RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM Manu O Ke Kai, right, won the men's freshman race at yesterday's Hui Wa'a regatta at Ke'ehi Lagoon.

Kaneohe off to fast start in Hui Wa‘a season opener

A new Na 'Ohana O Na Hui Wa'a regatta season began yesterday, and Kaneohe Canoe Club's old winning tradition remains much the same.

The three-time defending association champion opened this year with a dominating win in the Kamehameha Regatta at Ke'ehi Lagoon, amassing 81 points to run away with the AAA division for clubs that enter 25 or more of the 36 total races.

Na Keiki O Ka Moi (55) finished well back, in second place, and Lokahi (34) took third.

"Last year we won the (association) championship again, and this year -- the beginning -- you're always looking forward to people trying to come out and beat you again," Kaneohe head coach Clint Anderson said. "I think we did OK today, came out solid. But every week is a new week, and we'll take it in stride."

As has been the recipe during its sustained run of excellence, Kaneohe got out to a fast start behind the strength of its youth paddlers and never gave up the lead through the adult races.

In the first half of the regatta, Kaneohe picked up seven first-place finishes and five second-place results in the 13 youth races. The Windward-side club also added three wins in the adult races to finish with 10 overall.

Waianae-based Ka Moi also placed first or second in six of the first seven youth races, but could not sustain those results when the older kids hit the water.

"We do expect to win," Kaneohe's Natasha Hopkins-Moniz, 17, said.

Hopkins-Moniz was a member of the girls 16-under crew that went from dominating Hui Wa'a competition to finishing second overall in the state championships last year. Many from the same crew are now racing in the girls 18-under this year, and they finished second to Alapa Hoe yesterday.

"There's high expectations," she added, "but that just makes us work harder."

Kaneohe's membership numbers, like with many Oahu clubs, were hit hard by the severe weather in March. While it didn't have to relocate like the Ala Wai-based clubs, the resulting pollution in Kaneohe Bay did delay the start of practices and discourage paddlers from turning out.

"I know the other clubs had a hard time, too," Anderson said. "We got less kids this year, less adults, but we're just going to put in who we have to put in and run our club like we have every other time. We just do the same thing."

The winners in the smaller divisions yesterday were familiar as well, as last year's AA (13-24 races entered) champion, Koa Kai, took the victory with 47 points. Manu O Ke Kai (35) finished second.

The three-time defending A (one-12 races entered) champ Waikiki Beach Boys won the division with 30 points to Hawaiian Outrigger's 21.

The Beach Boys swept the three women's open division races and added wins in the sophomore men's and women's novice B races.

In the prestigious women's senior race, the Beach Boys crushed the rest of the field by finishing the 1 1/2-mile course in 13 minutes and 2.49 seconds, well more than a minute ahead of second-place Ka Moi (14:16.05).

The Beach Boys have not lost a women's senior race in Hui Wa'a competition since 2003. The winning combination yesterday included: Kelsa Teeters, Erin Offenhauser, Dana Gorecki, Sue Brown, Andrea Messer and Cherie Lee.

"We're always racing the clock to better ourselves, we just want to get better," said Brown.

In the 1 1/2-mile men's senior race, Koa Kai (11:32.47) surprised some and took the victory ahead of Manu O Ke Kai (12:04.61), which went undefeated in the race all last year. Winning crewmembers were: Andrew Gomes, Irwin Ross, Paul Amoy, Steve Holbrook, Douglas Holdt and Dave Randall.