In the tube Tahitian style!

Some totally insane surfing at Teahupoo! Check it out! http://www.doobybrain.com/2012/06/09/surfing-teahupoos-mega-swells/

Regatta 2012: Too much of a good thing?

Time for a change? Two regattas into the 2012 season and we've been hearing some continued commentary of what has become a very long day at the races. Currently there are a record 42 races on the schedule, and under the best of circumstances with no unforeseen delays, we are still competing late in the afternoon. At Ke'ehi, the last events of the day were being run close to 6 PM. Clubs were in various stages of packing up and some had exited already. The focus was not really on the last one or two races but more on leaving the area. The next weekend at Kailua saw an even longer day as there were some early hulls with some inevitable delays. At Ānuenue, we were pulling out at around 7 PM as we scrambled to load the canoe and clean up our area.

The open-4 crew gets ready to paddle out close to 6 PM.

What to do?

Reflecting on the contrast to regatta days past where the race schedule had only 16-18 races, our current line up may have reached the point where a strong case can be made to consider some other approaches. There are times when races with only a few entries could be combined in order to speed things up and take advantage of a number of empty lanes. For example, on Sunday at Kailua, the womenʻs 60s race had only two entries. Why not combine them with the menʻs 60s, a race that only has 4-5 entries? Another suggestion from Nappy: Have an on-call paddling "Swat Team" so that if there is a huli, the process of righting the canoe can be expedited by individuals who are veterans and experts about the process. If you go over, in this regatta setting, itʻs over. Why delay the process to see if perhaps the crew can get going fast enough to be awarded one point for participating for the State championship qualifying total.

Another more radical possibility would be to split up the regatta making it a two day event. For example, the first day on Saturday could be for the younger generation of paddlers say up to 18s. Plenty of time for the inexperienced keikis to enjoy the event and for teenagers to hang with their friends and compete. Letʻs face it, they would much rather have their own regatta time without a bunch of adults around except for their coaches. Parents could come and support their kids without having to spend the entire day at the beach. The flip side of course is the young paddlers are mostly long gone anyway leaving to enjoy the rest of their weekend with little interest in the adult competition.

Day two would be the adult events. The early races could be the older adults who tend to be early risers anyway. The climactic races should be the senior events with the other races being run earlier. The mixed races would also benefit as these paddlers would some interested spectators instead of the "letʻs get this over with so we can get out of here " feeling that understandably occurs as the hour gets later and later. With our current schedule, regattas run in this way would have a manageable 28 races.

To be sure, some major logistical challenges would have to be overcome with a 2-day event including probably the permitting process. Hauling canoes twice vs leaving them on the beach overnight?? Yet at this stage the regattas are now approaching marathon events that cry out for seriously considering some significant changes. Hopefully OHCRA will not be opposed to considering input to streamline our highlight summer events.

6:15 PM and weʻre still racing!

6 in a row!

Shell Va'a did it again, but it took a new record of 4:30:54 to hold off challenger EDT who also bested the old mark finishing in 4:36:45. Taking advantage of their familiarity with the Kaiwi Channel and some favorable surfing near Oahu, Shell won for the sixth consecutive time matching Waikiki Surf Club (1958-1963) for the record number of victories in a row. Two of their crew have been members of all six wins.

For the young EDT crew, it was a learning experience. With hopes of knocking off the defending champions as they had already done in the Tahiti Nui Va'a 3-day race in May, EDT jumped out to a 400-500 meter lead as the canoes raced along the coast of West Moloka'i. However once past La'au Point and into the channel itself, it was a different story as the crew took a while to adjust to the conditions and pick the best course. Shell remained in sight but they never relinquished their lead, and EDT had to settle for second place. Third place went to Team Primo/Wailea Canoe Club despite an early hull followed by Lanikai in fourth. The other two Tahitian crews were next including Team Livestrong Tahiti competing in the Masters 40+ division.

The stage is set then for next year's race and a possible new record of consecutive victories. EDT officials were high on their crew's performance and their Moloka'i Hoe experience and hopeful for a return in 2012. EDT will get another crack at their Shell rivals as well as as the two-time defending champion OPT crew in the upcoming Hawaiki Nui race coming up in three weeks. Due to work conflicts, this year there will not be a Team Hawaii crew competing in Tahiti but the crew will be racing there again in 2012.

Upside Down Dragons!

Dragon boat racing in Hawaii took a step forward this past weekend with new boats available for racing for the first time. Crews had been practicing in the old barge lead sled versions first brought here during Mayor Jeremy Harris's time. With practically no time to get used to the new boats, the result was predictable and amusing. It was an action packed dragon boat festival marked by hulis, missed flags, and other mishaps on the water. Anuenue paddlers have been helping out with practices for the crews since the event began, and this year, veteran steerers Nappy, Hardy and Baby Bell had some adventures trying to keep from going for a swim. The new boats with their different design are definitely tippy as everyone found out in a hurry! It got to the point where the decorative dragon heads were removed due to the frequent drenchings.

Of course dragon boat racing is serious business especially in Asia with world championships held every other year since 1995. In Hong Kong for example, dragon boat racing is the main event while outriggers are secondary for their paddling clubs. For more info on the cultural aspects and history: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_boat

Next year with practice time available there should be a big improvement! In the meantime, three old boats with their newly painted heads await their fate. Anyone need an old dragon boat to decorate their backyard and bring good luck?

Full Circle: The Story behind the Image.

As usual while waiting for my race, I was taking photos of the 2011 edition of the OHCRA Championships at Ke'ehi Lagoon. I was joined by Star-Advertiser photographer, Bruce Asato, and we started talking story about paddling photos. Asking him if he had taken some race photos from one of the official boats, he smiled and said he preferred to stay onshore. However he mentioned that he had shot the Moloka'i-Oahu race before from one of the boats with the help of a little "medication." He went on to say that one of those photos was used for the cover of a book about the race. Hmmm, I thought, do you suppose it was the cover photo we used for my book on the history of the Moloka'i race. Sure enough, it was the shot of Lanikai on the way to winning the 1995 race in record time. Bruce said it was pretty choppy off Hawaii Kai, and the Lanikai crew was really flying. Their canoe happened to hit a wave and shoot up in the air, and the result was a great photo I had always liked in my search for photos for the book. I got a copy from the Advertiser and paid the fee for usage but I didn't know who the photographer was other than his name. Eventually we decided to use that image for the cover of the book, which was published in 2006. This past year I started seeing Bruce at basketball games and volleyball games while taking photos for my son's Moanalua games. I didn't make the connection with the paddling photo and had forgotten who the photographer was until today in the process of having our casual conversation. Like many memorable photos, there are often behind the scenes stories ranging from just being in the right place at the right time to pure luck. It's one of the reasons for the fascination with the world of photography for us amateurs and in Bruce's case, accounts for his success in his profession. Thanks, Bruce!!

An additional note: Having steered that race, I can testify that 1995 was a rough one, and for those spending the the day in an official boat, no doubt Bruce wasn't the only one helped by some anti-mal de mer meds. Another point of interest about the photo is that it looks like there are only five paddlers in the canoe as the paddler in seat #5 is almost completely hidden from view!

New Sheriff in Town?

News from Tahiti: Recently the 166 Km 3-day race around Tahiti ended. When it was all over, EDT was the winner besting heavyweights Shell Va'a, OPT and Paddling Connection. Does this result mean that the Shell run of five straight Moloka'i Hoe wins could be over? We'll find out in October but this up and coming crew appears to be ready to knock off the big dog.

For a look at the action:

Disaster in Lane Eleven: The Demise of Honaunau

On a beautiful sunny day on Nanakuli Beach, disaster struck Honolulu Pearl Canoe Club with a horrendous crash on the beach that seriously damaged their venerable koa canoe Honaunau and injured two paddlers. Intermittent large sets had been running through lanes 10-12 with big surges up the sloping beach. Unfortunately, Honolulu's Novice A women's crew, paddling in Lane 11, could not pull out of a wave at the finish and the canoe hit the sand with explosive impact. Afterwards there was a sad procession as the canoe was carried up the beach along with the pieces of the front half of the canoe.

Keahiakahoe's Stan Dickson expressed it well for all onlookers and fellow paddlers: "When I saw then carry the canoe out, my heart just dropped. It's really unfortunate because everybody treasures their koa canoe. That's part of your family, part of your club. Koa canoes mean everything to us in paddling."

On a personal note, when I started paddling in 1994 before coming to Anuenue, it was with this club, and my first race in a koa canoe was in Honaunau. The club had another koa at the time, the Honolulu, but Honaunau was the pride of the club and was paddled across the channel by the women's open crew that year. A little more background: Built in 1952 on the Big island, the canoe was sold to Hui Nalu and then later obtained by Gary Oakland for the new Honolulu Canoe Club. I remember well working on the canoe during those days, and most recently, it had another makeover for this year's regatta season. We all feel badly when koas get damaged but in this particular

for me it was especially a sad sight to witness.

However we've seen some remarkable restorations over the years. The return of Keoua Canoe Club's Kaahumanu from a Kaiwi Channel disaster in 1996 comes to mind. Our sympathies and aloha go out to Honolulu Pearl with best wishes for their injured paddlers and the return of Honaunau. Fundraisers no doubt will be on the horizon, and we'll be able to help them out.