa'a produced the same results as the previous five weeks with Kaneohe (AAA), Koa Kai (AA) and Waikiki Beachboys (A) dominating their divisions again yesterday.
Host Koa Kai totaled 45 points to win the AA division and broke course records in the men's novice A and mix masters races.
Three other records fell as Lokahi (men's novice B), Kaneohe (girls 15) and Manu O Ke Kai (men's sophomore) set new times at Keehi Lagoon.
Oahu Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association
www.ohcra.com
