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By Paul Honda
Editor
HondaReport.com
Sunday, May 30, 2004

HONOLULU—There was one familiar aspect about yesterday’s season-opening regatta at Keehi Lagoon: Kaneohe Canoe Club ran away with a victory.

Beneath the surface, however, the waters of the Hui Wa’a season are far more mysterious.

While Kaneohe captured first place in 14 races, Manu O Ke Kai emerged as a valid contender. On the strength of five first-place finishes, the Haleiwa-based club amassed 58 points and finished second to Kaneohe (72).

Perhaps more interesting, perennial powerhouse Lokahi was a distant third in the AAA Division with 41 points.

The newly expanded division is open to clubs who enter 25 or more events. In the AA Division (13-24 events), Koa Kai dominated with six race winners and 53 points. Waikiki Yacht Club and Alapa Hoe shared second place with 18 apiece.

Waikiki Beachboys, meanwhile, relied on its talented wahine to capture first place in five races. With 30 points, the Beachboys—Beachgirls might be more fitting—won the A Division (12 or fewer events).

Na Keiki O Kai Mo’i and North Shore shared second place with 16 points apiece.

A year ago, in the season-opener at Keehi, Lokahi finished second in the AAA Division, which required 18 or more entries. Koa Kai also won its season opener in the AA Division, but the runner-up was Na Keiki O Kai Mo’i, dropped into the A Division this year.

Kaneohe, riding a wave of youth, was at its usual dominant self early in the day. Kaneohe won the first six races thanks to its 12 and 14 crews, then won the Mixed Golden, Girls 15, Girls 16, Boys 16, Girls 18 and Boys 18 races.

“It was kind of windy. I told them to stay low,” Kaneohe boys 16 steersman Keoni Anderson said. The crew won the half-mile sprint with a time of 4 minutes, 44.24 seconds. Manu O Ke Kai finished less than three seconds behind to place second.

The Kaneohe boys 16 crew was highly successful last summer, but finished fifth in the state championships. “We did a lot more training in the off-season,” paddler Aaron Abbey said. “We trained as hard as we could. Hit the weights. Bench and inclines, and we ran a lot for stamina.”

Manu O Ke Kai head coach Randy Sanborn was pleased with his team’s performance. “They surprised us,” the veteran coach said of his paddlers. “I didn’t know we’d do this well considering we had to scratch 10 crews.”

Sanborn’s coaches, including son Moku, mapped out some intriguing strategy. “Almost all of the girls’ crews won, and our open men. Our coaches moved guys around. This is the first time in our history we’ve won three open men’s races,” he said.

A plethora of new talent also has Sanborn smiling. “We’ve got some really good new open (division) guys,” said Sanborn, now in his 15th as head coach. “Our ladies trained hard, and we’ve got a lot of dedicated paddlers.”

While Manu O Ke Kai enjoyed its second-place finish, Lokahi faces some uncontrollable circumstances. A handful of key women are unavailable this summer.

“Our women used to be the ones bringing up our points,” head coach Robert Viernes said. “We’re way down. I want to forget about today.”

Pregnancy and mainland trip have set some of the Lokahi women aside for this season. On the bright side, the men are filtering in, and the youth crews show promise,” Viernes said. “We’ve got some good kids, so I think we’ll do well there.”

Lokahi is one of the few clubs that does not offer year-round paddling for its youth.

The women’s crews of the Waikiki Beachboys, meanwhile, thoroughly enjoyed the day. Victory in the women’s seniors race was its first over perennial winner Lokahi ended a winless drought of several years.

“We beat them at states last year, but we hadn’t beaten them in a Hui Wa’a race for a long time,” assistant coach Sue Brown said.

Julie Shoup, who paddled for a club on Maui until moving to Oahu two years ago, understood the significance of the win. “There are girls who said we hadn’t beaten Lokahi in four or five years,” she said. “We went from being a minute behind to a minute ahead this time.”

Jennifer Bowers, who moved up from novice crew this season, was ecstatic. “We’ll keep striving. Our ultimate goal is to place as high as we can for the Molokai Hoe. So many of our crews are working so hard,” she said.

The Beachboys’ women won the senior race, a mile-and-a-half distance, in 12:53.17. That was well ahead of Koa Kai (14:06).

“You still can never write Lokahi off,” Brown warned. “I have a ton of respect for them. They have loyal coaches and loyal girls.”

Oddly enough, the Beachboys’ women continue to focus on long-distance training through the regatta season. “We don’t practice turns or starts,” Brown noted. “But we worked a lot in the off-season.”

Koa Kai, meanwhile, enjoyed its first win of the season. “I was kind of surprised,” head coach Joe Kim said. “Our men’s open crew, that was a big surprise. Our juniors got us points, and our B crews, both men and women, got us points, too.”

Koa Kai, which practices at Magic Island, has momentum and a breadth of talent. “We’re better this year, overall. We’re more well-rounded,” said Kim, now in his sixth year at the helm.

Their men’s coach, Dave Randall, believes the team has become more cohesive. “The men are a lot closer now as a group,” he said.

Lokahi may seem to have the most work ahead, but there is optimism for the relatively small club. “Most of the kids were in two races. That’s how we try to match up with Kaneohe,” youth coach Kevin Mokuahi said.

Some athletes, like Natalie Holomalia, are just happy to be in the water. Holomalia, a steersman for the Lokahi women’s sophomore crew, was at Hui Nalu a year ago.

“It was for convenience,” Holomalia said of the club, which trains on the Ala Wai Canal. “And Hui Nalu is huge. I really enjoy Lokahi. You don’t get lost in the crowd. And Hui Nalu’s upper division has too many people.”

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